Research Associate Or Junior Research Associate

Strength in Numbers Consulting Group seeks a Junior Research Associate or Research Associate to design and implement evaluation projects, conduct quantitative research and evaluation tasks, especially data cleaning and analysis in the areas of public health, social justice activism, progressive philanthropy, LGBTQ rights and allied causes.Training in R will be provided; demonstrated aptitude for statistics and statistical programming languages is a must.

Strength in Numbers is an LGBTQ-led, community-based research, evaluation and philanthropic strategy organization. We pride ourselves on providing excellent mentorship, quality of life and stable and predictable working hours for all staff at all levels. Our practice includes collaborations with a wide variety of marginalized groups, particularly those with intersecting experiences of oppression (e.g. low income youth of color, young children and ethnic minorities in the developing world, transgender women engaged in sex work). We are a diverse, collegial community.

·We serve organizations and programs designed to benefit LGBTQ+ people, people of color and other groups who experience marginalization and oppression

·We have a shared value for producing on-time and excellent work, while also recognizing people as people. In practice, what that means is that we have predictable, reasonable working hours, excellent benefits and strive to always ensure that our workplace is equitable, just and worker-focused.

·We value existing expertise and want to help grow the knowledge and skills evaluators bring in new and unexpected directions.

Our philosophy centers consultation with the groups affected by the social issues and social programs we research and evaluate. Community members have substantive input into our approach to projects, including helping to build research questions, selecting methods, and interpreting data. Our quantitative work is rigorous, and we are meticulous in assuring that findings are action-oriented and clearly expressed.

We seek consultants who thrive working independently and bring confidence and maturity to their work. Position is in downtown Brooklyn, and staff come into the office Monday and Thursday, working 9.30-5.30. It is not anticipated that this schedule will change and this position is not appropriate for a candidate who wants an all-remote position. Position is supervised by Somjen Frazer, president of the company. There is a 90 day probationary period; however, benefits (including health insurance) begin on the first day of employment.

Opportunity Statement

People of color, researchers with nontraditional backgrounds, immigrants, people with disabilities, people with diverse gender identities and expressions, people of all ages and others from marginalized groups are strongly encouraged to apply. We are very serious about hiring people who come from the communities we serve.

Quantitative Data Cleaning, Analysis and Checking (70%)

·Create and maintain durable programs (reproduceable code) in R to analyze datasets used in long-term projects. Update programs to reflect changes in data structure.

·Analyze quantitative data from datasets from a variety of sources, including secondary data as well as survey data collected by the organization itself.

·Create user-friendly data representations in graphical and written form (e.g. graphs, maps, with explanatory text).

·Oversee and conduct rigorous data checking of the work of other quantitative analysts.

·Accurately and clearly document quantitative methodology for reports and for internal use.

Administration and Internal Consultation (15%)

·Attend and participate enthusiastically in staff meetings.

·Schedule meetings and provide administrative support for relevant projects.

·Take excellent, action-oriented notes at meetings when required (this duty rotates).

Project Management and Staff Support (15%)

·Independently manage discrete sections of tasks and conduct small amounts of administrative support to researchers.

·Be available and responsive to other staff.

Secondary Duties

·Interpret quantitative findings and create high-impact, relevant recommendations for audiences such as program staff, policymakers, philanthropists and activists.

·Write reports, including creating user-friendly graphs and data visualization alone and in consultation with graphic designers.

·Consult with a wide variety of stakeholders, including those with little formal education, about the direction of research.

·Prepare and present evaluation results in a manner that increases the likelihood that they will be used and accepted by a diverse group of stakeholders.

·Work with stakeholders to present analyses, find common themes, and identify relevant and actionable findings from evaluations.

Experience

1.This particular position can be filled by a research associate or junior research associate, meaning that we will consider a range of levels of experience. The preference will be for those with 1 or more years of full-time, applied (non-university) research or evaluation experience. Academic (in-class) projects do not substitute for applied experience.

2.At least one year of experience in a non-research position related to activism or social services with a community we work with (for example, an LGBTQ+ social service organization, a needle exchange, a program for low income youth of color). Can be a volunteer position and need not be fulltime.

3.Master’s degree preferred, in a social science with coursework and/or demonstrated ability and experience in public health, sociology, economics, implementation science, statistics or a related social science degree We often consider candidates with fewer years of formal education where applied work is evidence of commitment and skill. This position is unlikely to be appropriate for someone with a PhD and we rarely consider people who are currently enrolled in graduate school.

Skills

1.Demonstrated ability to create realistic, workable project plans and meet deadlines in the context of multiple projects. Top-notch project manager, with demonstrated ability to make excellent decisions based upon limited information, record and act upon (or delegate) tasks after decisions are made and hold several complex unrelated projects to aggressive timelines.

2.Demonstrated ability to extract, clean, manage and analyze data using Stata, R or other programming languages, including data that are poorly structured and include significant errors.

3.Demonstrated ability to find mistakes in one’s own and others’ work, including to ascertain and correct flaws in the logic of data cleaning or analysis.

4.Clear, concise and organized writer, capable of producing on-time and excellent reports.

5.Excellent listening skills, including interviewing or coaching people who are not comfortable with quantitative information to ascertain what they need as stakeholders in quantitative work.

6.Ability to work with people who have experienced oppression and trauma in respectful and effective ways and high level of comfort, competence and knowledge of LGBTQ+ communities and communities of color (e.g ease in using nontraditional pronouns, understanding of what questions are appropriate to ask of community members with backgrounds different from yours in order to build rapport).

7.Ability to project expertise and gravitas to a wide variety of audiences. Collegial and constructive in approach, especially when working with marginalized people and those trying to serve them.

8.Optimistic and even-tempered, including during periods of intense work.

Preferred Skills and Experience

1.Knowledge of Qualtrics or similar survey data collection software.

2.Knowledge of qualitative and multi-method research design.

3.Experience with SalesForce and similar online databases.

4.Additional quantitative research skills not listed here.

5.Spanish language fluency

How to Apply

Please submit the following to sfrazer [at] sincg.com.

(1) An annotated code snippet explaining what the code accomplishes and demonstrating your highest-level abilities to program in Stata, R, SPSS, SAS or similar. R is preferred.

(2) A data visualization and writing sample of a program evaluation, describing a statistical methodology, or similar for a lay audience (if written specifically for this application, this need not be more than 250-500 words; if using an existing sample, please send the original sample)

(4) A CV or resume

(5) A cover letter of no more than 3 pages addressing the following:

A. Your background, work experience and how you meet the essential requirements of the job

B. A description of how you demonstrate the attributes listed under other essential skills and, space permitting, other useful skills, experiences or approaches you would bring to Strength in Numbers

C. Why you want to work at Strength in Numbers Consulting Group

D. Names of 2 recommenders (please indicate if we should not call them without clearance, for example, if they are current employers)

E. Salary requirements and explanation of preferences for remote or in-person work.

There will be two phases of the application process, a short phone interview and a longer in-person interview. Candidates who apply who do not currently live in NYC will be responsible for their own travel arrangements unless they are experiencing financial hardship.

Emails with questions prior to application are welcome if candidates have thoroughly read the job description and attach a CV. The position will start in June 2023.

Salary

Salary bands start at $60,000 for Junior Research Associates and $70,000 for Research Associates.

Benefits

·Employer-subsidized health, dental, and vision benefits effective immediately

·10 paid holidays per calendar year

·20 Vacation days

·10 Sick days

·3% match for retirement plan effective immediately