On-Call Research Specialist, Physical Activity (Future Opportunity)

The Work: 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. 

What You Will Do:

Research Specialists will support the project through the following activities 

• Screening literature for inclusion/exclusion in reviews 

• Extracting data from the included literature 

• Assessing the quality of included studies using standardized assessment tools 

• Supporting report development 

What You Will Bring With You:

• Master’s degree in Exercise Science, Kinesiology, Physical Education, Public Health, Health Science

• 1+ year of experience conducting physical activity-related research

• 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. 

What We Would Like You To Bring With You:

• 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 

Professional Skills:

• 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. 

We can only solve the world's toughest challenges by building a workplace that allows everyone to thrive. We are an equal opportunity employer. Together, our employees are empowered to share their expertise and collaborate with others to achieve personal and professional goals. For more information, please read our EEO policy.

We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Reasonable Accommodations are available, including, but not limited to, for disabled veterans, individuals with disabilities, and individuals with sincerely held religious beliefs, in all phases of the application and employment process. To request an accommodation, please email Candidateaccommodation@icf.com and we will be happy to assist. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.  

Read more about workplace discrimination rights or our benefit offerings which are included in the Transparency in (Benefits) Coverage Act.