Lab Manager, C.R.I.T.

Job Description Summary

The Lab Manager oversees the day-to-day operations of SAFE Lab, supervising MSW students and managing a portfolio of research and community-engaged projects. This role is responsible for maintaining efficient lab systems, supporting grant-funded initiatives, and coordinating partnerships, programming, and events.

In addition, the Lab Manager provides oversight of the Center's logistical and administrative functions while actively contributing to research, including initiatives such as the Creator Cohort Institute. The Lab Manager manages the calendar and scheduling for the Center Director and plays a central role in supporting the development, submission, and management of grants, including IRB protocols and compliance processes.

Serving as a key liaison, the Lab Manager coordinates communication between SAFELab, the School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2), and other university departments and external partners. The role includes supervising student interns, administrative staff, and research personnel, as well as training and supporting work-study students, casual staff, and research assistants engaged in lab projects.

The Lab Manager also facilitates collaboration by coordinating meetings and engagements with community partners, university collaborators, and other research centers. In addition to administrative and supervisory responsibilities, the Lab Manager contributes to the lab's research output by assisting in the preparation of manuscripts and working closely with Principal Investigators to advance project deliverables.

This position is contingent based on availability of funding.
* All SP2 staff are required to participate in convocation and graduation ceremonies as needed.

Job Responsibilities

• Lab operations oversight - scheduling lab meetings, organizing weekly lab check-ins that involve all lab members/students/staff, purchasing lab materials, etc.
• Providing supervision for MSW students and research assistants. For MSW supervision, the lab Manager will provide weekly supervision with MSW students, help students with educational tasks that align with learning competencies, and ensure that students have experience to practice focus groups/interviews with community members. For research assistants, the Lab Manager will meet with RA's weekly or bi-weekly to ensure their tasks are being completed.
• Project management for grants / specific projects such as creator cohort institute and research support
• Event coordination: for certain projects, the Lab Manager will assist with event planning, such as for the Annual Creators for Community Safety Summit. The Lab Manager will work with communications to conduct outreach for the event, reach out to speakers/panelists, organize financial compensation for speakers, and organize catering. The Lab Manager will be in charge of RSVP's, and other administrative tasks such as ordering supplies for the event. This typically occurs 1-2 times per academic year. The Lab Manager will also be responsible for planning writing retreats 2 times per academic year, which involves planning the agenda, catering, and working with finance to ensure the retreat goes smoothly.
• Calendar/communications support for founding director/principal investigator of SAFELab. The Lab Manager will support the SAFELab PI by helping schedule speaking engagements and meetings, and coordinating the PI's calendar so there are no overlaps. They will also support the PI with admin tasks such as working with the grants team to help submit NIH biosketches and sending his bio/headshot for speaking engagements.
• Grant writing/ writing lab reports
• Budget tracking: the Lab Manager will receive financial reports monthly from the SP2 finance & administration team (and have a quarterly meeting with the finance team to discuss all budgets.) The Lab Manager will be responsible for ensuring that no budgets are in deficit, and will often utilize the Discretionary budget for lab materials/supplies. The PI will additionally oversee all budgets and financial reports.
• Perform additional duties as assigned, including participation in convocation and graduation ceremonies as needed.

Qualifications

Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Fine Arts, and 2 to 3 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience is required. Masters degree in social work or related field and 2 years of progressively responsible experience in research, administration, and project management preferred.

The successful candidate for the lab manager position will have the following qualifications:

Required:
Research experience
Strong writing (academic/grant)
Administrative/project management experience
Student supervision experience
Strong organizational skills

Preferred:
Community-engaged research
Digital media/public health familiarity
Grant-funded university experience
Event planning experience

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School

School of Social Policy and Practice

Pay Range

$55,000.00 - $65,000.00 Annual Rate