Job Description

Job Opportunity: Research Assistant (Contract)

Location: Hybrid | Franklin County, OH (requires on-site interviews and community engagement activities)

Duration: 6 Months (Potential for Extension); 30-40 hours/week

Smart Columbus is seeking a skilled Research Assistant to support the Community Information Exchange (CIE) initiative, a county-wide effort enabling individuals to access health and human services when they need them most. Learn more about this impactful work at ciecolumbus.com .

About the Role

The Research Assistant will contribute to critical CIE activities, including data privacy research, consent and data sharing processes, and use case development. The role supports data and integration activities through interdisciplinary research and community engagement. This role is ideal for candidates eager to apply their research expertise to enhance health and human services for the Columbus community.

Key Responsibilities

Activity 1. Consent and Data Sharing Workgroup (25% effort)

1. Organize consent forms and legal documents in a database.
2. Assist with drafting and review of consent forms and data sharing agreements.
3. Assist with the organization and development of the CIE Policy Manual and CIE Data Sharing Guidebook.

Activity 2. Data Assessments and Data Privacy (40% effort)

1. Assist with research and analysis related to data privacy and security, data competencies of health and human services organizations, and data governance frameworks.
2. Provide research support, including but not limited to literature reviews, reference managements, findings articles, and gathering documents for a landscape analysis.
3. Assist with developing questions and implementing work plan activities for the data assessments with early adopter community-based organizations and system partners, such as analyzing responses and developing recommendations for data sharing and data infrastructure needs of the health and human services sector.
4. Assist with writing reports and other summary documents for diverse audiences, including key stakeholders, funders, and the general public.

Activity 3. Informed Community Insights - Use Case Identification and Prioritization (35% effort)

1. Participate in use case interviews and develop use case documents for review by community-based organizations partners.
2. Analyze qualitative data from use case interviews.
3. Assist with the identification and prioritization of use cases and use case solutions, including development of criteria for prioritization of use cases.
4. Coordinate with other CIE team members and vendor team(s) as needed to prepare prototypes of use case solutions.

What We’re Looking For

• Background and experience with legal terms, data governance, and data privacy laws and regulations, preferably related to the health and human services sector, public health, and healthcare
• Familiarity with data sharing and consent practices in one or more of the following areas: housing, childcare, health, and workforce.
• Familiarity with software for conduction literature reviews, landscape analyses, and reference managements, such as Zotero, EndNote, and Deedose.
• Proven experience as a Research Assistant, preferably in community services or non-profit sectors.
• Strong analytical skills to assess complex organizations, data sharing practices, and legal processes.
• Excellent communication skills for stakeholder engagement and relationship management.
• Ability to work independently and deliver high-quality results within deadlines.

How to Apply

Interested candidates are encouraged to send their resume and a brief cover letter outlining relevant experience to careers@smartcolumbus.com .

About Smart Columbus

Smart Columbus, an entity of the Columbus Partnership, is an agile, collaborative innovation lab that serves the Columbus Region by anticipating and advancing what is new and next at the intersection of technology and community good. We seek to increase access to opportunity and an improved quality of life by promoting thought leadership on the future of cities, fostering an ecosystem of regional partners, and deploying human-centered technology in mobility, sustainability, digitalization, and urban technologies.

Job Tags

Similar Jobs