Research Associate

About The Position

More in Common is looking to hire a Research Associate. This is a full-time role. The focus for this role will be supporting More in Common’s research on democracy, polarization, topical political events, and social cohesion.

Requirements

Demonstrate a commitment to understanding the forces driving us apart, finding common ground, and bringing people together to tackle shared challenges.
Possess a deep curiosity about how other people think, a strong sense of respect for people whose views may be very different from your own, and an interest in utilizing the social psychology and political science insights underpinning More in Common’s work.
Are passionate about elevating the voices of the ‘exhausted majority’
Have an ability and desire to work across the ideological spectrum
Hold a strong conviction that you personally can make a difference in making America a less divided nation, with the humility to understand how hard that’s going to be. Big ideas and low ego!
Are keenly interested in politics and public issues, but you are not deeply partisan. Instead, you enjoy the challenge of finding common ground among people with differing views and those who are disengaged.
Enjoy getting into the details of data analysis and data presentation, to generate insights from public opinion research and make those insights compelling and engaging for others.
An appetite for and understanding of public opinion research and insights into how public attitudes change
Can sift through both small and large quantitative and qualitative datasets to identify important trends and synthesize the findings.
Comfort with navigating complex data sets (e.g., in Excel and R) and creating polished data visuals (e.g., in R, Flourish, Canva, PowerPoint, etc.)
Experience designing surveys and programming surveys (e.g., via tools like Qualtrics, Google Forms)
Ability to conduct quantitative data analysis (e.g., in Excel, R, Python)
Experience with social media analysis or social listening
Experience conducting message testing research
Can craft compelling and fresh data visuals that resonate with partners
Can build stories and insights from quantitative and qualitative research, creating clear and compelling memos, presentation decks, and reports
Know how to use AI tools to power your research analyses but also understand AI’s limitations.
A broad range of interests and a record of impact in relevant areas such as democracy, elections, politics, social psychology, advocacy, campaigning, social history, polling, and/or academia
An exceptional ability to execute and achieve rigorous results in the face of strong headwinds
A predisposition for candor in moments when many might be scared to say what they think
Outstanding verbal and written communication skills
Have strong interpersonal skills and can represent More in Common well with its partners
Strong attention to detail in communications with stakeholders
Are passionate about helping inform, serve, and grow the nonprofit, nonpartisan democracy, and social cohesion fields
Experience with and a capacity to understand people from different backgrounds, to see the world from others’ perspectives and inspire trust among diverse audiences
Are strategic, rigorous, restless, energetic, and creative
Are able to think ahead and get big stuff done
Are committed to a process of ongoing learning and experience of a ‘test and learn’ approach
Act with humility, generosity, and integrity towards others
Are excited to work with heart as well as head
Feel comfortable and excited to dwell on the edge but not on the margins
Want to be part of an effort to turn despair into hope
An agile and entrepreneurial mindset
A drive to make a measurable difference to society and a track record to prove it
Curiosity and creativity
Demonstrable empathy and great listening skills
Strong collaboration and field-building skills
The capacity to embrace complexity and find a way through it, taking others with you along the way
Able to set priorities, meet goals, and evaluate both process and results
Resilience under pressure
A strong familiarity with a diverse range of communities in the US
Belief in the power of a good sense of humor
To reflect this, the minimum qualification required to be considered is to have or soon-to-have a 4-year university degree.

Responsibilities

Designing and programming quantitative and qualitative surveys
Designing and facilitating focus groups and interviews
Managing a qualitative online research panel of 300+ Americans
Conducting mixed-method analyses of survey and qualitative data, including longitudinal and cross-sectional analyses
Conducting literature reviews
Social media and social listening analysis
Visualizing data (e.g., in R, PowerPoint, Flourish, Canva, etc.)
Regularly writing up research findings, including in memos and reports
Crafting and conducting presentations of data insights for wider audiences
Developing new project ideas
Drafting concept notes and grant proposals to support new projects
Designing and facilitating webinars and workshops to help practitioners integrate research insights into their program design and delivery
Mentoring research interns