Job Description

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Research Director, Social Action Lab

Job Profile Title

Director C, ResearchThe Social Action Lab at the University of Pennsylvania is seeking a Research Director to provide strategic, scientific, and operational leadership for a portfolio of community-engaged research and public health initiatives in the United States. The Lab focuses on developing, implementing, and evaluating interventions that address pressing social and health challenges, with particular emphasis on cross-sector collaboration, rural health, and integration with local services and public health systems.

This position requires living in the broad Appalachian region where several of our projects are located. The successful candidate will lead and coordinate cross-institutional and cross-organizational initiatives involving academic collaborators, community-based organizations, external partners, rural communities, and local and state public health departments. The Research Director will be responsible for setting direction, building partnerships, overseeing implementation across multiple stakeholders, ensuring alignment across organizations, and advancing the Lab’s research, public health, and translational impact.

The Research Director will work closely with the Principal Investigator and senior leadership of the lab to develop new initiatives, execute complex ongoing projects, support grant development, contribute to scientific publications, mentor teams, and strengthen the Lab’s partnerships with public health and community-serving organizations. The ideal candidate will bring substantial leadership experience in public health, community-engaged research, implementation science, rural health, or related fields, with demonstrated ability to integrate research initiatives with local services and public health infrastructure.

This position is funded by grants and is contingent upon continued funding.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and scientific leadership for research and public health initiatives with particular attention to rural areas. Collaborate with the team to establish priorities, identify growth opportunities, and ensure that research efforts align with community needs and public health goals.
• Oversee the planning, implementation, evaluation, and daily management of complex projects. This includes coordinating timelines, communications, accountability systems, budgets, compliance, and operational improvements to ensure high-quality execution.
• Build and maintain strong partnerships with academic institutions, community organizations, public health departments, and other stakeholders. Represent the Lab at external meetings, facilitate meaningful engagement with partners, and identify new collaboration and funding opportunities, particularly in underserved areas.
• Lead or contribute to research grant applications, research objectives, implementation plans, budgets, manuscripts, reports, and public-facing materials. Provide leadership and mentorship to staff, trainees, and project teams by establishing clear roles, workflows, and expectations, while fostering a collaborative, efficient, and high-performing team environment. Set hiring priorities and recruit and manage personnel in the projects’ area.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, and 7 to 10 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience is required. Candidates with a PhD and 10+ years of relevant experience in public health, social sciences, health services research, community-engaged research, implementation science, behavioral science, public policy, epidemiology, or a related field are strongly preferred.
• This position requires living in the broad Appalachian region.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex, multi-stakeholder research or public health initiatives.
• Significant experience working with external partners such as community-based organizations, public health departments, healthcare systems, government agencies, and rural community stakeholders.
• Proven ability to manage and align work across multiple institutions, organizations, and collaborators.
• Experience leading teams, supervising staff, mentoring personnel, and managing competing priorities.
• Strong grant-writing, scientific writing, or proposal-development experience.
• Excellent organizational, leadership, project management, interpersonal, and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to operate independently, exercise sound judgment, and drive initiatives from concept through implementation.
• Record of leading research publications and grant efforts.
• Experience with substance use and HIV policy research required.
• Experience integrating research programs with local services, public health infrastructure, or community-based delivery systems.
• Experience with federally funded grants, foundation grants, cooperative agreements, or large collaborative research initiatives.
• Track record of contributing to peer-reviewed publications, public health reports, policy briefs, or other dissemination products.
• Experience with community-engaged research, implementation science, health equity, social determinants of health, or intervention development and evaluation.
• Prior leadership experience in the public health sector strongly preferred.

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This is a 100% remote position and will be physically located in the Appalachia region.

Department / School

Annenberg School for Communication

Pay Range

$95,136.00 - $120,000.00 Annual Rate

Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, and in alignment with salary ranges based on external market data for the job’s level. Internal organization and peer data at Penn are also considered.

Equal Opportunity Statement

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin(including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protectedunder applicable federal, state or local law

Special Requirements
Background checks may be required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.

University Benefits

• Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.

• Tuition Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.

• Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.

• Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.

• Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.

• Wellness and Work-life Resources Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.

• Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.

• University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.

• Discounts and Special Services From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.

• Flexible Work Hours:Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.

• Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.

• Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.

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To learn more, please visit: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay