Programs & Research Assistant

Position Title: Programs & Research Assistant

Reports to: Programs & Research Director

Classification: Exempt

THE RHODE ISLAND PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE

The Rhode Island Public Health Institute (RIPHI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to reduce health disparities in Rhode Island and beyond. RIPHI oversees public health programs, and conducts research related to population health, and trains students and public health practitioners.

In recent years, RIPHI’s programs have attracted local and national media attention as well as local and national awards for public health innovation. RIPHI owns and operates Open Door Health, the state’s first and only LGBTQ community clinic: Open Door Health provides primary care, sexual health care, family planning services, and gender affirming care to Rhode Island’s diverse community. Open Door Health also offers "express STI screening," which allows patients to quickly access STI services. RIPHI also hosts a Ryan White HIV treatment and care program at Open Door Health as well as large HIV prevention programs.

In addition, RIPHI founded several innovative public health programs focused on enhancing food and nutrition security. RIPHI operates Food on the Move, one of the largest mobile produce programs in the country. RIPHI leads Nourish Rhode Island, a coalition advocating for SNAP incentives in grocery stores to promote healthy eating among SNAP recipients. SNAP incentives double the value of the dollar when people buy fresh produce. That campaign led to a statewide program for 140,000 SNAP recipients in Rhode Island; this program doubles the value of the dollar when SNAP recipients buy fresh produce.

In 2024, RIPHI and Open Door Health began a statewide program to integrate primary care with behavioral health services. RIPHI uses population health data in all its research, clinical and charitable service programs. RIPHI recently adopted a 5-year strategic plan that includes opening and growing both a new research center and a new communications center to support RIPHI’s work to advance population health. In the last year, RIPHI has secured over $15 million in grant funding and is looking forward to continuing growing our programs and research portfolio in alignment with RIPHI’s strategic plan.

During the last several years, RIPHI led several successful advocacy campaigns culminating in legislative victories, legislative appropriations, and statewide policy changes. These were related to food and nutrition, security, hunger alleviation, HIV policy, access to medicines, and fiscal. RIPHI plans to continue its public health advocacy work in the coming years.

RIPHI’s rapid and currently growing portfolio also includes programs related to food insecurity, nutrition and active living, hepatitis C virus (HCV), HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce HIV transmission, mental health, social determinants of health, geographically focused health interventions, and other efforts to reduce health disparities. To learn more about RIPHI and Open Door Health, visit https://www.riphi.org and www.odhpvd.org.

Position Summary:

Under general supervision of the Programs and Research Director, the Programs and Research Assistant will support RIPHI’s programmatic and research efforts. The main responsibilities of this position include support for various projects and activities, basic data cleaning and analyses, and administrative support.

Responsibilities:

Assist with program evaluation and research

• Assist in planning, coordination, implementation and evaluation of programs and research efforts
• Monitor project timelines and deliverables ensuring activities are completed on schedule
• Conduct retrospective chart reviews
• Recruit and enroll participants for research
• Administer surveys
• Develop and program surveys using Qualtrics and/or REDCap
• Perform data cleaning and processing to ensure continuous quality improvement
• Contribute to data reporting structures and dashboards

Provide general administrative and programmatic support

• Contribute to grant applications and reports
• Maintain project documentation including, preparing agendas and detailed note taking at external and internal meetings
• Develop internal and external communications
• Coordinate meeting invitations, calendar management, and travel logistics
• Streamline and support institutional processes
• Provide on-site support of direct service programming
• Draft communications including data briefs, informational brochures, and other external facing documents
• Assist with other duties and responsibilities across programs and research efforts as assigned by the Programs and Research Director and other RIPHI leadership.

Requirements:

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in public health or other biomedical field
• Master’s degree in public health preferred
• Experience and comfort in issues related to substance use, harm reduction, homelessness, chronic and/or infectious disease, mental health, and/or bilingual/bicultural and LGBTQ communities

Knowledge & Skills

• Strong attention to detail and highly organized
• Passion for community-based research and reducing health disparities
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PPT) and Adobe Acrobat
• Experience working with REDCap preferred
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Excellent time management skills
• Ability to work with a team and independently
• Ability to work in a fast-paced deadline-driven environment
• Bi-lingual/bi-cultural Spanish or/and Portuguese is preferred

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands; balance, stoop, kneel or crouch: and talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. As RIPHI operates in a normal patient care environment there is possible exposure to infectious diseases. Hazards are minimized by adherence to established safety precautions.

Work Environment:

Rhode Island Public Health Institute is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage diverse candidates to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, expression or preference, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, socio-economic status or any other characteristic protected by law.

Interested applicants should submit Resume and letter of interest (including salary requirements) to Senior Director of Human Resources at Duffay.Cuartas@riphi.org

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $52,000.00 - $62,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 403(b)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Application Question(s):

• Do you have a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, Biomedical Science, or a related field?
• Do you have experience supporting public health programs, research projects, or community-based initiatives?
• Do you have experience with data collection, data cleaning, surveys, or research databases (such as REDCap, Qualtrics, or Excel)?
• Do you have experience working with underserved communities or populations impacted by health disparities?
• Are you bilingual in Spanish and/or Portuguese?

Education:

• Doctorate (Preferred)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Providence, RI 02907

Salary : $52,000 - $62,000