Director of Research Operations

Location: Houston, TX

Job Type: Full-Time (Direct Hire)

EPSI seeks a candidate to serve as the Director of Research Operations (DRO) to provide administrative and programmatic leadership for the Research Operations Unit, serve as a principal liaison with external clients and partners to identify and facilitate opportunities in developing partnerships, cooperative research projects, and related activities. As a role model and mentor to other research staff, the DRO will support, coach, and mentor in the pursuit of research excellence by providing direction, guidance, and sharing knowledge. The DRO will: (a) guide and manage the development of members of the unit by ensuring clear communication, regular coaching, constructive feedback, and effective talent management; (b) serve as either a project director or quality assurance director to direct projects, design and implement studies, analyze data, and write reports; and (c) contribute to new business development through identification of opportunities, proposal writing, and other marketing activities.

The ideal candidate will be an established research and evaluation “generalist†– someone with demonstrable experience implementing social science research and evaluation methodologies, using both qualitative and quantitative methods, analyzing a variety of data, and writing for both technical and non-technical audiences. While subject matter expertise in any of core areas of expertise is preferred (i.e., children and youth, communities and organizations, health and human services, labor and economics, education, or housing), it is not required.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Corporate Level Responsibilities

• Develop and build on the existing strategy to fuel long-term growth within the unit. You will partner with the CEO, president, and executive management team to contribute to and finalize a strategic plan that focuses on growth, diversification, and sustainability.

• Lead and grow the team. You will attract, develop, and retain an expanded team who believe in and commit to THE COMPANY’S’s mission and global vision. Leading by example, you will promote our culture, build engagement, and spark excitement that leads to productivity and growth.

• Lead the unit to new levels of achievement and growth by identifying and engaging an even more robust and broader set of stakeholders and policies in emerging areas such as health and environmental equity.

• Develop and lead change initiatives and drive adoption of changes that improve our ability to meet existing and emerging client needs.

• Provide thought leadership. You will provide strategic and decisive leadership to position THE COMPANY’S as a leader in providing integrated data collection, research, and analytics capabilities to improve public well-being.

Supervisory Requirements

• Provide leadership, supervision, and direction for 10 staff, including senior researchers, senior research associates, research analysts, and research associates.

• Identify the appropriate professional development of unit staff.

• Develop and maintain a unit budget for unit level needs (e.g., process standardization, team building).

• Plan, assign, and review work of unit staff, establishes goals for each unit position and assesses performance through completion of evaluations; hires, trains, promotes and, develops a framework for corrective actions as necessary.

• Serve as a member of the executive management team to assist the president with corporate level initiatives.

• Act as executive manager, providing supervisory support in the absence of other unit directors.

• Contribute to strategic leadership and planning to ensure the consistent achievement of agreed professional and performance standards.

• Lead or contribute significantly to business development activities in terms of designing a response strategy, proposal writing, and budget development and preparation.

Project Management and Leadership Requirements

• Lead, design, and implement culturally responsive and equitable research and evaluation plans (for public sector and philanthropic clients) to meet stated project/client goals, within a budget and timeframe using appropriate quantitative and/or qualitative methodologies.

• Manage, supervise, monitor, and ensure all aspects of contract research and evaluation projects are performed rigorously and accurately, within defined budgets and timelines.

• Lead and guide multiple teams for different (sometimes overlapping) projects in varied stages of the research process, setting the standards for quality, accuracy, efficiency, and timeliness.

• Mentor and develop staff who are earlier in their careers, understanding that by doing so the company is building essential internal capacity that will contribute to organizational efficiencies.

Communication Requirements

• Serve as a lead author/writer to communicate complex and technical findings to a variety of audiences for a variety of objectives.

• Interact with diverse groups of people, from a wide variety of backgrounds, with differing levels of experience or familiarity with research and evaluation sensitively, diplomatically, and skillfully.

• Market the company effectively through writing, presentations, participation in conferences, etc.

KEY WORK COMPETENCIES

• Extensive leadership and people management experience.

• Extensive experience analyzing and working with qualitative and quantitative data; experience with advanced statistical analyses is a plus.

• Proven experience with the design, development, and implementation of culturally responsive research projects and materials such as questionnaires, interview protocols, focus group guides, and supporting documentation, and/or training materials.

• Experience with implementing and integrating culturally responsive and equitable practices into traditional and innovative research practices.

• Experience authoring reports and/or publications on social science research and evaluation work.

• Critical thinker and problem-solver to identify and address issues or challenges that may arise during project implementation.

• Attention to detail and commitment to quality assurance to ensure that projects are conducted rigorously, data is collected accurately, and results are reliable and valid.

EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• A Ph.D. in the social sciences, public health, or education.

• 15 or more years of proven success in social and educational research, including managing and directing staff (preferably in program evaluation of educational or social service programs).

• 15 or more years of leadership experience in a leadership role in a research or evaluation organization, including people management and the ability to provide strategic collaborative leadership to diverse teams in different cultures. Experience in a research organization preferred.

• Successful leadership of business development and proposals is required; experience engaging with clients and partners in the business development process is preferred.

PUBLICATIONS

• Must have a portfolio that contains publications (such as journal articles) or corporate documents demonstrating expertise in evaluation and research reporting and the management of contracted projects and information in the social or behavioral sciences.

TYPICAL PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING CONDITIONS

• Requires sitting, standing, and bending and a normal range of hearing and vision.

• May be required to work more than 40 hrs per week. Works remotely or hybrid, with ~4 visits per year to the Houston office.

• Has the ability to travel, possibly up to 20%, to conduct research and fulfill contract obligations.