Associate Director of Research Operations

Associate Director of Research Operations Full-time Work Format: Hybrid Harvard Job Function: General Administration Union: 00 - Non Union, Exempt or Temporary Salary Grade: 058 Department: Research Center for Education Policy Research FLSA Status: Exempt Company Description By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive. Why join the Harvard Graduate School of Education? The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is a diverse community of learners, teachers, and employees who are passionate about changing the world through education and striving for maximum impact in the field of education. Many choose to work at the Harvard Graduate School of Education because they believe in our mission and are excited by our vision for the future. We have a reputation as a great place to work, for our excellent leadership, and we are a strong community that values diversity. For more information about HGSE, its programs, research, and faculty, please visit: www.gse.harvard.edu . Job Description Job Summary: HGSE is a diverse community of learners, teachers, and employees who are passionate about changing the world by improving education. The Associate Director of Research Operations will be part of the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR) at Harvard University. CEPR and its partners believe all students will learn and thrive when education leaders make decisions using facts and findings, rather than untested assumptions. Learn more at cepr.harvard.edu . Job-Specific Responsibilities: The Associate Director of Research Operations is responsible for the administrative operations of CEPR’s analytic team: allocating research staff across existing projects, ensuring that new project proposals have sufficient staffing, recruiting and onboarding new staff, coordinating with project directors to provide feedback to existing staff, identifying training opportunities for research staff, managing data use agreements and submissions to the Institutional Review Board. The Associate Director of Research Operations will report to the Executive Director and will work closely with the Faculty Director and Director of Research Initiatives for College and Career Success. They will also coordinate with CEPR’s other Associate Directors of Research. The Associate Director will be expected to develop workflows and systems to ensure that CEPR’s research remains compliant with data use agreements and human subjects’ research protections and is appropriately staffed. Job-Specific Responsibilities 1. Research Pipeline & Resource Management (45%) The Associate Director will ensure that each project is appropriately resourced, coordinating across internal staff and external research partners to do so. Ensure that new project proposals are clear in scope and appropriately resourced to meet project timelines. Build and maintain a system for allocating staff, managing staff workloads, and project timelines. Inform hiring and pipeline management decisions Partner with Directors of Research, Project Directors, and PIs to allocate staff, flag when staff are overburdened, and model tradeoffs when priorities conflict 2. Operational Systems & Compliance (25%) The Associate Director leads operational process improvement and ensures the team remains in compliance with data use agreements and human research subject protections. Maintain a compliance calendar and coordinate adherence to requirements including data use agreements, IRB protocols, funder reporting deadlines, and data privacy standards Coordinate with Harvard IT on computing needs Develop and maintain standard operating procedures related to data handling, access controls, and use restrictions; serve as a point of escalation for compliance questions and