Research Associate or Senior Research Associate

MEF Associates; Alexandria (VA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

MEF Associates, a small business focused on evaluation, policy research, and technical assistance, seeks an Associate or Senior Associate. You will lead quantitative research projects, design studies, and manage data collection and analysis, mentoring junior staff and communicating findings to clients.

The role emphasizes rigorous, transparent research, collaboration, and business development, with opportunities for flexible, office-based or remote work in the Alexandria area.

Qualifications

• PhD or Master’s with experience, or Bachelor’s with extensive experience.
• Strong foundation in causal inference and research design.
• Experience designing and conducting experimental and nonexperimental impact studies.
• Excellent writing and verbal communication for diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Serve as project director, project manager, or task lead for ongoing research and evaluation projects.
• Design research and evaluation projects—from the initial proposal phase to full-scale project implementation.
• Lead analysis plans for quasi-experimental and experimental impact and descriptive outcome studies.
• Lead quantitative data collection activities and manage MIS and administrative data access.
• Oversee quantitative data analysis and mentor junior staff; develop reproducible code.
• Prepare reports, briefs, and presentations translating technical findings for diverse audiences.
• Represent the firm in interactions with clients and partner organizations.
• Identify new business opportunities and contribute to proposals and budgeting.
• Supervise, mentoring, and coordinating junior researchers or project teams.

Skills

causal inference

research design

data analysis

Stata

R

programming

writing

proposal writing

communication

travel domestically

Education

PhD

Master’s degree

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Stata

R

Job description

Do you get excited about diving deep into data, insights, and research?

Do you aspire to conduct research aimed at improving the lives of vulnerable individuals, children, and families?

Do you like working on collaborative teams to drive social change?

The Team

MEF Associates isa small business offeringa full range of evaluation, policy research, and technicalassistanceservices.Ourmission is to improve the lives of individuals, children, and families by building knowledge and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of public policyand programs.

Since our founding in 2009, thismission has guided our work across a wide range of policyareas —includingchild and family policy, workforce development, income security, early childhood education,and more.Our portfolio includes a wide range ofclients across federal, state, Tribal, and local governments, as well as foundations and philanthropic organizations.

At MEF, we help our clients understand andmaximize their impact through rigorous, actionable, and participatory research andevaluation.Wherever possible, we apply the most rigorous methods available to generate reliable evidence about what works, for whom, and under what conditions. This includes designing and implementing randomized controlled trials (RCTs),as well as quasi-experimental and mixed-method studies. Weare also skilled at pairingimpact analyses with in-depth implementation research to understand how programsoperatein practice and toidentifylessons that inform continuous improvement and future scaling.

The Culture

Here at MEF,weare committedto:

• Producing the highest-quality products through effective teamwork and creative solutions.
• Generating meaningful change in our communities.
• Fostering a workplace culture that empowers staff, promotesa strong senseof belonging, and encourages work-lifebalance.
• Upholdingethicalresearch practices through transparency, honesty, and accountability.

As a relatively small firm, we value close collaboration and a supportive work culture.We are committed to the growth and professional development of our staff.Wealsovalue the benefits that come from research being conducted by individuals with varied backgrounds and life experiences.

The Opportunity

We are seeking to hire a n Associate or Senior Associate who can support our workprimarily in our Income Support and Economic Mobility domain, which includesareassuch aspublic housing,asset building and financial empowerment,workforce development,post-secondary training,andemployment and training programs. Th is position may also contribute to work in other areasof the firm, including work in our Children and Families domain.

This position will involve a leadership roleonsubstantive research and evaluation projects. The work you do willlikelycenteronquantitative research,alongside mixed-methods research,project management,andbusiness development.

While responsibilities vary by project, the work you do could encompass the following responsibilities:

• Serving as project director, project manager, or task lead for ongoing research and evaluationprojects.
• Designing research and evaluation projects—from the initial proposal phase to full-scale project implementation.
• Designing andleading analysis plans for quasi-experimental and experimental impact and descriptive outcome studies.
• Leadingquantitativedata collection activities (e.g.,fieldingsurveys,gatheringMIS data from programs, accessing administrative data from agencies).
• Managingquantitativedata analysis projects(e.g., data cleaning,conductingimpact analyses, outputtingresultsinto tablesand figures), including overseeing junior researchers.
• Building, reviewing, and documenting reproducible analysis code, and archiving data to support transparency and replication(R, Stata).
• Completingstructured and systematic evidencereviewsand synthesesto supportevidence clearinghouses.
• Authoring reports,briefs,and presentationsthat translate technical findings into clear, plain-language products.
• Designing data visualizations that communicate findings to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Representing the firm in interactions with clients and partner organizations.
• Identifying new business opportunities and taking leadership in proposal writing and budgeting.
• Supervising,mentoring, andcoordinating the work of juniorstaff.

Qualifications

• Prior experience working on relevant research and evaluation projects.Experience working with both federal and state/local clients would be a plus.
• Deep methodological expertise, includinga strong foundationin causal inference and research design.Demonstrated experience designing and conducting experimental and nonexperimental impact studies.What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) certification orpreviousexperience conducting evidence reviews would be a plus.
• Strong foundation in programming andquantitativedata analysis.Advancedproficiencyin at least one statistical software package (Stata, R) isrequired.Mustalsobewilli t otosupervise and mentorjunior staff.
• Demonstrated excellence in writingfor a variety of audiencesand verbal communication, including translating technical results into plain language.
• Experience contributing to proposals and business development.
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships with external partners, including research partners, funders, communities, practitioners, and participants.
• Experience managing research projects, including timelines, budgets, and deliverables.
• Experience supervising, mentoring, or coordinating the work of junior researchers or project teams.
• Relationship-driven, effective communicator with strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate with others in a respectful way.
• Ability to travel domestically onoccasion.
• Th e Associate position requires a PhD, aMaster’sdegree with 5 years of experience, or aBachelor’sdegree with 8 years of experience. Th e Senior Research Associate position requires a PhD with 3 years ofexperience, aMaster’sdegree with 8 years of experience, or aBachelor’sdegree with 11 years of experience.
• A graduate degree ineconomics, statistics or data science,public policy,sociology, social work, psychology, education,or related fieldsis preferred.

MEF is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

This role includes work to be performed primarily in an office environment. It typically includes frequent phone/audio communication and/or video conferencing usage; and extensive computer, keyboard, and mouse use. It requires the ability to travel domestically by airplane onoccasion. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

MEF Associates hasanofficein Alexandria, VA. This position can also be remote.

Compensation and benefits: The salary range for the Associate position is $ 8 0,000 to $1 2 0,000. The salary range for the Senior Associate position is$100,000 to $160,000. Actual salary amounts are dependent on candidates’ alignment with our needs and their education level and prior work experience. MEF offers comprehensive benefits.

An offer of employmentmaybe contingent upon passing a background check. Various federal agencies with whom we contractmayrequire that staff successfully undergo security clearance as a condition of working on the project. If you are assigned to such a project, you willbe requiredto obtain the requisite security clearance. Additionally, if youparticipatein/completethe application process and are denied,MEFmay choose toterminateyour employment.

As a federal contractor or subcontractor, MEFis required toprovideequal employment opportunities to qualified individuals with disabilities. To help us measure the effectiveness of our outreach and recruitment efforts, we invite applicants and employees to voluntarily self-identify as an individual with a disability. This information is voluntary and confidential and will not be used in making employment decisions. Choosing not to respond will not subject you to any adverse treatment. For more details on this requirement, please see: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ofccp/self-id-forms