Careers Job Description
General Description
We are seeking an experienced, equity-driven, and community-engaged scholar to serve as Program Director of the Community Engagement Core (CEC) of the NIH-funded COMMUNITY Center. The ideal candidate will bring a strong background in community-based participatory research (CBPR) with demonstrated leadership in academic-community partnerships. They will also have experience in community-facing and academic researcher meetings, with the aim of establishing partnerships and collaborative projects aimed at improving community health. The successful candidate will have a demonstrated track record of developing community consultation boards to improve the responsiveness and relevance of research that aims to reduce health disparities related to multiple chronic illnesses.
This individual will lead and expand multi-institutional collaborations, oversee the design and implementation of culturally grounded community-engaged research initiatives, and advance training programs focused on structural determinants of health. They will serve as the representative for our center’s community engagement efforts when interfacing with national consortium partners and the NIH.
The Program Director will hold a senior leadership position within the COMMUNITY grant structure, reporting to the Principal Investigator. This is a full-time position with salary and benefits commensurate with experience and institutional policy.
Other Duties
Leadership & Strategy
- Provide strategic leadership for the Community Engagement Core, overseeing CBPR initiatives, engagement activities, and translational strategies to improve chronic disease outcomes
- Serve as the primary liaison between the Core, investigators, community partners, and NIH program officers
- Cultivate and sustain equity-centered academic-community partnerships across multi-sector collaborators, including grassroots organizations, faith-based institutions, and public health systems
- Direct implementation of culturally responsive engagement practices, drawing on extensive experience in community-engaged and participatory interventions
- Collaborate with center PIs, investigators, and national consortium partners to support grant writing, manuscript development, and cross-core integration of community engagement practices
Community Engagement
- Develop and lead capacity-building activities and training for faculty, staff, and community stakeholders
- Design and lead community-informed research initiatives, including co-developing protocols, community advisory boards, and dissemination strategies. This includes, but is not limited to developing and overseeing a community research consultation board to ensure the responsiveness of center research
- Foster bidirectional communication to ensure research addresses community priorities, builds trust, and returns values to the communities most impacted by health disparities
- Support recruitment and retention efforts for research participation across diverse communities
- Oversee a grant-making and grant-management program for community-based organizations whose programming targets community-identified health priorities
- Work with organizations to identify and apply for regional and federal grants for program sustainability
Program & Event Management
- Plan and execute conferences, workshops, community forums, and training activities to advance community-engaged research capacity
- Organize regular meetings of community advisory boards and stakeholder groups
- Supervise staff and mentor early-career scholars with a focus on health disparities, community participatory research models, and mental health
Research & Reporting
- Lead the preparation and submission of NIH-required documentation, progress reports, and regulatory compliance paperwork
- Support investigators in integrating community engagement methodologies into grant applications and projects
- Disseminate findings through peer-reviewed publications, community reports, scientific publications, national conferences, and community-facing reports and events
- Other duties as assigned
Qualifications
Education: Doctoral degree (PhD or PsyD) in Psychology, Public Health, Social Work, or related field, with postdoctoral research experience.
Experience:
- Record of NIH-funded research and significant contributions to federally supported, community-based initiatives addressing health disparities
- Expertise in community participatory action research, including intervention development and implementation
- Expertise in developing and delivering community-academic research training strongly aligned with community-engagement principles, and comfort in helping different constituents discuss and navigate power differentials
- Proven leadership in academic settings (e.g., faculty appointment, research directorship, IRB service), with a deep commitment to mentoring and inclusive pedagogy
- Demonstrated success in program development, grant writing, and community organizing
- Bilingual/Bicultural (Spanish/English) proficiency and cross-cultural communication skills strongly required
Preferred Qualifications
- Familiarity with NIH grant mechanisms and cooperative agreements
- Demonstrated record of mentoring early-stage investigators in community-engaged methods
- Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to balance multiple priorities
- Excellent communication and facilitation skills across academic and community settings
- Experience with Photovoice and other participatory community, visual and/or arts-based research methods
- Demonstrated ability to work closely with community-based organizations in NYC to attain and sustain funding
- Deep knowledge of the psycho-social contextual factors that influence health and health-related behaviors
- Evidence demonstrating the ability to develop contextually responsive capacity-building opportunities and interventions for community partners involved in research
- Strong publication record in peer-reviewed journals and experience in interdisciplinary research teams
RFCUNY Benefits
RFCUNY Employee Benefits and AccrualsAbout the Research Foundation
The Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY) is a nonprofit educational corporation founded in 1963 to provide post-award fiscal and administrative support for CUNY’s research and sponsored programs. RFCUNY’s services allow CUNY researchers, faculty, and staff to focus on their intellectual curiosity and scientific discoveries, on projects and programs that serve our local and global communities, proposing concrete solutions to society’s most pressing challenges.
RFCUNY serves as a fiscal agent and works closely with all the CUNY campus Grants Offices to perform the core functions of post-award financial management for CUNY research projects and sponsored programs. These functions include legal assessment and signing of agreements where RFCUNY is named as a fiscal agent; setting up award accounts; preparing sub-awards and assisting PIs in monitoring the work of the recipients of sub-awards; supporting project directors with hiring and managing research project and sponsored program staff; supporting the purchasing and paying for goods and services with grant and program funds; managing financial aspects of projects including accounts receivable, financial reporting, invoicing, budget monitoring, and cost compliance with uniform guidance; ensuring that sponsor financial requirements are met; monitoring compliance with applicable project and financial management rules and laws; supporting the management of independent and external audits and financial reviews; and providing data, information, management expertise, and other supports to CUNY’s research and sponsored programs.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Key Features
Full Time
$140,000.00 - $160,000.00
Nov 26, 2025 (Or Until Filled)