Education Policy Researcher: CTE & Education-to-Work

Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management fall conference.; Santa Monica (CA); On-site; USD 111,000 - 212,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid time off

Savings plan

Disability insurance

Job summary

RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, CA, seeks Education Policy Researchers to advance rigorous research on career and technical education and education-to-workforce transitions. Researchers lead and contribute to projects informing policymakers and funders, working on state administrative data and cross-disciplinary teams.

Responsibilities include designing empirical studies, linking K-12 to postsecondary data, applying causal methods, and communicating findings to policy audiences while mentoring

Qualifications

• Demonstrated training in quantitative research methods.
• Strong analytic skills and intellectual curiosity.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.
• Ability to work effectively as a member of inclusive, multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong commitment to RAND's core values of quality and objectivity.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute rigorous empirical research studies on high school to postsecondary and workforce transitions.
• Link and analyze state administrative datasets spanning K-12, postsecondary, and workforce systems to track student pathways longitudinally.
• Apply causal inference and other advanced quantitative methods to evaluate programs on education to postsecondary and workforce transitions.
• Use cutting edge technologies like AI/ML responsibly to improve quality and efficiency.
• Communicate findings to policy audiences through peer‑reviewed publications, technical reports, and presentations to state agency partners and funders.
• Contribute to business development efforts, including proposal writing and cultivating relationships with state agencies, IES, and private funders.
• Mentor junior researchers and contribute to a collaborative, inclusive research environment.

Skills

Quantitative methods

Analytic skills

English communication

Team collaboration

RAND values

Education

PhD in economics, policy analysis, statistics, sociology or closely related field

Job description

RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, CA, seeks Education Policy Researchers to advance rigorous research on career and technical education and education-to-workforce transitions. Researchers lead and contribute to projects informing policymakers and funders, working on state administrative data and cross-disciplinary teams.

Responsibilities include designing empirical studies, linking K-12 to postsecondary data, applying causal methods, and communicating findings to policy audiences while mentoring