DCHS - Research and Evaluation Assistant Internship - Multiple Positions (two)

Multnomah County • Portland, OR

24d • Hybrid

About The Position

Research and Evaluation Assistant Internship - Multiple Positions (two)
College to County Intern 2026 - Department of County Human Services (DCHS)
Aging, Disabilities, and Veterans Services Division; Administration Team
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Pay Rate: $24 per hour
Job Type: Temporary College Intern
Duration: Summer 2026 - Starting in June - 12 weeks
Hours: 30 - 40 hours a week
Telework: Work will be primarily telework, although working in the office more often is possible.
Building Physical Location: 5 Oak Building (209 SW 4th Ave, Portland OR, 97204)
Does This Position Require Driving a County Vehicle? If so, please explain why and frequency: No, driving is not required. TriMet Passes are available if transportation to County facilities is required. Eligibility requirements and more details found on our College to County website.
Department, Division, and Program Summary: The Department of County Human Services (DCHS) long-range goals remain anchored by the DCHS North Star which states “in Multnomah County, every person at every stage in life has equitable opportunities to thrive.” Aging, Disability and Veterans Services Division (ADVSD) is the federally designated Area Agency on Aging and represents the diverse needs of more than 181,000 older adults, people with disabilities, and veterans. ADVSD maintains a coordinated service system that supports individuals to achieve independence, health, safety, and quality of life. ADVSD services include 24-hour community resource information; social and nutrition services; eligibility for Medicaid health and long-term services and supports; access to Veterans benefits; protective and guardianship services; and adult care home licensing. The Administration Team provides division-wide leadership, performance management, program evaluation, quality improvement, data analysis, budget development, administrative support, and workforce equity strategies to ensure fiscal responsibility, compliance, and participant focused outcomes. Program evaluation efforts seek to center participant and community input to produce insights that enhance equity in service delivery and outcomes.

Requirements

• Strong writing, organization, and oral communication skills
• Experience establishing rapport with people in-person and over the phone, listening to and making people feel heard, and recording information accurately while multitasking
• Experience, or interest in qualitative and quantitative data collection (surveys, interviews, focus groups, etc.) and analysis (statistical analysis, qualitative coding and theming, etc.)
• Experience, or interest in research, evaluation, quality improvement, data, and how to use them to improve equity in service delivery, community responsiveness, and program outcomes
• Demonstrated ability, or a strong desire to learn, to apply an equity or racial justice lens to your work to help foster a culture of respect, inclusiveness, and appreciation of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and values
• Familiarity with PC environment, MS (Word, Excel), and Google (Forms, Docs, Sheets)
• Respect for and ability to work with diverse individuals
• Ability to self-manage and perform directed tasks with independence
• Must pass a criminal background check (This step happens after an offer is made)

Nice To Haves

• Experience, or interest in Human Centered Design, Culturally Responsive Evaluation, Community Based Participatory Action Research, Decolonizing Research Methods
• Understanding of, or interest in learning about how system thinking, systemic racism and other forms of oppression, and white supremacy impact research, evaluation, and human services work
• Experience, or interest in creating charts, graphics, and other figures for synthesizing and communicating information to diverse audiences through reports and presentations

Responsibilities

• Assist with interviews with ADVSD Community Services contracted partners. Example tasks include assisting with designing interview and survey instruments, reviewing data, summarizing results, and communicating project findings. It is expected that assisting with this project will constitute approximately 30% of the internship.
• Assist in researching and writing reports about population demographic characteristics for Multnomah County and ADVSD’s five service districts. It is expected that assisting with this project will constitute approximately 20% of the internship.
• Assist with the Public Guardian Care Provider survey project. Example tasks include reviewing past survey data, updating the survey design, recruiting participants, conducting the survey over-the-phone, and analyzing the results. It is expected that assisting with this project will constitute approximately 15% of the internship.
• Assist with the analysis and reporting of survey results from the Participant Experience Project for up to three programs: Veterans Services, Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance, and Oregon Medicare Services Connect. Tasks will center on learning and applying qualitative and quantitative analysis techniques. It is expected that assisting with this project will constitute approximately 15% of the internship.
• Assist with data collection for the annual Veteran Directed Care survey. Example tasks include interviewing service recipients over-the-phone and entering their responses into a survey form. It is expected that assisting with this project will constitute approximately 10% of the internship.
• Depending on skills, interest, and experience, this position will assist with other ongoing and emergent research and evaluation work. It is anticipated that this emergent work will constitute approximately 10% of the internship. These tasks may include: Research and documentation support to management and staff by gathering and synthesizing information from various sources; distributing status updates and reports; conducting briefing sessions and giving presentations Data management, maintenance, integrity, and validity by following data management processes for the collection and storage of original data, updating databases, developing forms and procedures, and validating data Designing and testing of research and evaluation questions, performance measures, and data collection instruments (surveys, interview protocols, focus group facilitation guides, etc.) Conducting interviews with clients, community members, and staff in person, virtually, or over the phone; facilitating focus groups in person or virtually Performing statistical data analysis (sampling, descriptive statistics, trend analysis, tests of significance, etc.) and qualitative analysis (content analysis, developing and applying codes and themes, etc.) Developing and substantiating program Logic Models. Contribute to measure development for program model activities and outcomes.
• Promote a culture of respect, inclusiveness, and appreciation of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and values (Link to Equity and Empowerment Lens)
• Be responsible for ethical practices at all times - including preserving participant confidentiality and data per program, agency, and HIPAA/PII rules
• Practice effective self-management of workload - including making the best use of available time and resources to effectively manage tasks and meet productivity expectations when performing job duties independently and in teams

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: No Education Listed