Principal Education Researcher

Overview

SRI Education seeks a Principal Education Researcher to lead proposals and projects that engage with communities of educators and policymakers to understand their needs for evidence, conduct systematic evidence reviews, and communicate actionable findings from those evidence reviews to educators and policymakers.  The position requires an advanced degree in social sciences or a related field, expertise in study design, and a proven track record in writing successful research proposals for U.S. federal agencies and experience with research clearinghouses with a preference for the U.S. Department of Education What Works Clearinghouse (WWC). Must have a commitment to improving education for all learners.

We are happy to have candidates join us in our office locations. We have offices in Arlington, VA, and Menlo Park, CA, and have clusters of employees in the Boston area as well as Denver/Boulder, CO.  We will also consider 100% remote candidates.

Responsibilities

Lead collaborative project teams to identify needs of policymakers and educators; design, conduct, and review rigorous research and large-scale program evaluations in K–16 education; and effectively communicate findings to policymakers and educators:

• Function as Principal Investigator, co-Principal Investigator, or equivalent, assuming primary responsibility for client management and communication
• Lead or manage a task lead to form and convene expert panels of researchers, educators, and policy makers who advise project work and development of policy and practice recommendations informed by systematic evidence review results
• Lead or manage a task lead to review, assess, and rate the rigor of studies that evaluate the effectiveness of educational practices, policies, or programs in keeping with WWC standards
• Lead or manage a task lead to apply state-of-the art statistical methods to distill actionable findings from systematic evidence reviews
• Lead or manage task lead in production and dissemination of various products to inform policymakers and educators about how best to implement policy and educator practice recommendations including through practice guide reports, webinars, and fact sheets
• Lead business development and proposal writing efforts
• Develop and monitor project budgets

Support organizational professional growth through collaboration with and mentorship of colleagues with diverse expertise:

• Develop new skills through ongoing project-embedded mentorship and professional development opportunities
• Support technical writing and work products of early career researchers

Qualifications

• PhD in social sciences or related policy fields with strong methodological training and 5 years related experience OR a similar master’s degree and 8 years research experience
• Coursework in statistical methods for causal inference or other methods commonly used within education research (e.g., qualitative evaluations, experimental and quasi-experimental design, multi-level modeling, meta-analyses, Bayesian analyses)
• Prior experience as task lead or above for a federal evidence review clearinghouse, such as the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Clearinghouse for Labor Evaluation and Research, HHS’s Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness, or the WWC
• Success leading projects funded by federal contracts typically with budgets of at least $1,000,000
• Experience leading successful proposals to federal agencies (e.g., the Department of Education), including writing technical proposal narratives and developing competitive budgets
• Experience leading teams to apply, assess, or summarize findings from rigorous quantitative, qualitative, and/or mixed methods designs
• What Works Clearinghouse certification in group design standards version 5.0
• Prior experience generating well-structured, clear, and concise verbal and written communications about research design and results to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Capacity to support multiple projects simultaneously and change focus as priorities shift through use of strong organizational skills
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams to problem solve and ensure high quality through attention to detail and consistent with client requirements
• Commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion both in research and in the workplace
• Asset orientation towards the capabilities of diverse learners of all ages

Qualifications (Preferred)

• Experience leading successful proposals or projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) contracts typically with budg