Research Assistant Jobs

Are you ready to transform education? Can you apply your social science degree to help us link learning to life? The PAST Foundation is seeking qualified applicants to join the PAST Research team. The team’s primary focus is research within the arena of K–12 education, with a significant emphasis on career and technical education, workforce readiness, out-of-school, early childhood, and secondary education settings. The team also provides support for the Learning Unboxed podcast.

Responsibilities include:

• Liaison with program officers of foundations, corporations, and government funders
• Stay up to date on publicly available data sets
• Write content for grant proposals
• Collaborate with research team to prepare and write privately and publicly funded grants and grant-related reports; establish the timeline and required elements of proposals to ensure that all deadlines are met
• Collaborate with research team to prepare pre-award and post-award documents
• Collect, record, analyze and report on data
• Identify, research, contact, and schedule guests for educational podcasts (Learning Unboxed)
• Collaborate with research teams, industry stakeholders and government agencies
• Write reports, journal articles, and reviews based on results, as well as present findings at conferences
• Identify, research and evaluate potential sources of support through Grantmaker databases and directories, government agencies and professional fundraising publications, web research, and networking
• Plan and implement research projects
• Conduct field observations, survey/instrument construction, conduct interviews and focus groups
• Client reporting and present research results (in a variety of formats)

Job Requirements:

• Ability to create and maintain databases and consolidate data
• Strong computer skills - database management experience preferred
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Bachelor’s Degree (Coursework in Social Science Research Methodology; Specializations in anthropology and/or psychology strongly desired)
• Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills
• Experience with Adobe Design Suite strongly desired
• Ability to work independently

About the PAST Foundation:

PAST, a non-profit organization, is a leader in designing innovative educational opportunities across the nation and around the world, bringing problem-based learning to educators and experiential programs to students. During PAST’s 22 years, we have impacted hundreds of thousands of students and educators while engaging hundreds of businesses and industry leaders. Building a community of learners that helps students prepare to solve the world’s problems is our core outcome.

PAST was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for its Excellence in Innovation in the STEM 2026 vision report, being the only Ohio educational entity included in this publication. In 2021, PAST’s Innovation Lab was featured in Forbes Magazine as a promising example to “Re-imagine High School” and also recognized by the White House Summit on High School Design in 2015. Connect with us at www.pastfoundation.org and learn how to link learning to life.