Westat is an employee-owned corporation providing research services to agencies of the U.S. Government, as well as businesses, foundations, and state and local governments. Westat's research, technical, and administrative staff of more than 2,000 is located at our headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, near Washington, DC.
Westat is committed to building a diverse workforce and a culture of inclusivity, belonging and equity for all. We believe that our greatest strength draws on the different backgrounds, cultures, perspectives and experiences of our employees.
Job Summary:
Westat is seeking a Lead Research Associate to join our Education Studies Practice and the Center to Improve Program and Project Performance (CIPP) team. Your primary role will be providing critical support to the CIPP Task 5 Team, which supports Government Performance and Results Act data collection, analysis and reporting for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs. You will also play an important role supporting overall task management for the CIPP project. As a Research Associate in education studies you will also be able to participate in other research/evaluation projects and support business development activities as your career progresses.
Successful candidates will bring diverse perspectives and varied experiences (whether from school, life, or past jobs). We value curiosity, innovation, and systems-level thinking to contribute to projects that drive improved outcomes for our clients and internally as well. We are passionate about inclusiveness, diversity, and cultural competency in the work we do within our team and in services for our clients.
Job Responsibilities:
- Develop instructional materials to support panel reviews.
- Recruit expert panel reviewers.
- Develop guidance to support high quality data submission.
- Support data collection, analysis and reporting.
- Use Smartsheet to monitor implementation of CIPP project management plan.
- Support the project directors and task leads as needed with research, analysis and writing tasks.
- Prepare clear and concise briefs/summaries, engaging PowerPoint presentations, and other products to communicate needs/information.
- Offer scheduling support and other miscellaneous tasks that are not time sensitive, such as helping to build dashboards, and pulling reports from existing data.
- Support communications and dissemination activities, including social media, blogs, and other thought leadership activities.
- Support meeting facilitation needs at client events both virtually and in person.
- Contribute to business development activities; other activities, as required.
Basic Qualifications: - A bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 8 years relevant experience in education, public policy, public administration, and/or other social science relevant field OR, an MA/MS and a minimum 2 year of relevant experience at the postgraduate level in education, public policy, public administration, and/or other social science relevant field.
- Experience with data collection, analysis, and reporting.
- Ability to summarize and synthesize findings into clear and concise communications and presentations.
- Ability to prepare engaging presentations using PowerPoint or other communications/data visualization tools.
- Demonstrated online research skills and ability to conduct landscape scans and literature reviews.
- Familiarity with training and communications tools such as WebEx, Zoom, Teams and other web conferencing services.
Preferred Qualifications: - Proficiency with Project Management Software (for example: Smartsheet, Trello or other similar platforms).
- Understanding of special education programs.
- Ability to carry out appropriate mixed methods research and evaluation methodologies including facilitating focus groups, conducting interviews, conducting literature reviews, and synthesizing quantitative and qualitative data.
- Ability to use project management tools to track task completion.
- Ability to prepare training materials to guide data collection and reporting.
Minimum Qualifications: - Demonstrated communication skills.
- Collaboration with teams, managers and/or clients.
- Organization skills, including time management ability.
- Orientation toward continuous improvement in both personal and team performance.
- Detail oriented.
Westat offers a well-rounded and comprehensive benefits program focused on wellness and work/life balance. Subject to plan requirements, employees may participate in:
- Employee Stock Ownership Plan
- 401(k) Retirement Plan
- Paid Parental Leave
- Vacation Leave (15 days per year)
- Sick Leave (10 days per year)
- Holiday Leave (7 government holidays and 2 floating holidays per year)
- Professional Development
- Health Advocate
- Employee Assistance Program
- Travel Accident Insurance
- Medical Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Short Term Disability Insurance
- Long Term Disability Insurance
- Life and AD&D Insurance
- Critical Illness Insurance
- Supplemental Life Insurance
- Flexible Spending Account
- Health Savings Account
This opportunity will be posted for a minimum of 5 days and applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis.
Westat is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, genetic information, gender identity or expression, or any other protected status under applicable law.
