Director of Research

Georgetown University•Lexington, MA

2d•$80,429 - $157,239•Remote

About The Position

The Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University is dedicated to improving how people experience government by strengthening the design and delivery of public services. As a nonprofit, nonpartisan center, we catalyze cross-sector collaboration to advance people-first, digitally-enabled approaches through applied research, peer learning, and hands-on support—helping government deliver better outcomes for communities. The Beeck Center is seeking a Director of Research to lead, scale, and mature the Center’s expanding research offering. The Director will refine the strategic direction, operational systems, and methodologies that define how the Beeck Center conducts and disseminates high-quality, practical, and ethical applied research driven by the real-world challenges governments face today. The research offering focuses on critical topics related to digital transformation of government service delivery, including human-centered design, product management, data governance, artificial intelligence, public benefits, and institutional capacity building. The Beeck Center’s research focuses on sensemaking that informs action, and the Networks team often identifies research topics using our flywheel working model. This is a senior leadership role that combines strategic research design, systems thinking, and program execution, with a heavy emphasis on cross-functional collaboration, ethical research frameworks, and impact assessment. The Director will be responsible for translating field-level practitioner insights into scalable research initiatives, establishing robust quality control standards, including participant protections and data management standards, and defining and delivering on the distinctive applied research approaches that position the Beeck Center as a trusted authority in the public interest technology ecosystem.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree and 8 or more years of relevant professional experience OR equivalent experience
Proven track record designing and directing applied research initiatives within policy, public administration, data science, civic technology, or related social impact fields.
Deep knowledge of research design principles, qualitative/quantitative methodologies, ethical and equitable research practices, human-subject protection, and Institutional Review Board (IRB) regulations.
Proven ability to build operational infrastructure from the ground up, manage multi-stakeholder portfolios, coordinate across matrixed functions, and navigate organizational ambiguity.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to translate technical or academic concepts into clear, actionable prose tailored for policymakers, public sector executives, and general audiences.
Experience supervising professional staff and contractors, creating effective environments for collaboration and review, and providing dedicated mentorship to students.
Strong commitment to centering equity, serving the public interest, and building public trust in government through rigorous, evidence-driven insights.
Proficiency utilizing collaborative project management software, asynchronous communication systems, and modern digital publishing or analytics platforms (e.g., Asana, Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace).

Nice To Haves

Graduate degree in public policy, public administration, human-centered design, or a related technology and society discipline.
Experience working with or within federal, state, or local government agencies, or deep familiarity with service delivery, technology modernization, and procurement in public-sector contexts.
Extensive public speaking, publishing, advocacy, and/or academic citation track record within the public interest technology ecosystem.
Experience applying accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) and universal design principles to digital publications and interactive data assets.
Experience supervising and developing a team

Responsibilities

Lead, scale, and mature the Center’s expanding research offering.
Refine the strategic direction, operational systems, and methodologies for conducting and disseminating applied research.
Translate field-level practitioner insights into scalable research initiatives.
Establish robust quality control standards, including participant protections and data management standards.
Define and deliver on distinctive applied research approaches.
Collaborate extensively with other members of the Leadership Team, Fellows, and staff across the organization.
Directly manage a portfolio team of research staff, contractors, and Student Analysts.
Serve as a primary spokesperson for the Center's research portfolio.
Represent the Beeck Center and Georgetown University publicly, including at conferences, with philanthropic funders, and in media or academic engagements.