Principal Researcher, Program Evaluation (Grant-funded)

Dallas College • Dallas, TX

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Center for Student Parent Success (CSPS) coordinates and expands services across Dallas College’s seven campuses to help student parents balance academic, family, and work responsibilities. The Principal Researcher leads the design, implementation, and evaluation of CSPS’s research agenda, using mixed-methods approaches to assess programs and guide data-informed decision-making. Reporting to the Executive Director of CSPS and collaborating with the Student Outcomes Lab at The Research Institute at Dallas College, this role produces evidence to inform institutional strategy, resource allocation, and program improvements that advance student parent success.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in social science or education, with coursework in program evaluation, research design, qualitative and quantitative methodology, statistics, or a related discipline.
• At least three years of post-undergraduate/graduate experience conducting program evaluations in education or a related field, including survey design, data collection and analysis, and qualitative research methods.
• Expertise in program evaluation and qualitative and quantitative research methods and analysis.
• Demonstrated experience in academic and research-focused writing.
• Valid driver’s license.
• Official transcripts required.
• Subject to a criminal background check; some positions may require a fingerprint-based background check.
• Expertise in program evaluation and assessment.
• Expertise in qualitative research design, data collection, and analysis.
• Expertise in survey design, collection, and data analysis.
• Proficiency in descriptive and inferential quantitative analysis.
• Exceptional written communication and report-writing skills for research and general audiences.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in a social science discipline, such as Education, Sociology, Public Policy, Economics, or Psychology.
• Familiarity with data visualization tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and implementation of needs assessments and formative, summative, and outcome evaluations using established program evaluation frameworks, such as Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning systems.
• Design and implement quantitative and qualitative data collection strategies and instruments, including surveys, evaluation rubrics, and interview and focus group protocols, and develop sampling approaches.
• Apply quantitative methods to assess student outcomes using survey and college administrative data.
• Conduct foundational research, including literature reviews, data exploration, and consultation with subject-matter experts, to inform evaluation design.
• Collaborate with team members and stakeholders to evaluate student parents’ access to, utilization of, and satisfaction with CSPS programs and services, as well as related academic outcomes.
• Synthesize research findings and translate results into actionable recommendations that inform Center strategy, policy, and resource allocation decisions.
• Produce reports, memos, briefs, and presentations to communicate research findings to stakeholders and leadership.
• Complete required Dallas College professional development and human subjects research training each academic year (minimum of 19 hours; people leaders complete an additional 16 hours of leadership development).
• Perform other job duties as assigned.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal