The UNM Cradle to Career Policy Institute (CCPI) is an interdisciplinary research center providing applied research, evaluation, and analysis of public policy issues related to education across the age continuum, with an emphasis on ensuring equitable access and outcomes for children, youth and families across New Mexico’s diverse communities. 

The Research Scientist 3 will be joining a staff working across multiple projects related to child and family well-being and education in New Mexico. Specifically, they will be joining a project team that includes primarily staff research scientists and graduate student from multiple UNM departments and colleges. Primary projects include multiyear, mixed methods studies and evaluations of family and child access to early childhood system supports and outcomes of those programs.
 
The Research Scientist 3 will bring graduate-level training in qualitative and quantitative social science research methods; experience with research focused on racial and ethnic inequities; and interest in policy implementation and analysis. They will work on project teams led by CCPI principal investigators, serving as lead for primary research activity components such as research and evaluation design; instrument development; IRB protocols; conducting fieldwork; conducting thematic coding; analyzing data; and overseeing work of graduate and undergraduate research assistants.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Work with team leads to design, plan and conduct multi-method applied research and evaluation projects in the fields of education and child and family well-being
• Review and synthesize current applied and theoretical research to ensure validity and policy relevance of research projects
• Lead execution of project components, overseeing the work of students as needed
• Contribute to design of research instruments and oversee processes for data collection
• Analyze qualitative data using social science methods and, where appropriate, qualitative data analysis software, such as NVIVO
• Use social science statistical methods and software to analyze datasets
• Prepare a variety of findings reports, including for journal publication and for policy partners

See the Position Description for additional information.

• Successful candidate must submit to a post-offer, pre-employment physical examination and medical history check. Additional health screenings may be required, dependent on the nature of the research conducted, as determined by Employee Occupational Health Services.

Bachelor's degree; at least 3 years of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified.

Completed degree(s) from an accredited institution that are above the minimum education requirement may be substituted for experience on a year for year basis.

• Spanish language fluency
• Familiarity with early childhood, special education, and/or family engagement content areas
• Familiarity with quantitative and qualitative data analysis software
• Knowledge of data security best practices for human research
• Advanced writing skills
• Training in social science quantitative and qualitative methods
• Ability to communicate effectively with external project partners and research team members

Only applications submitted through the official UNMJobs site will be accepted. If you are viewing this job advertisement on a 3rd party site, please visit UNMJobs to submit an application.

Positions posted with a Staff Type of Regular or Term are eligible for the Veteran Preference Program. See the Veteran Preference Program webpage for additional details.

The University of New Mexico is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class.

The University of New Mexico requires all regular staff positions successfully pass a pre-employment background check. This may include, but is not limited to, a criminal history background check, New Mexico Department of Health fingerprint screening, New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department fingerprint screening, verification of education credentials, and/or verification of prior employment. For more information about background checks, visit https://policy.unm.edu/university-policies/3000/3280.html. Refer to https://policy.unm.edu/university-policies/3000/3200.html for a definition of Regular Staff.