Research & Evaluation Lead

National Council on Aging•Arlington, VA, Arlington, VA, US, VA

6h•Hybrid

About The Position

At NCOA, we offer the chance to make a difference. We're a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of older adults and building a just and caring society in which each of us, as we age, lives with dignity, purpose, and security. If you’re looking to innovate, grow, and make a meaningful impact, this is your opportunity to join a mission-driven team working to create the conditions for all to age well today and into the future. Every day, NCOA empowers older adults, strengthens communities, and advocates for lasting change to ensure everyone has access to the resources needed to age well. The National Council on Aging (NCOA) is seeking a passionate, collaborative, and innovative Lead, Research & Evaluation to join us during an exciting period of growth and impact. POSITION SUMMARY The Lead, Research & Evaluation supports the design, implementation, and management of applied research and evaluation initiatives that inform strategy, demonstrate impact, and improve program effectiveness. This role combines applied evaluation skills with strong project, partner, and research operations management capabilities. The incumbent manages day-to-day execution of research and evaluation projects, supports evaluation design and instrument development, contributes to mixed-methods analysis, and ensures high-quality deliverables across internal and external initiatives. The role also coordinates research partnerships, contracts, dissemination activities, and evaluation compliance processes, and helps maintain research operations systems and workflows. Positions at this level typically report to a director or senior director and require deep subject matter expertise, advanced knowledge and experience, as well as the ability to independently lead complex or high-impact work. Incumbents are required to exercise independent judgement within their scope of work and require minimal oversight. These roles often serve as recognized subject matter experts and may represent an area of specialization across the organization. Incumbents generally have five or more years of experience in their discipline and a graduate degree or the equivalent.

Requirements

Master’s degree in public policy, public health, social science, evaluation, or related field.
A minimum of 5 years of direct experience designing and implementing program or policy evaluations.
Demonstrated experience independently developing logic models and evaluation frameworks.
Demonstrated experience developing evaluation plans for programs or initiatives.
Experience translating program models into measurable outcomes and indicators.
Experience serving in a primary evaluation or research role on at least one multi-month project.
Experience with survey design and qualitative data collection.
Strong analytical and critical thinking skills with the ability to interpret complex data and provide actionable insights.
Strong project management skills across multi-partner initiatives.
Experience managing external vendors or research partners.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present data findings in a clear and concise manner to different audiences.
Working knowledge of human subjects research requirements and IRB processes.
Experience with mixed-methods evaluation approaches.
Working knowledge of basic quantitative analysis methods.
Experience with qualitative analysis and synthesis.
Proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint.
Familiarity with statistical software (R, SPSS, Stata, or similar).
Willingness and ability to participate in anticipated in-state and out-of-state travel, including overnight travel, as requested (up to 10-15%).

Nice To Haves

Experience with survey platforms and data collection and visualization tools (e.g., SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics, Power BI, Tableau).
Experience in nonprofit, public sector, or social impact settings.
Experience with federally funded or multi-site projects.
Familiarity with aging, health, or public benefits programs.
Experience using project management platforms such as Asana or similar workflow tools strongly preferred.
Experience drafting or contributing to IRB applications preferred (PI experience not required).
Experience supporting dissemination of research findings.

Responsibilities

Support design and implementation of program and policy evaluations using mixed-methods approaches.
Independently develop logic models, theories of change, and measurement frameworks for programs and initiatives.
Develop and contribute to evaluation plans, indicators, and data collection strategies.
Design and test survey instruments, interview guides, and data collection tools.
Conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses appropriate to project scope.
Synthesize findings into reports, slide decks, and briefs for internal and external audiences.
Perform quality assurance reviews of analytic outputs and reports.
Develop program and project evaluation plans, including evaluation questions, indicators, data sources, and analysis approaches.
Collaborate with internal teams and partners to align evaluation designs with program goals and implementation realities.
Draft and support Institutional Review Board (IRB) applications and related research ethics documentation.
Coordinate IRB amendments, renewals, and reporting requirements as needed.
Ensure evaluation activities follow appropriate human subjects protection and data privacy standards.
Manage day-to-day execution of research and evaluation projects from initiation through closeout.
Develop and maintain project work plans, timelines, and deliverable trackers.
Coordinate with external research partners and vendors.
Support development and finalization of contracts and scopes of work.
Lead regular partner check-ins and document decisions, risks, and next steps.
Coordinate internal review and approval workflows for research deliverables.
Maintain and manage research and evaluation project workflows using project management platforms (e.g., Asana).
Develop and maintain project task structures, timelines, reminders, and accountability tracking.
Support team-wide project management standards and workflow consistency.
Document and transfer workflow processes to support continuity across team members.
Support survey programming and testing in Qualtrics or similar platforms.
Coordinate data collection processes and monitor fielding progress.
Support data quality checks and documentation.
Maintain research workflow and tracking systems.
Work closely with Marketing & Communications staff to plan and support dissemination of research and evaluation findings.
Contribute ideas for dissemination products tailored to different audiences.
Translate technical findings into clear, audience-appropriate summaries and presentation materials.
Coordinate internal review and approval of dissemination products tied to research and evaluation outputs.
Work with program, policy, and partnerships teams to translate learning needs into evaluation questions.
Support proposal development with evaluation approaches and measurement plans.
Contribute to internal learning agendas and evaluation strategy discussions.
Other responsibilities as required.