Research Specialist (On-Call)

ICF•Reston, VA

1d•Remote

About The Position

ICF is looking for multiple Research Specialists to support a multi-year, large-scale systematic literature review project on physical activity for a federal client. Candidates will report to the Project Manager and/or Research Methodologist and will be primarily responsible for supporting literature screening and data extraction processes. They may also participate in various aspects of reporting results. The successful candidate will possess a strong understanding of exercise science concepts, the impacts of physical activity on health outcomes, the ability to critically evaluate scientific literature, familiarity with the systematic literature review approach, and strong attention to detail. Job Location: This is a remote position however, the job must be performed in the United States. If you accept this position, you should note that ICF does monitor employee work locations and blocks access from foreign locations/foreign IP addresses, and also prohibits personal VPN connections. As an on-call/freelancer, you might work zero to 30 hours per week, depending on our workload. Work volume will fluctuate across the lifespan of the project. The weekly number of hours assigned to each Research Specialist will be dependent on project needs and Research Specialist’s availability. Research Specialists should be available to provide at least 5-10 hours of support per week; however, some weeks may have 0 hours assigned. Our core work hours are 10am - 4pm Eastern Time with the option to start earlier or work later depending on your time zone. Research Specialists may work outside of core work hours but must be able to attend and participate in regularly scheduled team meetings during ICF core work hours. Work schedules will be coordinated with the project leaders.

Requirements

Master’s degree plus 1-2 years of experience conducting research related to physical activity, exercise, or public health.
Educational background in a physical activity-related field such as exercise science, kinesiology, physical education, health science, or public health.
Ability to read, interpret, and critically evaluate scientific literature related to physical activity, public health, and health behavior and outcomes.
Experience conducting systematic literature reviews.
Strong attention to detail
Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams
Ability to prioritize and work on multiple projects under strict deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with the 2nd Edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
Experience with systematic literature review management platforms (e.g., DistillerSR, Covidence, Rayyan, etc.)
Basic understanding of the meta-analysis approach as demonstrated through past job experience, coursework, and/or publication history
Basic understanding of umbrella reviews (review of reviews) as demonstrated through coursework or publication history