job: quantitative school/community researcher, New York, with salary info

[Discussion list for COMM-ORG]

From: "JOHN M. BEAM" <beam at fordham.edu>


We have an opening for a serious quant person who would like to connect 
her or his skills to education justice and youth development work. The 
position in New York City at the National Center for Schools and 
Communities at Fordham University. In keeping with Randy's rule about 
attachments, I am pasting in the job description, apologies for any 
losses in formatting. In keeping with my own rule, this description 
includes salary information. Please circulate to specific contacts whom 
you think are appropriate. Re-posting to other large lists generally 
loses important information and ends up wasting folks' time. Thanks.


RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

The National Center for Schools and Communities (NCSC) at Fordham 
University supports parent- and community-led efforts to provide high 
quality public schools for all children regardless of color, regardless 
of income. Through evaluation services for out of school time (OST) 
projects serving thousands of public school students, we further support 
child- and youth-development services and policy that complement the 
school day and address child- and youth-development needs that public 
schools are increasingly unable to meet.

NCSC is a joint project of the Graduate Schools of Education and Social 
Service. Current evaluation work includes:
· Annual review of after-school program implementation and child level 
data in 140 schools serving 12,500 students operated by a major youth 
development organization
· Validation study of after-school program evaluation measures
· Implementation and outcome evaluation of the 21st Century Community 
Learning Center after-school program serving 400 students in four schools
· Implementation and outcome evaluation of a multi-site early childhood 
learning program serving 250 children
· Implementation and early outcome evaluation of a tech ed/service 
learning project in which students in 50 NYC public schools operate 
their schools’ computer help desks
· Pilot study for Peace Games programming evaluation in four elementary 
and middle schools

NCSC is also involved in a number of cutting edge public policy projects 
including helping map the New York City school-to-prison pipeline; 
exploring alternatives to mayoral control of the schools; mentoring a 
participatory action research project investigating how students use 
technology to organize; and support for campaigns around middle school 
reform, equity for immigrant students, and resistance to heavy handed 
policing of our public schools.

The Research Associate works closely with our Senior Researcher who 
oversees our school-based child- and youth-development evaluation work. 
This position trains and coordinates data entry by research assistants 
and work study students and oversees maintenance of project datasets. 
The primary responsibility of the Research Associate for at least the 
first year will be to provide technical and field support to the Senior 
Researcher for a major validation project.

The position involves:
· Screening and mining large longitudinal data sets
· Collecting new data and monitoring quality and timeliness of data entry
· Managing data, including creating and administering data entry, 
tracking, and cleaning systems
· Performing statistical and data analyses for timely completion of 
interim and annual reports, briefings, and presentations to clients and 
funders
· Interviewing program staff and observing activities using evaluation 
protocols during site visits; summarizing site visit observations and 
descriptions that provide input for the narrative in the annual reports
· Conducting or assisting with focus groups for students, parents, 
teachers, principals, and other stakeholders; preparing written 
summaries of the focus groups; and participating in qualitative analysis 
of this and other documentation of program activities
· Writing reports on findings from data analyses
· Working with the Senior Researcher on other projects as needed
· Working with the Executive Director to support other NCSC activities 
as needed

Candidates will have the following qualifications and skills:
· A commitment to social change and, specifically, to public school 
systems that provide high quality education for all children regardless 
of race, language, or family income
· Master’s degree (or higher) in educational policy or policy analysis; 
social work with a concentration in research; social, educational, or 
school psychology; sociology, political science, or other relevant 
social science
· Familiarity with public education and youth development policy, 
trends, and topics a strong plus
· At least two years relevant quantitative research experience; program 
evaluation experience a strong plus; after-school or early childhood 
program experience a plus
· Strong analytical skills and advanced knowledge of statistics that 
includes multivariate statistical methods (e.g. multiple regression, 
confirmatory factor analysis, SEM, and path analysis); knowledge of and 
experience with SPSS, AMOS, and LISREL
· Experience with measurement tool development and validation a strong 
plus; experience with HLM a plus; knowledge of Atlas ti a plus
· Demonstrated ability to interpret complex data
· Excellent writing and proofreading skills; facility in Windows-based 
programs and networked office systems
· Organizational, project management, and creative problem-solving skills
· A strong work ethic
· An outcome-focused work style, initiative, flexibility, capacity to 
manage multiple projects; strong commitment to meeting deadlines; good 
social and client management skills
· Ability to function well both in a team and in situations requiring a 
high level of autonomy
· Multiple, current, checkable professional references including past 
employers

Salary range: $45-50,000 plus outstanding benefits. This position and 
the Center are grant-funded. This position is not a faculty line. This 
position is open immediately pending posting by Fordham HR.

Cover letter and resume should emphasize statistical, quantitative, and 
evaluation skill sets and experience. In addition, please send two brief 
writing samples of three to five pages (absolute maximum) plus title 
page each, excerpts acceptable. If possible, one sample should include 
an accessible discussion of a quantitative approach to a policy, 
research, or evaluation topic.

Please send material to: Research Associate Position, National Center 
for Schools and Communities, Fordham University, 33 West 60th Street, 
2nd Floor, New York, NY 10023. No calls, faxes, emails, or attachments 
please.

John M. Beam, Executive Director
National Center for Schools and Communities
Fordham University
33 West 60th Street Second Floor
New York, NY 10023
212-636-6617
www.NCSCatFordham.org