Wake Forest University — Research Scholar, Measurement and Evaluation, Program for Leadership and Character
Filed in Professional, Scholar on May 2, 2023
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Job Description Summarys
The Research Scholar in Measurement and Evaluation will work closely with the Senior Research Scholar in the Professional Schools to facilitate and guide PLCPS staff and faculty in the development of character and leadership in students in coherent, consistent, and effective ways. This person will be one of the lead people in charge of measurement and evaluation of the impact of the Program’s work as a whole.
Job Description
Essential Functions:
Leading measurement and evaluation efforts in PLCPS to measure impact.
The Research Scholar will:
- Provide input to the Senior Research Scholar in the Professional Schools to develop a set of yearly goals and clear outcomes for PLCPS (separate from, but in combination with, grant deliverables) with respect to measurement and evaluation.
- Provide measurement and evaluation consultations with various members of the PLCPS who are doing faculty coaching/advising and student-facing programming/advising work.
- Work with the Senior Research Scholar in the Professional Schools to organize and facilitate workshops for PLCPS where a range of research methodologies are shared so that all members of the team develop a shared understanding of a range of methodological approaches and analytic strategies.
- Carry out evaluation of interventions or courses created by the programming team and conduct empirical studies to test out new theories or behavior- and attitude-change strategies.
- Manage the conceptualization, design, administration, and analyses of longitudinal studies in the professional schools at WFU and companion colleges/universities to assess the impact of professional education on character formation and well-being.
- Create new scales or research instruments as necessary, to answer specific research questions.
- Manage multiple research studies simultaneously.
- Submit and manage the ethical considerations of research including IRB applications and renewals.
- Participate in, and gradually lead the dissemination of research findings in the form of journal articles, popular press publications, and seminar and conference presentations.
- Work closely and collaboratively with the Research Scholar in Character Education and Evaluation in all aspects of conducting research.
Other Functions:
- Participate in the organization conferences/symposia/summits to share findings with others in higher education and beyond, and to bring together scholars, experts, and industry leaders to share their needs and approaches in the character and leadership space.
Required Education, Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
- PhD. in a social science discipline.
- Strong and demonstrated quantitative and qualitative research skills and publication track record.
- Experience conducting experiments or survey studies with diverse populations.
- Comfort and skill using statistics to assess change in small samples.
- Familiarity and experience with several qualitative analysis methods.
- Strong and demonstrated background or interest in character and leadership development strategies and tools.
- Excellent writing, research, and communication skills.
- Strongly intrinsically motivated to create excellent and impactful work.
- Creative problem-solver.
- Highly collaborative.
- Interested and excited to work in an interdisciplinary team.
- Flexible, creative, bold, and open-minded about research approaches and methodologies.
- Attentive to detail and sensitive to context.
- Able to contribute to high-level study conceptualization and minute details of study design and administration.
- Experiencing submitting IRB applications.
- Strong and demonstrated time management skills to manage multiple ongoing research projects (at different stages in the research process), and a range of stakeholders.
- Open to being mentored and given constructive feedback and regular appraisals.
- Interested and able to learn quickly and independently.
- Willing to follow direction and eventually take on leadership of research as experience is gained on the job.
Accountabilities:
- Responsible for own work
Please provide the following required documents (containing all the requested information). These should be submitted at the time of application. Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered. Candidates are encouraged to apply by June 1st, 2023:
- Cover Letter (no more than 2 pages and addressed to the members of the search committee)
- Please articulate the reasons for your interest in this area of programming and empirical research and in this particular role; please explain the ways in which your experience and expertise suit you to this role.
- If you have conducted research using exclusively quantitative or qualitative methodologies, please make a case for your attitude towards using both approaches during this project, and how you intend to close any gaps in your methodological expertise (The Program may be able to provide the successful candidate with funds to develop necessary methodological skills).
- Provide examples of high-level organizational, administrative, and interpersonal skills, including (if relevant), of coordinating and managing multiple studies simultaneously.
- Research Statement (no longer than 3 pages)
- Please give examples of between 2-4 research studies that you might design for the Professional Schools (thinking of the particular professional schools that we work with: law and medicine) and outline the measurement and evaluation methods and procedures you would envisage using, and any potential pitfalls you could see.
- If possible, describe how technologies, techniques and methodologies that are new and possibly uncommon in the social sciences, could be valuable in answering research questions that might be relevant to the cultivation of leadership and character in the Professional Schools.
- Please also propose and outline some of the programming strategies you would suggest to faculty and PLCPS members, and the ways you would like to integrate these into curricular, and extracurricular programming or students’ personal time.
- Curriculum Vitae
- 2 writing samples demonstrating your research and programming expertise (with at least 1 illustrating some of your methodological expertise).
- The names of 3 referees whom we can contact or request a written recommendation from.
The position may begin as early as July 2023, though there is flexibility on the start date depending on availability and current appointment. For additional information, please contact the Senior Research Scholar for the Professional Schools, Ananthi Al Ramiah, alramiah@wfu.edu.
