Senior Research Analyst

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The Senior Research Analyst (SRA) will be part of a growing team at the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR) at Harvard University. CEPR seeks to transform education through the power of research and evidence. CEPR and its partners believe all students will learn and thrive when education leaders make decisions using evidence, rather than hunches and untested assumptions. In pursuit of this end, CEPR both conducts cutting-edge quantitative research on critical topics for the field and develops new and faster models of education research that can better support education leaders. The SRA will be a critical part of the CEPR team, helping education leaders around the country to learn what’s working and what’s not in education. 

The Senior Research Analyst develops, manages, and contributes to research on important educational topics, such as college and career preparation and long-term success, literacy coaching, literacy tutoring, high quality curriculum and instructional materials, charter school effectiveness, and educational technology. The research agenda carried out by the SRA will provide a foundation for decisions that improve student achievement and generate a growing demand for data analysis that fundamentally alters the way decisions are made in education. The SRA’s responsibilities may include developing analytic plans, proposing projects, independently pursuing analytic objectives with minimal guidance, contributing to written products for non-technical audiences or leading partner-facing technical presentations, contributing to grant applications and grant reporting, training and mentoring junior staff, and contributing to reusable program code and utilities. 

Job-Specific Responsibilities:

SRAs hired under this posting may support projects with the Research Initiatives for College and Career Success team, working with K-12 districts, community and technical colleges, and state education agencies to strengthen students’ preparation for, transitions into, and long-term outcomes in college and career pathways; the States Leading States team, working with state education agencies to evaluate policies and disseminate those that are effective; or the Charter Hub team, evaluating long-term effects of charter schools. 

Duties & Responsibilities:

 Analysis:

• Lead the development of new analyses, including proposing research questions, identifying policies poised for evaluation, and determining appropriate analyses;
• Writing pre-analysis plans detailing planned analyses, key variables, and deliverables to coordinate workflows and enable alignment with open science principles;
• Gather and act on feedback and suggestions from faculty, principal investigators, and senior researchers; 
• Assembling, cleaning, and managing large longitudinal datasets; 
• Evaluating data quality, and identifying outliers and anomalies that require resolution prior to analysis; and 
• Performing literature reviews in support of CEPR projects. 

 Programming:

• Perform complex programming tasks; and
• Ensure code is appropriately quality controlled and documented.

Partner Relations and Communications:

• Supporting development of projects with external partners and stakeholders; 
• Participate in presenting key research findings to internal and external academic and non-academic audiences; and
• Draft reports and presentations for partners , including state education leaders, school boards, superintendents, principals, and grantors.

 Teamwork and Management:

• Develop draft workplans; 
• Research operations, including DUAs, IRBs, and project reporting; 
• Train, develop and supervise junior staff; and
• Maintain open and clear communication with PI / project director.

Basic Qualifications:

• Master’s degree preferably in public or education policy, economics, statistics, computer science, or a related field, prior to starting in the position; 
• At least 5 plus years of relevant professional work experience, including data management, cleaning, analysis, and report writing (relevant coursework may count towards this experience); and
• Strong facility with Stata.

Additional Qualifications and Skills:

• Experience working with data of varying quality and from varied source systems;
• Knowledgeable of statistical methods and their appropriate uses;
• Able to identify methodological challenges, and have the capacity to resolve them or raise the issues to the appropriate level;
• Able to synthesize and present findings to both technical and non-technical audiences;
• Able to describe methods to both technical and non-technical audiences, including trade-offs between methods;
• Proven ability to work under pressure, accurately assess problems, and develop solutions;
• Experience working with (or in) education or the public sector preferred;
• Demonstrated success managing completion of full research projects a plus;
• Familiarity with R a plus; 
• Familiarity with Python a plus; and
• Doctorate degree preferred.

• Appointment End Date: 1 year from Date of Hire 
• Standard Hours/Schedule: 35 hours per week
• Compensation Range/Rate (including Shift Differential if applicable):
• Visa Sponsorship Information: Harvard University is unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position
• Pre-Employment Screening: Identity, and Education
• Other Information:

  Candidates who move beyond an initial phone screen will be required to complete a case study, submit sample Stata code, and provide a writing sample. Candidates invited to a final round will be required to give a presentation on their prior work.

  Candidates should submit a cover letter and resume as a single PDF document. Any applicant wishing to be considered for this position should indicate that they meet all of the basic requirements in either the cover letter or resume. 

  This position is a term appointment for one year from the date of hire, with a strong possibility of continuation. 

Work Format Details

This position has been determined by school or unit leaders that some of the duties and responsibilities can be effectively performed at a non-Harvard location. The work schedule and location will be set by the department at its discretion and based upon operational needs. When not working at a Harvard or Harvard-designated location, employees in hybrid positions must work in a Harvard registered state in compliance with the University’s Policy on Employment Outside of Massachusetts. Additional details will be discussed during the interview process. Certain visa types and funding sources may limit work location. Individuals must meet work location sponsorship requirements prior to employment.

Salary Grade and Ranges

This position is salary grade level 057. Please visit  Harvard's Salary Ranges  to view the corresponding salary range and related information. 

Benefits

Harvard offers a comprehensive benefits package that is designed to support a healthy work-life balance and your physical, mental and financial wellbeing. Because here, you are what matters. Our benefits include, but are not limited to: 

• Generous paid time off including parental leave 
• Medical, dental, and vision health insurance coverage starting on day one 
• Retirement plans with university contributions 
• Wellbeing and mental health resources 
• Support for families and caregivers 
• Professional development opportunities including tuition assistance and reimbursement 
• Commuter benefits, discounts and campus perks 

Learn more about these and additional benefits on our Benefits & Wellbeing Page. 

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