Principal Researcher, Education

Nebraska Children and Families Foundation; Omaha (NE); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Nebraska Children and Families Foundation is seeking a Principal Researcher to serve as Project Director for the U.S. Department of Education EIR Mid-Phase grant.

The role requires leadership across a multi-year portfolio of contracts, budgets, and tasks, overseeing an RCT and collaboration with internal teams, external evaluators, and partner districts to advance early literacy initiatives. The position emphasizes compliance with grant requirements, data-informed learning, and ongoing quality

Responsibilities

• Project Leadership and Management: Serve as Project Director for the NGR+ EIR Mid-Phase grant, holding overall responsibility for the scope, quality, timeline, and outcomes of the RCT across the pilot and three implementation cohorts.
• Federal Compliance and Reporting: Oversee compliance with all applicable federal regulations, including U.S. Department of Education EIR grant requirements and funder expectations throughout the life of the grant.
• Evaluation, Data, and Continuous Improvement: Oversee the RCT contracted to the independent evaluator, ensuring the study is designed and executed to meet WWC evidence standards without reservations.
• Fiscal and Program Oversight: Monitor contracts, subawards, and budgets; coordinate with multiple partners and ensure data integrity and timely deliverables.
• Leadership and Collaboration: Lead internal project staff and coordinate with external evaluators, literacy organizations, school districts, and NCFF staff to support learning and dissemination.

Job description

NEBRASKA CHILDREN AND FAMILIES FOUNDATION:

Nebraska Children and Families Foundation (NCFF) is a nonprofit created to support children, young adults, and families with the overall goal of giving our state's children what they need to thrive. We do this by building strong communities that support families.

Our mission is to create positive change for Nebraska's children through community engagement and we believe in a Nebraska where all children will have the resources and support to thrive.

SUMMARY:

The Principal Researcher serves as the Project Director for NCFF's U.S. Department of Education Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Mid-Phase grant to scale and rigorously evaluate Nebraska Growing Readers Plus TeacherRead/FamilyRead (NGR+), which enhances the existing Nebraska Growing Readers (NGR) book-distribution program with two evidence-based shared book reading components, FamilyRead (FR) and TeacherRead (TR). This work will support quality and rigor for a three-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing NGR alone, NGR+FamilyRead, and NGR+FamilyRead+TeacherRead, with a focus on data-informed learning. This includes responsibility for working with the VP for R&E and NCFF's Project Leadership Team to oversee delivery of the RCT, which is contracted to an independent external evaluator. As Project Director on the grant, this position requires the development and management of a multi-year portfolio of contracts, budgets, and tasks across the grant. This position provides leadership to internal project staff and works to support collaboration among internal staff, contracted research and implementation partners, and NDE to co-design and implement NGR+.

The Principal Researcher also plays a key role in ensuring compliance with U.S. Department of Education grant requirements.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Project Leadership and Management

• Serve as Project Director for the NGR+ EIR Mid-Phase grant, holding overall responsibility for the scope, quality, timeline, and outcomes of the RCT across the pilot and three implementation cohorts.
• Provide overall direction and leadership for the project, ensuring full alignment with federal grant requirements and NCFF's strategic goals.
• Develop, manage, and execute the project work plan, including deliverables, timelines, and milestones across all grant components.
• Manage contracts and working relationships with the independent evaluator, Implementation Supports Team, Recruitment Team, Advisory Team, and any other subgroups within the grant; ensure deliverables meet contract terms, timelines, and quality standards.
• Coordinate project implementation across multiple partners, including NDE, school districts, evaluators, and literacy organizations.
• Ensure adherence to evidence-based practices and fidelity to the approved grant proposal.
• Serve on the Project Leadership Team, the Dissemination Team, and other internal/external workgroups relevant to NGR+ and early literacy research and evaluation.
• Anticipate and manage risks to project timeline, budget, recruitment, or data integrity across the pilot and three RCT cohorts, and develop mitigation or contingency plans as needed.

Federal Compliance and Reporting

• Oversee compliance with all applicable federal regulations, including U.S. Department of Education EIR grant requirements and funder expectations throughout the life of the grant, such as study preregistration and performance reporting.
• Prepare and submit required federal performance reports, budget justifications, and continuation applications.
• Maintain comprehensive documentation to support audit readiness and ensure proper record retention.
• Monitor subrecipient performance and ensure all contracts, memoranda of understanding, and subawards meet federal standards.
• Establish and maintain systems for tracking deliverables, outcomes, and performance metrics required by the Department of Education.

Evaluation, Data, and Continuous Improvement

• Oversee the RCT contracted to the independent evaluator, ensuring the study is designed and executed to meet WWC evidence standards without reservations.
• Provide leadership for the project's evaluation and research components, ensuring adherence to the approved evaluation plan.
• Oversee and ensure the quality of all evaluation activities, including instruments and tools, data processes, fidelity monitoring, and cost-effectiveness analysis conducted by the evaluator.
• Collaborate with internal and external evaluation partners to design, implement, and analyze formative and summative data collection.
• Facilitate continuous quality improvement (CQI) cycles by reviewing evaluation findings and identifying actionable insights for program refinement.
• Ensure the integration of evaluation results into decision-making, reporting, and sustainability planning.
• Provide technical assistance and build capacity to support NCFF and NDE staff in using RCT implementation and impact data for planning and continuous improvement.

Fiscal and