Research Associate-Behavioral Health

Westat•Bethesda, MD

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Westat has an immediate opening for a Research Associate to join our team of leading evaluators and technical assistance and training experts to support our continued work on behavioral health and health policy. You will be assisting with projects that address the needs of individuals with mental health conditions and substance use disorders. In this highly collaborative and fast paced role, you will work closely with project leadership and multi-disciplinary project teams to help translate science into resources for diverse audiences. Audiences could include federal and state policy makers, clinical service providers, and individuals affected by mental health conditions and substance use disorders. Your role will involve contributions to technical reports and opportunities are available to collaborate on peer-reviewed journal articles based on your project work. In this role, you will have additional substantive opportunities to assist with research and provide technical assistance and training to communities and federal grantees on behavioral health topics such as behavioral health system transformation, healthcare financing, behavioral health program evaluations, mental health and substance use services, recovery and resilience, substance misuse prevention, overdose prevention, opioid and stimulant use disorders, and advancing access to effective behavioral health care. We value regular in-person collaboration and preference will be given to candidates who can work 2 days per week at our Bethesda, Maryland office or at one of our other Westat office locations.

Requirements

A master's degree in public policy, economics, or a social science discipline such as sociology, political science, psychology or in analytical methods such as applied statistics with 1-3 years of relevant experience
Experience working on mental health and substance use evaluations and/or technical assistance and training activities
Experience with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods evaluation approaches and using analytic software as appropriate
Demonstrated ability to translate technical information into written products that use plain language and data visualizations for various audiences
Experience using Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) to produce visually-appealing reports, tables, graphs, and presentation slides
US Citizenship is required by contract

Nice To Haves

Experience writing technical reports (such as literature reviews, study plans, methodology reports, summaries of research findings) or contributing to peer-reviewed journal articles
Experience with data collection, developing analysis plans, and overseeing analysis
Experience working on Federal government contracts
Experience working on contracts with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) or other HHS agency
Demonstrated ability to develop and deliver presentation content for various audiences
Demonstrated ability to work at a fast pace, working across several projects simultaneously
Excellent written, verbal, and organizational skills
Ability to take initiative and maintain attention to detail in a fast-paced environment

Responsibilities

Support all stages of evaluation from study design through data collection and management, analysis, and product development
Conduct literature searches, synthesize research findings, and contribute to writing on health policy and behavioral health topics
Translate research findings into easy-to-understand products for diverse audiences
Participate in developing data collection plans, instruments, and data collection materials
Oversee and conduct data collection efforts, such as administering surveys, interviews, site visits, observation protocols, and acquiring administrative data
Lead and assist with data analysis of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods evaluations
Lead presentations during federal client meetings, with federal grantees, and within Westat
Assist with business development with networks of internal and external staff on proposals and projects for a variety of federal agencies, states, and foundations