Sr. Research Fellow I/II

Research Fellows are responsible for planning and executing major social science research projects or evaluations in consultation with other colleagues and/or other organizations. She or he will design research approaches; lead others to perform analysis; write and present reports; and draw policy inferences. They will be responsible for developing new opportunities and writing proposals, then serving as a principal investigator or project director for those projects.

The Research Fellow position is designed to be a flexible position and is ideally suited for faculty who wish to work at Child Trends over the summer or during their sabbatical.

Typical Duties and Responsibilities:

• Serves as principal investigator or project director for multiple research or evaluation studies.
• Helps to build a line of work within the organization that supports a team of researchers that includes leading teams to write proposals, conceptualize work, and negotiate and draft budgets.
• Supervises the data collection, tabulation, and analysis by research scientists, analysts and assistants.
• Conducts site visits, interviews with public officials, and supervises field research.
• Leads the interpretation of data from policy and program perspectives.
• Provides quality control on all products and project management within the team.
• Serves as a supervisor and mentor for research staff.
• Writes papers, briefs, and other publications.
• Presents results to clients and stakeholders and presents testimony to policymakers.
• Disseminates/responds to public information requests from reporters, Congress, and researchers.

Experience and Education:

• A PhD in relevant field; a Master’s degree or other relevant degree may be considered with substantial relevant experience;
• Demonstrated thought leadership within their fields; individual must have made a significant contribution through her or his research to the field, policy, or program practices;
• Extensive experience writing and winning proposals, ideally from both government and foundation funders;
• Extensive experience with and understanding of federal government contracting;
• Expertise in designing evaluations and research studies, including potentially leading randomized controlled trials and overseeing multivariate quantitative analyses and mixed methods approaches;
• Experience conducting causal analysis for non-experimental designs (e.g., propensity score matching, regression discontinuity, instrumental variable design);
• Proven skills at management of a research team (consistent on-time, within budget work);
• Demonstrated communications achievements (e.g., notable research papers, effective white papers).

Locations: Flexible Remote Work; Child Trends’ offices are based in Rockville, MD; Chapel Hill, NC; Minneapolis, MN. Many Child Trends staff work remotely, and while we are set up to hire remote staff in many states, we are not yet operating everywhere in the US and do not have any overseas operations. We are currently approved to hire full-time staff in AK, AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OK, OR, PA, TN, TX, VA, WI, and WV. The organization will require time to assess additional set up requirements (e.g., employment and tax law) for locations outside of areas where we are currently approved to hire. Individuals who would like to work from areas outside of the currently approved states, if offered the position, should indicate this preference as early as possible in the application process.

Benefits:
For all full-time and part-time employees who work a minimum of 20 hours per week, we offer generous vacation + sick leave + paid holidays; optional individual/domestic partner/family medical, dental and vision benefits effective first day of employment; optional pet benefits; pre-tax reimbursement funds (FSA, HSA, Commuter); life insurance; short/long term disability, basic life and AD&D coverage paid for by Child Trends; paid family leave; paid bereavement leave; professional development and tuition reimbursement allowance; and 403(b) retirement plan with immediate vesting and Child Trends contributions after 1 year of employment. To learn more, go to https://www.childtrends.org/about-us/careers and click " Benefits."

Background Investigation:

Jobs that involve interactions with children and positions that rely on high levels of trust to perform duties are subject to a background check at the time of hire. Employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background investigation including criminal history. We will always conduct interviews of qualified individuals prior to requesting a criminal background check and never inquire into an applicant's criminal history until interviews have been conducted and offer decisions are being made. Current employees may also be subject to future background checks depending on the nature of their duties. A criminal history will not automatically disqualify a candidate or current employee from employment, however any convictions related to the responsibilities and requirements of the position may do so.

How to Apply:

Please follow the “apply” link to submit your application. When asked by the system to upload resume, please upload one document that includes your resume, cover letter, writing sample, official or unofficial transcripts , and contact information for three professional references. Materials must be combined into one document in order to be uploaded. If you have any difficulties with this process please email the requested materials to recruitment(at)childtrends.org and make sure to reference the position in the subject line. No phone calls please!

Child Trends is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center headquartered in Rockville, MD with more than 200 staff in over 28 states that provides valuable information and insights on the well-being of children, youth, and their families. For more than 40 years, policymakers, funders, educators, and service providers in the U.S. have relied on our data and analyses to make better decisions and policies on programs serving children, families, and youth. www.childtrends.org  

Child Trends is committed to hiring, retaining, and promoting staff who bring a rich diversity of experience to support our mission of improving the lives and prospects of children and youth, especially those made most vulnerable by the effects of historical and ongoing systemic discrimination. Together, we envision a world in which a child’s race, ethnicity, family income, gender, sexual orientation, disability status or any other social identity does not determine how that child will fare in life. Therefore, we approach every aspect of our work with these ideals in mind and encourage professionals who share in our commitment to apply.   

Child Trends is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. Protected veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.