Job Posting Title:

CME Senior Humanities Research Associate III

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Hiring Department:

Media Engagement, Center for

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Exempt

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Earliest Start Date:

Immediately

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue Until Oct 31, 2025

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Location:

UT MAIN CAMPUS

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Job Details:

General Notes

The Center for Media Engagement in the Moody College of Communication envisions a vibrant American media ecosystem that more effectively empowers the public to understand, appreciate, and participate in the democratic exchange of ideas.

We are a first-of-its-kind center that conducts original, groundbreaking research alongside newsrooms, social media platforms, and organizations looking to influence media practices for the benefit of democracy. We translate our theoretically driven and methodologically rigorous research into tools and strategies that these same stakeholders and collaborators can employ for the greater good.

The Center for Media Engagement is part of the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin and consists of faculty, staff, post-doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate researchers from The University of Texas and partner faculty from other universities across the country and around the world. The Center for Media Engagement was officially founded in 2017 and existed since 2011 as the Engaging News Project at the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life. 

Purpose

In a new approach to tackling societal divides, the Center for Media Engagement launched the method of connective democracy. Connective democracy unites newsrooms, scholars, platforms, and policymakers in a methodical approach toward bridging gaps in our society. The center will spend the next several years working on a vision to promote connective democracy. This position will assist in this connective democracy research and is a grant-funded position with an end date of 10/31/2025, renewable based upon availability of funding, work performance, and progress toward research goals.

Responsibilities

Assist on and lead research projects relevant to the Center for Media Engagement objectives. This includes designing studies, overseeing data collection, cleaning and coding data, analyzing data, and writing reports on the findings. Work with media partners to offer advice on research design and evaluation.

Manage full-time research associates, full-time research assistants, and undergraduate research assistants. Oversee timesheets, reviews, meetings, and day-to-day project activities.

Gather, review, and summarize literature from academic journals, industry publications, and nonprofit organizations.

Review and write White Papers and other reports on research results for distribution via the Center for Media Engagement website.

Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree. Four years of experience in the field of quantitative and/or qualitative research, including organizing and collecting data. Sophisticated understanding of data collection platforms including Qualtrics, Prolific, and CloudResearch. Statistical training and experience with SPSS and R. Ability to conduct qualitative research. Experience managing others, including students.

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience working in higher education research environments. Experience working on grant-funded research projects. Experience with R, SPSS, or Stata. Demonstrated interest in research related to the news media, political polarization, or online communication. Ability and eagerness to independently identify and address opportunities and needs.

Salary Range

$53,000 + depending on qualifications

Working Conditions

Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation

Required Materials

Resume/CV

3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor

Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded.  Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

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Employment Eligibility:

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

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Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

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Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

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Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

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Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

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Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form.  You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States.  Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment.  Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

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E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

E-Verify Poster (English) [PDF]E-Verify Poster (Spanish) [PDF]Right To Work Poster (English) [PDF]Right To Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

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Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.