Sr. Research Associate I

University of Denver•Quinte West, ON

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Throughout its 75-year history, the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) has administered countless externally funded projects targeting children and families. The Butler Institute for Families in GSSW aims to build the capacity and effectiveness of family-serving systems. Butler works collaboratively with researchers, practitioners, public and private service system experts, and community members to: engage in program evaluation and research; examine outcomes; and provide technical assistance and training to program administrators, direct service providers, and community leaders. Butler is committed to social justice and building anti-racist systems, and conducts all work using a racial equity lens. Butler focuses on strengthening service delivery in four primary content areas: child welfare, tribal initiatives, early childhood systems; and behavioral health. These content areas operate within a Research-to-Practice framework that promotes the use, adoption, adaptation, replication, and/or scaling of research and/or evaluation knowledge and the integration of this knowledge in practice. In addition to the benefits offered by the University of Denver (see here for more details: https://www.du.edu/jobs/), Butler offers the opportunity to work with a creative, passionate and talented group of people in a learning organization who are committed to using research to support practice improvements, building anti-racist service systems, and supporting tribal sovereignty. We also offer professional development and job growth opportunities, flexible schedules and the opportunity to telework remotely for part of the week as appropriate for the position. Butler stands in solidarity against the systemic oppression of persons of color and American Indian/Alaska Native tribes, communities, and individuals. Butler intentionally partners with family and child serving agencies to create healing, positive systemic change, and daily inclusive actions that reflect racial equity. Position Summary The Senior Research Associate is responsible for research and program evaluation activities including evaluation design, project management, data collection and management, statistical analysis and interpretation, qualitative analysis and interpretation, as well as report preparation and dissemination for projects within the Butler Institute. Responsibilities also include supporting and mentoring internal project teams, supervising staff, collaborating with community partners and project stakeholders, and collaborating on grant proposals and articles. This position will primarily support Butler’s behavioral health projects. This position will use participatory and collaborative strategies to engage community partners, providers and other stakeholders in the co-creation of research and evaluation projects using Inclusivity lens. This includes outcome and process evaluations of behavioral health treatment programs, and development and implementation of county-level evaluation plans using a variety of databases. Further, this position will be expected to support and mentor staff in the development of cross project evaluation skills with a particular focus on data management, quantitative data analysis and data visualization strategies.

Requirements

Master’s Degree in public health, social work, behavioral science, research methods and statistics or a related field
5 or more years of quantitative research and analytics experience including data management and data visualization
5 or more years of experience developing and implementing evaluation projects including community based participatory research
Experience working with a variety of communities
Experience in quantitative analysis
Advanced skills in statistics and program evaluation methods
Proficiency in SPSS, R, Python, or related software
Able to independently explore, validate, and merge information from multiple data sources.
Proficiency in data visualization and dashboard development (e.g. Tableau)
Experience in or knowledge of developing and coordinating data sharing processes between organizations and systems
Excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to translate evaluation findings into clear language for a variety of professional and lay audiences.
Ability to work with members of various cultures and communities with respect and humility.
Ability use an anti-racist lens in the design and development of evaluation research projects.
Ability to utilize flexible evaluation approaches to meet changing project needs.
Ability to use independent discretion and judgement beyond daily routine decisions including comparing and evaluating possible courses of conduct or decision making on matters of significance.
Strong organization and time management skills including ability to prioritize competing deadlines and timelines.
Ability to tactfully hold project members and leadership colleagues accountable to deadlines.

Nice To Haves

PhD in public health, social work, behavioral science, research methods and statistics or related field
Experience working with substance abuse and mental health treatment providers, recovery community and/or harm reduction organizations
In-depth understanding of evaluation methods, data analysis and reporting including equitable data practices
Experience working within state or federal behavioral health administration systems
Experience working with grant funding in government, non-profit, or university settings
Bi-lingual English and Spanish

Responsibilities

Co-create evaluation/research plans with internal and external stakeholders.
Develop culturally responsive and anti-racist data collection protocols, tools, and methodologies.
Apply quantitative research methods and inferential statistics to measure and analyze behavioral health indicators and outcomes.
Build exploratory, explanatory, and predictive statistical models that inform strategic and operational planning for community partners.
Collaborate with stakeholders to leverage opportunities for growth, development, automation, and standardization by developing data dashboards, models, and visualizations.
Conduct interviews and focus groups.
Utilize content expertise to make novel and/or impactful interpretations and conclusions.
Collaborate with project staff and community stakeholders to interpret findings and develop recommendations.
Translate findings to practice recommendations using clear language accessible to inclusive audiences.
Visually convey data-based findings to internal and external audiences.
Provide capacity-building support and mentorship in data management, statistical analyses, and data visualization techniques for Butler staff and community partners.
Provide project management for research or evaluation projects including establishing project timelines and ensuring timelines are met.
Ensure good communication among team members and stakeholders.
Provide support and mentoring for research associates, assistants, interns and work-study students.
Maintain positive working relationships with clients, programs, and other key project stakeholders.
Collaborate and supervise data analysis activities among project staff.
Identify implementation barriers and collaborate with project staff and other stakeholders to develop strategies and solutions.
Generate, disseminate and promote uptake of content-specific knowledge.
Ensure culturally based approach to all evaluation activities that respects the treatment philosophies of community partners and harm reduction approaches.
Support appropriate tracking and monitoring of all evaluation activities.
Lead the development of dissemination materials.
Develop and present results to key stakeholders, funders, and other identified audiences.
Generate and implement communication plan to disseminate results.
Present findings at conferences or other dissemination events.
Grant-writing and business development.
Participate in GSSW and Butler organizational meetings including EDI improvements.
Other duties as assigned.
Supervise research assistants/associates and student interns.