Careers Job Description
General Description
The CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) provides online and on campus degree and certificate programs that meet the needs of adults who are looking to finish or transition into a bachelor’s degree, earn a master’s degree or certificate in a specialized field, advance in the workplace, or change careers.
Home to the first fully online degree programs at the City University of New York, CUNY SPS offers fully accredited degree and certificate programs for students who want the flexibility and convenience of online education. CUNY SPS was ranked in the top 5% in the Nation in U.S. News & World Report’s list of the 2020 Best Online Bachelor’s Degree Programs.
Drawing on CUNY's nationally and internationally renowned faculty and practitioners, as well as industry and education partners, the School's programs provide opportunities for personal growth, job mobility, greater civic participation, and new ways to advance knowledge.
Within CUNY SPS, the Office of Professional Education and Workplace Learning (PEWL) designs custom workplace learning programs to help organizations achieve their goals. To our partnerships, we bring knowledge of research-based learning practices as well as experience in developing innovative programs.
CUNY SPS partners with Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) to develop professional learning opportunities for child welfare and juvenile justice professionals. The collaboration between the two organizations has formed the ACS Workforce Institute (ACS WI).
The ACS Workforce Institute (WI) is a state-of-the-art professional development institute that strengthens skills and provides support to child welfare and juvenile justice frontline staff as they strengthen and support New York City’s families and children. https://www.nycacstraining.org
Project Description
Reporting to the Deputy Director of Continuous Quality Improvement, the Research Associate will work closely with an ACS WI/CUNY SPS/Hunter Evaluation Team and other leaders in the ACS Division of Policy, Planning, and Measurement to manage and support training evaluation activities including instrument development, data collection, analysis and reporting. Training evaluation activities include the development of knowledge tests, collecting learner feedback and managing and analyzing data generated from 10,000 participants annually through multiple surveys powered by Qualtrics and Cornerstone On Demand.
The ACS WI/CUNY SPS/Hunter Evaluation team uses the Kirkpatrick model of evaluating training efficacy to measure four levels: (1) reactions; (2) learning; (3) transfer; and (4) organizational outcomes. The evaluation team produces real time reports and dashboards so that results will inform ongoing program development and quality improvement.
Position Description
The Research Associate will join a team of CUNY and ACS colleagues working collaboratively with key stakeholders within Administration for Children’s Services and Private Providers that implement foster care and prevention services to manage, analyze, and report on data from complex data systems.
Other Duties
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Coordinating and supporting evaluation initiatives involving multiple team members and stakeholders in the child welfare system of New York City.
- Collaborating with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), Instructional Designers and a team of ACS and CUNY colleagues to create, review and pilot knowledge tests.
- Conducting test item analysis and collaborating with SMEs to identify test item improvements.
- Assisting in the development of competency-based instruments to measure program fidelity, simulations, etc.
- Conducting focus groups and interviews.
- Supporting needs assessment process for learning program development.
- Conducting quantitative and qualitative data analysis utilizing software such as Qualtrics, Excel, SPSS and/or Stata.
- Creating and maintaining dashboards in Qualtrics and Tableau to inform program monitoring, performance management and continuous quality improvement.
- Organizing and managing data files. Maintaining detailed documentation on all data management decisions and technical work.
- Combing, cleaning and shaping data using Tableau Prep.
- Presenting findings to diverse audiences in both oral and written formats.
Qualifications
Qualifications:
- MA/MPA/MS in social science, public administration, data analytics, data science, data/information management, or another related field.
- At least 2 years of experience doing data management and data analysis in an applied setting.
- Demonstrated data management and analysis skills.
- Competent and/or certified in Qualtrics Research Core, Employee Engagement, or Customer Engagement platforms is highly desired.
- Competence in Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep a plus.
- An understanding of human or social services, particularly the child welfare and juvenile justice systems is a plus.
- Sensitivity and experience working with diverse cultural and linguistic populations.
- Excellent time management and organizational skills.
- An exceptional commitment to accuracy and attention to detail.
- Ability to work on a team, as well as independently.
- High degree of flexibility and maturity to work in an innovative, fast-paced environment, and to readily embrace change.
- Strong written and oral communication skills and ability to effectively convey complex and data-related concepts to a variety of technical and non-technical audiences.
- Future travel (post-pandemic) between program locations in NYC to observe, collect data, and support team members. Currently this responsibility is performed remotely during the pandemic.
- Experience with data visualization using dashboards and developing infographics is a plus.
- Expertise in evaluating unique learning experiences such as live simulations with actors or virtual reality experiences is a plus, but not required.
- Experience in project management including assuring project milestones are met on time and collaborating with multiple stakeholders.
- A curious disposition motivated by an internal drive to understand and untangle complex issues.
Hours: 35 hours/week (daily schedule 9am-5pm, with some occasional evening hours required).
Applicants are asked to submit a cover letter that details how your qualifications match this position description along with a resume, and contact information for three references.
RFCUNY Benefits
RFCUNY Employee Benefits and AccrualsAbout the Research Foundation
The Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY) was established as a not-for-profit educational corporation chartered by the State of New York in 1963. RFCUNY supports CUNY faculty and staff in identifying and obtaining external support (pre-award) from government and private sponsors and is responsible for the administration of all such funded programs (post-award).
RFCUNY stands between CUNY’s principal investigators (PIs) and the sponsors who support them and strives to fulfill its essential responsibilities to both groups. Working closely with individual PIs and Grants Officers on the campuses, RFCUNY oversees employment, accounting, audit, reporting, purchasing, and special responsibilities that include management of a planned giving program; liaison with governmental agencies and foundations; negotiation of agreements; facility construction and renovation; protection and commercialization of intellectual property; and compliance with applicable standards in research involving human subjects, animal care, environmental and radiological safety, and conflicts of interest.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Key Features
Full Time
$70,000.00 - $80,000.00
Jun 24, 2021 (Or Until Filled)