Social Science/Humanities Research Associate III Full-time

Social Science/Humanities Research Associate III

Hiring Department: Population Research Center

Position Open To: All Applicants

Weekly Scheduled Hours: 40

FLSA Status: Exempt from FLSA

Earliest Start Date: Immediately

Position Duration: Expected to Continue Until Aug 31, 2027

Location: UT MAIN CAMPUS

This position is currently funded for 1 year from start date.

The university offers an impressive benefits package. For more details on benefits, please see: https://hr.utexas.edu/prospective/benefits and https://hr.utexas.edu/current/services/my-total-rewards.

For more information about the College of Liberal Arts, please visit: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/.

For more information on the college staff leadership academy, please visit: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/resources-for-faculty-staff/staff-leadership-academy/.

For more information on college staff professional development, please visit: https://wikis.utexas.edu/display/larc/Staff+Professional+Development+Fund.

Purpose

The Social Science/Humanities Research Associate III will work with Dr. Legare and a team of postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate research assistants to lead the research and administrative operations of the Center for Applied Cognitive Science (CACS). CACS is a multi-disciplinary center that advances global cognitive science by connecting researchers in the biological, cognitive, social, and educational sciences with practitioners, designers, and community partners, harnessing insights about how the mind works to advance the science of learning and design more effective behavioral and social change interventions.

The Center conducts interdisciplinary, comparative research using mixed methodologies that emphasize community engagement and international development. Its work spans public health, education, cognitive science, and child development, and includes projects such as Learning to Innovate (jointly funded by UKRI/ESRC and NSF), the NSF AccelNet-funded Cultures of Learning global network, ed tech collaborations, and museum-university-community research partnerships.

The position combines hands-on research support with administrative leadership. The Coordinator will develop standardized procedures for data collection, coding, quality control, and management; conduct data analysis for ongoing studies; and run the Center's day-to-day operations, coordinating personnel, timelines, budgets, compliance, and communications with domestic and international collaborators, funders, and community partners. Candidates must have a demonstrated interest in human subjects research and a background in both data science and research administration.

Responsibilities

• Become deeply familiar with the design and data of the Center's research projects, including Learning to Innovate, the Cultures of Learning network, and ed tech collaborations
• Develop and implement standard operating procedures for data collection, coding, file management, and quality assurance across projects, including cross-cultural and community-based studies
• Conduct data analysis for ongoing studies, from data cleaning through descriptive and inferential statistics, and prepare results for reports, presentations, and publications
• Train and supervise undergraduate research assistants, in collaboration with graduate students, in coding observational and behavioral data (e.g., video of parent-child interactions)
• Coordinate the research team, delegating tasks and setting deadlines to keep projects on track
• Manage day-to-day administrative operations, including scheduling, record keeping, and internal and external communications
• Manage Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocol submissions, amendments, renewals, and compliance, including for international research sites
• Support grant and budget administration with department staff, including purchasing, reimbursements, and expense tracking
• Onboard and offboard personnel and maintain Center documentation, shared resources, and website content
• Serve as primary liaison to collaborators and funders—including museum, school, health, ed tech, and international partners—providing progress updates and attending project meetings

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline (e.g., Psychology, Education, Cognitive Science, Data Science, Information Science, Public Health, Computer Science)
• At least 4 years of experience in a research lab (Psychology, Education, or related), including conducting human subjects research
• Background in data science, including quantitative analysis with statistical software (e.g., R, Python, SPSS, or Stata) and building and maintaining data infrastructure
• Background in research administration, such as scheduling, record keeping, purchasing, or compliance
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Strong leadership and communication skills, with experience leading a team

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in a relevant discipline (e.g., Psychology, Education, Cognitive Science, Public Health, Data Science, Information Science, Computer Science) with 2 years of related experience
• Experience with cross-cultural, community-based, or international research
• Experience preparing IRB protocols and managing research compliance
• Experience with grant administration or budget tracking in a university setting
• Advanced proficiency in statistical programming (e.g., R and/or Python), including data pipelines and reproducible analysis workflows

Salary Range

• $50,000 + depending on qualifications

Working Conditions

• Typical Office/Lab Environment
• Occasional work will be done at community partner sites (e.g., museums and schools)

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded. Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

Employment Eligibility:

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to