Project Administrator

Los Angeles, CAFull-time$86.4k–$95kPosted Jul 21, 2026

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The Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR) at the University of Southern California is seeking a Project Administrator to join our dynamic team. We are looking for a skilled and motivated individual who can lead and contribute to projects within the Program on Global Aging, Health, and Policy (Global Aging Program).

The Project Administrator will work with study investigators to manage and develop resources for researchers that capture and communicate the rapid evolution of policies and environmental exposures across the world affecting people’s health over the life course. This position will help lead project teams collecting historical policies affecting educational access and achievement as well as career trajectories (e.g., early childhood education and care policies, compulsory schooling requirements, educational tracking rules) and health behaviors (e.g., smoking, alcohol consumption), both across states and across countries. The project administrator will also work with and coordinate the activities of multidisciplinary, international research teams and expert panels for the Gateway Exposome Coordinating Center and will be responsible for coordinating project staff and ensuring accurate and timely release of resources, including data, codebooks, and documentation. An ideal applicant will have expertise in historical policies of multiple countries and states related to education and health behaviors, editing experience, and demonstrated ability to learn about these policy areas and manage teams.

This is a grant funded, one year (renewable) fixed term position and hybrid work arrangement.

Job responsibilities include:

Acquiring a strong understanding of cross-state and cross-country differences in policies affecting educational achievement and health behaviors.
Leading the collection, interpretation, and documentation of complex information on state and country-specific policy related to education, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Countries will include those in the European Union and United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Japan, South Korea, China, India, Malaysia, Brazil, and Chile.
Coordinating a team to collect and communicate policy information for a multidisciplinary audience of researchers, and to create data products based on that policy information.
Directing the review and editing of resources and data products produced by the team.
Coordinating the dissemination of resources created by the team and directing promotional activities to encourage and support their use.
Participate in writing of reports, research papers, articles, and other documentation of project status and/or administrative activities or project results.

Qualifications:

Ability to produce careful and detail-oriented work
Ability to collect and interpret information from a variety of languages leveraging tools such as Google Translate
Excellent communication and writing skills
Ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
Experience in tracking project deliverables and timelines.
Exceptional problem-solving abilities
A strong applicant should be able to use LaTeX for document preparation or be able to learn LaTeX
A strong applicant should be able to use STATA or R for data analysis or be able to learn these analytic programs
Minimum education: Master’s Degree
Minimum experience: 3 years
Degree in economics, public policy, or related quantitative social sciences field required.

This is a grant funded position.

The annual base salary range for this position is $86,381- $95,000. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

About the Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR)

The Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR) is a multidisciplinary research center dedicated to discovering how people around the globe live, think, interact, age, invest, and make important, life-changing decisions. Our in-depth research and analysis are deepening the understanding of human behavior in a wide range of economic and social contexts. Our ultimate goal: to improve social welfare by informing and influencing decision-making in the public and private sectors. Along the way, we are leading a creative revolution in how scientists conduct social science and economic research through the use of innovative technology.

About the USC Schaeffer Institute

The USC Schaeffer Institute develops evidence-based solutions to address the nation’s most pressing policy issues. It serves as a policy laboratory to develop and test ideas generated by the USC academic community, fosters civic engagement, and provides a forum to reach federal policymakers.

Established by an historic gift from Leonard D. Schaeffer in 2024, it houses three flagship programs: the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, the Leonard D. Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service, and the Center for Civic Society. Schaeffer experts have testified before numerous Congressional committees and are regularly sought out by media outlets—including the New York Times, NPR, Stat, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post—to provide insight on policy issues.

The Schaeffer Institute is home to more than 150 scholars and staff, including three Nobel Laureates and seven members of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. It has offices at USC in Los Angeles and at the USC Capital Campus in Washington, DC.

About the Sol Price School of Public Policy

Ranked among the foremost schools of public policy in the nation, the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy generates uncommon knowledge for the common good. The school is composed of overlapping disciplines that generate innovative approaches to critical issues ranging from health-care policy to homelessness, and sustainability to congestion – to name a few. A wide-ranging curriculum, including extensive experiential learning, prepares our graduates to navigate problems that demand multi-layered solutions driven by critical, informed thinking.

The Price School, founded in 1929, is anchored by four departments: Public Policy and Management, Health Policy and Management, Wilbur H. Smith III Department of Real Estate Development, and Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis. The School’s rigorous academic programs provide students with the knowledge and distinctive opportunities to make meaningful contributions to their professions. Integrating classroom instruction with real-world experience and led by some of the world’s most renowned faculty in their fields, our students establish a clear pathway to successful careers.

Our academic programs are augmented by numerous research centers, institutes and initiatives that provide additional research expertise and experiences, notable among them are: The Judith and John Bedrosian Center on Governance and the Public; The Center for Philanthropy and Public Policy; The USC Lusk Center for Real Estate; The METRANS Transportation Consortium; The Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics; and The Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy. Together, they account for over $100 million in externally funded research grants and contracts.

Together, these departments and research enterprises provide unmatched breadth and depth to tackle an enormous range of challenges facing our country and the world. Price graduates hold leadership positions across diverse sectors – public, private, and nonprofit – championing the advancement of the common good. They come from around the world and from a variety of cultures and socio-economic backgrounds to create a rich intellectual environment that celebrates, supports and benefits from a variety of backgrounds and opinions.

Minimum Education: Master's degree, Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education
Minimum Experience: 3 years, Combined education/experience as substitute for minimum experience
Minimum Field of Expertise: Directly related education and project administration experience in specialized field represented by project.

USC is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law or USC policy. USC observes affirmative action obligations consistent with state and federal law. USC will consider for employment all qualified applicants with criminal records in a manner consistent with applicable laws and regulations, including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for employers and the Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and with due consideration for patient and student safety. Please refer to the Background Screening Policy Appendix D for specific employment screen implications for the position for which you are applying.

We provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. Applicants with questions about access or requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should contact USC Human Resources by phone at (213) 821-8100, or by email at uschr@usc.edu. Inquiries will be treated as confidential to the extent permitted by law.

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