Implementation Associate

Primary Purpose of Organizational Unit:

The mission of the School of Social Work is to advance equity, transform systems, and improve lives. The School’s curriculum supports the mission and recognizes the uniqueness of the region served, including concerns for disadvantaged, vulnerable, and oppressed individuals, families, and communities. Classes provide rigorous and evidence-based content, and give students the opportunity to explore theory, learn intervention skills and engage in challenging dialogue with colleagues. The School works to become the leading school of social work for impact – generating knowledge with powerful and positive consequences.

The School of Social Work offers M.S.W. and Ph.D. degrees. Dual degrees are offered in Law, Public Health, Public Administration, and Divinity (with Duke University). The faculty members of the School of Social Work have strong collaborative relationships with many campus units such as the Schools of Medicine, Public Health, Nursing, Law, Government, Education, and the Department of City and Regional Planning as well as University Centers and Institutes such as the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, the Carolina Population Center, the Center for Developmental Sciences, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, and the Institute on Aging. We also maintain dynamic relationships with community agencies, state and federal government, and research groups in the Research Triangle Park and across the U.S.

To learn more about the School of Social Work, please visit our website at https://ssw.unc.edu/.

Position Summary:

The Implementation Associate will work on the Collaborative for Implementation Practice (CIP) team. CIP is an initiative at the School of Social Work, and the CIP team is focused on supporting implementation and evidence use, conducting research on implementation practice to advance the field of implementation science, and growing a workforce of implementation support practitioners.

The Implementation Associate will assist with delivery of implementation support to enhance effective implementation and scaling of evidence-based programs and innovations within a range of contexts including child welfare, child and family serving systems, and philanthropy. This position will also engage in implementation research and provide support for workforce development endeavors (e.g., professional certificate program) as needed. The Implementation Associate will assist project PIs and leads to perform all aspects of funded project(s) at CIP. For new implementation support engagements, this may include participation in co-learning calls with new partners as well as development of partnership agreements and work plans to define support opportunities and project goals. For ongoing implementation support engagements, this position will assist with data collection (e.g., interviews, focus groups, document reviews, literature reviews, survey administration), data synthesis, dissemination of findings and themes, sensemaking and action planning with implementation partners.

Day-to-day responsibilities may include planning for and participating in or co-facilitating meetings; tracking project timelines and completion of project tasks; managing internal and external project communication; and reviewing and/or contributing to draft project reports, presentations, tools and resources.

The Implementation Associate will be encouraged to participate in professional development opportunities to support continued learning and deepening of implementation science knowledge. The Implementation Associate is expected to contribute high-quality work, work collaboratively with team members and project partners, and demonstrate initiative in supporting all aspects of CIP’s work.

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements:

Master’s or Bachelor’s and 0-2 years’ experience; or will accept a combination of related education and experience in substitution.

Required Qualifications, Competencies, and Experience:

Experience using implementation science frameworks to diagnose implementation challenges with partners and support identification and use of implementation strategies to improve implementation efforts.
Demonstrated experience in technical assistance or implementation support, written communication, public speaking and presentation, knowledge of research, and qualitative and quantitative data analysis methodologies.
Strong computer skills with ability to use MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and design software such as Canva.
Excellent attention to detail, organizational and time-management abilities.
Strong written and verbal communication skills and interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate well with people from diverse backgrounds.

Preferred Qualifications, Competencies, and Experience:

Master’s in Early Childhood, Education, Social Work, Psychology, Public Health or related disciplines, or a Bachelor’s degree in related field with five to seven years of relevant experience.

Knowledge of competencies for providing effective implementation support.