Employment Opportunities

PSA seeks qualified candidates with skills in education evaluation, research, and policy. Individuals interested in pursuing employment should send a resume, with a cover letter, to:

Policy Studies Associates, Inc.
Suite 400
1718 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20009

OPENINGS

Research Associate or Senior Research Associate, and Research Analyst

Research Associate or Senior Research Associate

Summary

The employee in this position will advise, direct, and carry out research activities in the fields of education and youth development, drawing on knowledge of one or both of these fields and expertise in research methods.

Duties and Responsibilities

Contribute knowledge of education and youth development content and research methods to the design of research projects, the preparation of analysis plans, research operations, the interpretation of analysis findings, and the preparation of high-quality presentations and reports; identify benefits and drawbacks of differing research approaches
Manage research projects and/or parts of projects, including projects that include the analysis of student achievement data
Develop research budgets; monitor and track project spending against project budgets
Work as a member of multiple teams, sometimes with leadership responsibilities

Educational Requirements

A candidate should have a master’s degree or doctorate in education, public policy, sociology, psychology, or political science, preferably with advanced coursework in statistics, research methods, and data analysis.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Requirements

A candidate should be very familiar with policy and research issues in education and/or youth development, especially as these issues apply to disadvantaged children and youth. The candidate should demonstrate excellent communications skills, both orally and in writing. S/he should be able to work effectively with other research staff at all levels as a team member and/or leader to conduct research activities and solve problems. S/he should also have experience working with cross-sectional and longitudinal data, including survey results, administrative data, and test scores. S/he should have experience assembling data, designing and creating databases, working with data that come from different sources and in different formats, knowledge of statistics, and experience with major database management and analysis software such as SPSS, STATA, and Access. S/he should be able to manage his/her time to meet the demands of several complex projects simultaneously.

FSLSA Status: Exempt

To apply for this position, please submit a cover letter and resume to:

Mary Gerace
Human Resources Coordinator
Policy Studies Associates, Inc.
1718 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20009
mgerace@policystudies.com
www.policystudies.com

Research Analyst

Summary

Policy Studies Associates, a small firm in Washington, DC, that conducts research and evaluation in education and youth development, seeks a research analyst. This is a full-time, permanent position with excellent potential for advancement.

The employee in this position will support and contribute to studies in education and youth development. Depending on research requirements, these studies may collect and analyze data from sources such as surveys, administrative databases (including databases containing test data), interviews, and focus groups. The position will draw on the employee’s content knowledge and his/her familiarity with research methods, including methods required for longitudinal and/or cross-sectional analysis and for the manipulation of data sets in SPSS, STATA, Excel, and Access.

Duties and Responsibilities

Administering online and mail surveys
Coding, entering, and cleaning data
Creating, maintaining, and manipulating databases
Creating variables for use in analysis
Analyzing survey and administrative data, including data gathered through achievement tests
Conducting reliability analyses to build scales
Preparing tables and graphs based on analyses
Conducting onsite and telephone interviews with service providers, program administrators, and participants
Assisting in writing project reports
Conducting Internet searches

Educational Requirements:

A candidate should have a master’s degree with an excellent academic record, including courses in education, public policy, social science, mathematics/statistics, or computer science. Candidates with a bachelor’s degree only and expertise in one or more of these areas will also be considered.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Requirements:

A candidate should have academic training or work experience in several of the skill areas listed under Duties and Responsibilities. In addition, the candidate must have excellent communication skills, strong organizational and time management skills, the ability to work with others, and a career interest in being a member of a team engaged in research in education and youth development. The successful candidate for this position will work in the firm’s Washington, DC, office.

FSLSA Status: Exempt