ICPSR is looking for an associate director to join its leadership team
Associate Director
Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, a center in the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Position Summary
The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) seeks to appoint an Associate Director to participate in ICPSR’s leadership and to manage its collection development and dissemination activities. The Associate Director will provide senior leadership in partnership with ICPSR’s Director and will manage a portfolio of internally and externally-funded projects that acquire data, prepare them for future research, and provide guidance to the research community in best practices for data collection, access, and preservation. She or he will also work closely with the members of ICPSR’s governing Council. This position involves the direct supervision of ICPSR’s research staff, archivists, and curation team, with a staff of over 75 and annual budget of $10 million. The Associate Director will work with ICPSR staff and the research community to develop new archival collections, interact with current and prospective sponsors, and write grant proposals and applications. The Associate Director has general oversight of the management and budget of the ICPSR archive.
The Associate Director will lead the implementation of innovative archival activities at ICPSR and engage in her or his own research, in collaboration with researchers at ICPSR or elsewhere.
The individual will hold a senior research faculty appointment in ICPSR and the Institute for Social Research. The selected candidate’s qualifications will determine the level. The position may be a joint appointment with other units within the Institute for Social Research (Center for Political Studies, Population Studies Center, Research Center for Group Dynamics, and Survey Research Center) or another academic unit of the University of Michigan. ICPSR offers a competitive total compensation package, with full University of Michigan benefits.
Organizational Overview
The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, established in 1962, maintains and provides access to a vast archive of social science data for research and instruction, and offers training in quantitative methods. To ensure that data resources are available to future generations of scholars, ICPSR acquires, processes, and preserves data. In addition, ICPSR provides user support. A unit within the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, ICPSR is a membership-based organization, with more than 700 member colleges and universities around the world. Its budget is provided by ICPSR member dues and by grants and contracts from public and private sponsors. A Council of leading scholars and data professionals guides and oversees its activities.
Major Areas of Responsibility
- Lead ICPSR’s collection development and dissemination, providing overall operational management and supervision. This includes budgetary oversight and the establishment of operational procedures for the team.
- Consult with data producers and data users about the needs of the research community and use that information to develop new archival collections.
- Lead efforts to obtain external funding to support to support new archival collections, innovations in archiving, and her or his own research.
- Participate fully in ICPSR’s senior management team, and when necessary substitute for the Director in relations with the ICPSR Council, with other units at the University of Michigan, and the larger social and data science community.
- Conduct and publish research in the candidate’s area of expertise.
Qualifications
Required: PhD in a relevant social or data science field of study. Seven years professional experience in the field, with a minimum of two years of experience in the management of externally-sponsored research activities. Demonstrated scholarly productivity, along with the proven ability to work both independently and collaboratively. Demonstrated expertise in the creation, management, and statistical analysis of social science research data. Knowledge of procedures for ensuring the privacy and protection of research subjects. Experience in writing grant proposals and applications, and in serving as a principal investigator. Experience in a supervisory role providing direction and mentoring to staff. Excellent communication skills, both oral and written, in the English language.
Desired: Previous experience in teaching or training in his or her field of interest. Knowledge and experience archiving data and providing secondary analysis of those data. Demonstrated evidence of successful organizational leadership or reform.
Applicants should submit a letter of application, a CV, and the names of three references to
ICPSR-AD-search@umich.edu. Inquiries may be addressed to: Margaret Levenstein, Director, Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, Institute for Social Research, P.O. Box 1248, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106-1248. Application deadline is December 1, 2016. Screening of applications will begin immediately. The Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitment to serve the diverse people of Michigan, to maintain the excellence of the university, and to ground our research in varied disciplines, perspectives, and ways of knowing and learning.
Oct 4, 2016