Research Specialist - Qualitative

Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corp • Round Rock, TX

1d • $55,000 - $65,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Research Specialist will perform research in support of various initiatives for Trellis Strategies. The individual will produce reports related to Trellis client needs, conduct various qualitative research projects, and support other researchers as members of project teams. The Research Specialist will implement survey instruments, conduct interviews, and focus groups, code transcripts, and draft reports for clients. The individual will use MS Excel and similar tools for queries of internal and public databases to generate reports and databases for Trellis management and clients. The individual will provide quality control including reconciling and proofreading reports. The Research Specialist must be able to contribute to projects, exercise sound time management skills, demonstrate attention to detail, and work with a moderate amount of independence. The individual will support communication efforts to promote Trellis Strategies to a variety of audiences including the development of research briefs and various other social media related outreach.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration or social sciences, or related area.
• One (1) year of working with student success research or two (2) years of research in another social science or policy area.
• Three (3) years of data reporting (i.e., written analysis; table and graph creation; and verbal presentations to management).
• Graduate training in business administration or the social sciences may substitute on a year for year basis, for the three (3) years of data and management reporting.
• Skilled in utilizing AI-enabled tools and technologies to improve efficiency, enhance work quality and outcomes, and support innovation and continuous process improvement.
• Strong communication and writing skills.
• Strong analytical and qualitative research skills.
• Ability to use qualitative analytical tools such as MAXQDA, Atlas.ti, etc.
• Strong MS Office skillset, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Data reporting (i.e., written analysis; table and graph creation; and verbal presentations to management).
• Knowledge and understanding of issues related to college student success and financial challenges.
• Good time management.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Knowledge of higher education public policy.
• Ability to program in a qualitative coding software.

Nice To Haves

• Graduate degree.
• Experience cleaning data, building tables in MS Excel, and coding qualitative data.
• Experience conducting interviews and writing research papers.
• Project management training or experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead standard qualitative research projects including administering survey instruments, focus groups, and interviews.
• Assist in other research projects including navigating publicly available databases for relevant information and conducting landscape assessments on specific topics.
• Independently draft reports related to best practices in postsecondary education and workforce development for external consumption.
• Develop and recommend appropriate research and data management techniques including identifying and resolving incongruities between research requirements and available data.
• In consultation with research staff, decide on the most efficient and effective technical means for achieving research objective including how to acquire, organize, interpret, and display data.
• Perform quality control checks on reports generated by the team.
• Contribute to transcription and analysis of focus groups, manages data, and codes relevant data.
• Build tables in MS Excel and performs data cleaning.
• Develop communication tools to present Trellis Strategies to a broad audience base including via social media.
• Contribute to project teams and small, informal research teams to carry out research objectives.
• Contribute to recruitment efforts for large-scale research projects, including participant outreach, client communication, and recruitment tracking to support study enrollment goals.
• Uses AI tools appropriately to support research tasks such as transcription, preliminary coding, and landscape scans, applying professional judgment to review and verify outputs, and adhering to data privacy, confidentiality, and IRB requirements when handling participant data.
• Participate in training and other learning opportunities to ensure compliance and expand knowledge of company, position, and process.
• Assist with how to acquire, organize, interpret, and display information.
• Work under general supervision with moderate latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment.
• Respond to internal and external customer requests for ad hoc reports.
• Perform all other duties and responsibilities as assigned.
• Support other functions and responsibilities of the department.
• Interact with all levels of management as necessary.
• Contribute to the development of strategic initiatives.

Benefits

• Base salary range: $55,000-$65,000 annually, depending on qualifications and experience.
• Eligible for a discretionary annual incentive, subject to Board approval.
• 12 paid holidays.
• Comprehensive health, dental, vision, and retirement benefits.

What This Job Offers

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