Assistant Scientist (Survey Methodologist) - University of Florida

Assistant Scientist 

The University of Florida Institute for Child Health Policy and the Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, seeks applicants for a full-time faculty position as an Assistant Scientist, with a working title of Survey Methodologist. The position requires the candidate to work independently as a scientist while also collaborating with other social and behavioral scientists, health professionals, and health policy experts on the design, coordination, and implementation of program evaluation research. The position scope includes federal and state funded projects that evaluate access to and quality of care for beneficiaries enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The Department more broadly has an interest in health disparities in access to and quality of care, social determinants of health, and implementation science.

We are seeking a social/behavioral scientist/health services researcher with strong study design, data collection, and analytical skills in survey research. Candidates with demonstrated expertise in public health insurance policy, the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys, and qualitative research methods are preferred. This position will supervise research support staff across multiple survey projects.

Duties Include:

Working with faculty and team staff in the design and coordination of Texas EQRO survey research studies to investigate Texas Medicaid and CHIP member experience and satisfaction with care. Ensures that survey studies align with contractual requirements and national, state, and ICHP research priorities. This includes the development of study proposals, survey methodologies and instruments, and other study coordination tools, preparation of cost estimates for survey deliverables, and presentation of proposals to team members and state stakeholders.

Direct and monitor data collection for Texas EQRO survey studies, including the development and execution of contracts with data collection and mailing vendors, materials and presentations for training surveyors and interviewers, sample specifications, and protocols for survey quality and progress monitoring. Oversees and supervises team staff who are responsible for day-to-day coordination of survey activities.

Prepare and analyze survey datasets, including direction of efforts for data cleaning, data quality review, developing analysis plans, and conducting statistical data analysis and modeling. Ensures that analyses follow rigorous, up-to-date approaches for analyzing survey data, including, but not limited to survey weighting, non-response analysis, and risk-adjustment.

Direct the preparation and presentation of technical reports of survey findings, which include summaries that are accessible to state stakeholders and recommendations for developing, revising, and implementing program policies and procedures. Conceptualizes and directs one separate EQRO research study per year that leverages existing survey data or collects new survey data to address emerging topics of importance to state stakeholders.

Commensurate with Experience 

Specific requirements for the position include: (1) an earned doctorate in a social or health sciences research field; and (2) a minimum of two years of research experience specifically focused on survey research in health services, with preference for research on publicly insured children and adults. Primary criteria for appointment include experience in project/research management, outstanding oral and written communication skills, ability and experience authoring technical reports, demonstrated expertise in statistical applications and software packages (e.g., SPSS, SAS, Stata, NVivo, Atlas.ti, Excel, and Access), and interest, ability, and experience in collaborative multi-disciplinary research. 

Applicants must also demonstrate:

• Interest in and ability to translate research findings into practice, using data collected and analyzed to inform the evaluation of health programs and the development of interventions to improve quality of care for beneficiaries of public insurance programs. This involves interaction with project stakeholders (government, health plan, provider, and patient representatives).
• Up-to-date knowledge of federal programs, initiatives, and regulations designed to monitor and improve quality of care for children and adults in public insurance programs.

This is a research-funded position and is annually renewable based on research funds. Interested applicants should upload their letter of interest, CV, and two recent writing samples (at least one first author preferred) to the Careers at UF website. For additional information, please contact Ryan Theis, PhD at rtheis@ufl.edu.

Final candidate will be required to provide official transcript to the hiring department upon hire. A transcript will not be considered “official” if a designation of “Issued to Student” is visible. Degrees earned from an education institution outside of the United States are required to be evaluated by a professional credentialing service provider approved by National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES), which can be found at http://www.naces.org/.

The University of Florida is committed to non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations, genetic information and veteran status in all aspects of employment including recruitment, hiring, promotions, transfers, discipline, terminations, wage and salary administration, benefits, and training.

Application must be submitted by 11:55 p.m. (ET) of the posting end date.