GFRP Research Specialist

Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm

To learn more about the pay band for this branch and role, please see the Career Banding rates spreadsheet.

A global higher education leader in innovative teaching, research and public service, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill consistently ranks as one of the nation's top public universities. Known for its beautiful campus, world-class medical care, commitment to the arts and top athletic programs, Carolina is an ideal place to teach, work and learn.

One of the best college towns and best places to live in the United States, Chapel Hill has diverse social, cultural, recreation and professional opportunities that span the campus and community.

University employees can choose from a wide range of professional training opportunities for career growth, skill development and lifelong learning and enjoy exclusive perks for numerous retail, restaurant and performing arts discounts, savings on local child care centers and special rates on select campus events. UNC-Chapel Hill offers full-time employees a comprehensive benefits package, paid leave, and a variety of health, life and retirement plans and additional programs that support a healthy work/life balance.

Since 1966, researchers at the Carolina Population Center have pioneered data collection and research techniques that move population science forward by emphasizing life course approaches, longitudinal surveys, the integration of biological measurement into social surveys, and attention to context and environment. We are also at the forefront of creating interdisciplinary training programs that integrate approaches from the social and biological sciences, building research capacity and training the next generation of scholars. Our faculty fellows address pressing research questions about population dynamics, fertility, health, mortality, migration, and the environment. Faculty come from multiple disciplines, benefitting from the cross-pollination of ideas. Our dedicated research and programming staff support fellows at every stage of project development, from conception through data collection or acquisition, analysis and dissemination, and project administration. https://www.cpc.unc.edu/about/

This position may be eligible for a hybrid work arrangement that may include a partially remote work location, consistent with System Office policy. UNC Chapel Hill employees are generally required to reside within a reasonable commuting distance of their assigned duty station.

As a member of the Global Food Research Program ( GFRP) team, the Research Specialist will work on GFRP's evaluations of food- and health-related policies around the world. The Research Specialist must be able to identify and interpret regulations and legislation (including taxation, labelling, marketing, school environment, and other food policy regulations) and remain abreast of related changes, timelines, nutrient profiles, and thresholds. This position will assist with collection and cleaning of nutrition facts panel ( NFP) and policy data and information, monitoring for accuracy, validity, and integrity. This position will also contribute to other ongoing nutrition research projects, including contributing to the design and evaluation of interventions to promote health and sustainability.

The Research Specialist will collaborate closely with colleagues at our global collaborators' research institutions in Mexico, Colombia, and other countries as assigned to utilize specialized methods of data collection, entry, cleaning, and utilization (including interconnection of data sources). Collaboration and work within datasets may be in language of collaborators' country (e.g. Spanish). To support GFRP's aims of capacity building with each of our collaborators, the work performed by this position to develop and train these teams is essential to fulfilling our goals.

This role will also include the preparation of publication manuscripts, reports, and informational materials. A critical piece of GFRP's research and evaluation is dissemination of research findings to stakeholders to inform development and refinement of food policies. As needed, this position will also assist with the development of policy briefs, fact sheets, presentations, website content, and other research translation materials required to clearly convey and disseminate these findings.

This is a time limited position with an estimated duration of two (2) years.

Bachelor's degree in a discipline related to the field assigned and one year of related training or experience; or equivalent combination of training and experience. All degrees must be received from appropriately accredited institutions.

* Basic knowledge of nutrition-related research concepts from multiple disciplines, including dietary intake and quality, obesity, non-communicable diseases, health disparities, food systems, food environment, consumer psychology, food marketing and advertising, and health-related policies.
* Ability to find, identify, and interpret data and information and remain abreast of related changes and updates.
* Ability to identify and evaluate methodology of data collection and interaction between databases, and to apply regulatory schemes and quality control measures for handling primary and secondary data sources.
* Ability to understand, translate, plan and convey the communication of highly specialized and complex research concepts and research results to a variety of target audiences.
* Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
* Ability to work collaboratively and respectfully with culturally diverse colleagues and contacts.
* Experience with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is required.

* Experience with nutrition- or policy-related research including collecting nutrition/dietary data, conducting literature searches, writing and designing informational products, and working with global collaborators
* Experience interpreting food regulations within available databases, cleaning and managing of nutritional information databases ( NFP) of packaged products, and analysis using Stata or other analytical programs
* Experience using citation managers (Endnote, Zotero, or others), Adobe Creative Cloud (Illustrator, Photoshop, or InDesign), social media, and WordPress or other web content management system
* Spanish language skills

Not Applicable.

If you experience any problems accessing the system or have questions about the application process, please contact the Office of Human Resources at (919) 843-2300 or send an email to employment@unc.edu

Please note: The Office of Human Resources will not be able to provide specific updates regarding position or application status.

The University is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all to apply without regard to age, color, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.