Research Fellow, Success Center
100% Remote within California, Must reside in California
We are seeking a Research Fellow to join the Foundation in its mission of benefitting, supporting, and enhancing the California Community Colleges—the largest and most diverse system of higher education in the nation. The Foundation for California Community Colleges is on a mission to double its impact in the next 10 years. We are a group of relentless optimists and innovators in education, working collaboratively with public and private partners to help improve the student experience and expand pathways to economic and social mobility in communities across California.
What You’ll Do
The Foundation is the trusted partner of the California Community Colleges— facilitating collaboration, accelerating innovation, and increasing system wide resources. The Foundation’s Success Center for California Community Colleges is looking for an individual to join our team who has experience conducting quantitative research.
Our Center’s role is to support the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and Foundation in implementing the Chancellor’s Vision 2030. Our work is engaging, fast paced, and ever evolving that requires a passion for serving California community college students and a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
The Senior Research Specialist will support the Success Center’s Policy Development and Research unit by conducting necessary research on multiple higher education policy initiatives and provide all manner of data and research expertise. This position is remote (Sacramento Region preferred), but travel is required for quarterly and urgent in-person Sacramento meetings, as well as workshops and conferences across California and U.S.
- Stay current on community college system data elements and data structures, as well as changes to system data and research policy.
- Develop internal data analysis policies and procedures.
- Review data metrics and make recommendations to enhance and improve systemwide student success measures.
- Train new researchers and staff on security practices and protocols, as well as how to use Chancellor’s Office Management Information System (COMIS)
- Reviewing and providing feedback on internal and external research and analyses.
- Lead and manage data analysis and research projects using quantitative methods through the entire life cycle from design and execution to final release, including creating work plans, providing status updates, and tracking deliverables.
- Independently clean and analyze quantitative data using a variety of quantitative methods in Stata.
- Construct large data sets—COMIS data and publicly available data (e.g., IPEDS and Census)—using SQL and Stata.
- Ensure data quality by cleaning and checking data for consistency and accuracy.
- Serve as research expert in assisting in policy development efforts and propose recommendations for Policy Development and Research projects.
- Write research papers and other products, including developing narrative, data visualizations, and tables.
- Offer research and data expertise to collaborate with other team members to provide research and data support (e.g., conducting background policy research, literature review, and analysis) for existing projects.
Attributes for Success
- Robust knowledge of various quantitative methodologies (e.g., descriptive, inferential, and quasi-experimental).
- Expert knowledge of statistical programming language, preferably Stata.
- Experience writing SQL queries to create datasets.
- Knowledge of policy analysis methodologies.
- Demonstrates intermediate coding skills in a statistical software, Stata preferred.
- Extensive experience cleaning and analyzing large, individual-level, data sets, preferably in Stata or SQL.
- Skilled in conceptualizing, designing, developing, evaluating, and monitoring both qualitative and quantitative research projects and reporting strategies, preferably in a higher education setting.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office suite of software products including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and others.
- We’re recruiting for mission-driven, passionate, equity-minded individuals with a strong desire to impact and change people’s lives for the better
- Our work holds great weight and responsibility, and the opportunity to impact the lives of millions
- Innovation, creativity, collaboration, and entrepreneurship are encouraged as employees work to achieve organizational goals
- FoundationCCC blends the impact of a non-profit, the culture of an entrepreneurial start-up, and the scale of a state agency
- Team members are hired for their expertise in niche areas across our areas of impact and higher education overall, and for their knowledge of business, philanthropy, technology, communications, and more
- We have a commitment to professional development and an emphasis on shared leadership, to ensure growth for employees and the organization overall
What we Offer
FoundationCCC is fully committed to a “remote-first” philosophy, and recruits and hires talent across the state in fully remote positions, where virtual work is possible. Our headquarters are located in Downtown Sacramento, just blocks from California’s State Capitol.
Benefits
- Competitive compensation, generous PTO, holidays
- Medical, dental, and vision plans, Flexible Spending Accounts, and Health Savings Accounts (HSA), Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and Wellness offerings
- CalPERS retirement program and optional 403(b) and 457 Retirement plans
- Tuition reimbursement
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness certified employer
This posting is a condensed version of the full job description. To request the full job description, please email us at jobs@foundationccc.org.
Budgeted Annual Salary Pay Range:
$75,000.00 - $85,000.00
Final salary and rates are based on education, experience, skills relevant to the role, and internal equity.
