Join the Education and Child Development (ECD) Department at NORC at the University of Chicago as a Senior Research Director II. Here you will focus on early childhood issues, including training and technical assistance work to support early childhood programs, and on work that is responsive to cultural and linguistic diversity, disparities and equity issues.

While our main office locations are in Chicago, IL and Bethesda, MD, we will consider qualified candidates who prefer to work remotely.

For more than 40 years, NORC has been committed to conducting high quality education research. Our department of Education and Child Development's research covers the full array of education-relevant populations, from pre-school children to the post-graduate doctorate holders. NORC is a leader in conducting large national surveys, as well as more targeted state and local studies, harvesting reliable, actionable early childhood data, particularly data on early care and education. The scope of our education and early childhood research methodologies is wide-ranging, as well – including primary data collection, analysis and reporting of existing data, transcript abstraction, classroom observations, qualitative analysis, and experimental and quasi-experimental designs.

• Direct small to moderately large projects with assistance from other staff, or manages task(s) or components of large and complex projects
• Function in a leadership role with responsibility for all activities on project assignments, management of data, operational procedures required to deliver contracted deliverables. Must be adept at client interaction. Includes administrative supervisory responsibilities
• Ensure effective project staffing for the range of projects supervised. Develop all training strategies and materials relative to project needs
• Interact with clients frequently to clarify their needs, report on progress, discuss contractual matters, resolve problems, allay concerns, and provide information and recommendations
• Guide programs and policymakers in using evidence to make decisions
• Ensure and manage staff development, providing mentorship, particularly in special areas of expertise (either substantive or methodological), management advice, performance evaluations, and other feedback on performance
• May have significant budget responsibility on components of large research projects, including monitoring project budgets and schedules. Manage subcontracts. Oversee budget development
• Perform significant business development responsibilities, including idea generation, outreach, and authoring various sections of technical proposals - generally including those most methodologically or conceptually challenging and/or those most substantive/technical in nature. Manage full proposal efforts of smaller scale (proposal submission size and dollar value)
• Plan, monitor and provide quality control of data collection/deliverables and other project activities
• Travel periodically for training and technical assistance activities, as well as client meetings and conferences

• Bachelor’s Degree in education, early childhood, social sciences, or other relevant discipline is required, MA or PhD is preferred
• At least 8 years experience in positions of increasing responsibility in survey research, social science research, public policy or related field. Experience must include extensive project management responsibilities
• NORC will possibly hire at the Senior Research Director II level for more qualified candidates
• Interest and experience in early care and education programs, preschool, elementary schools and community-based programs a plus
• Strong problem solving, project management, relationship management skills
• Ability to manage time to work on multiple projects simultaneously
• Must have experience hiring, managing and mentoring staff
• Outstanding interpersonal and critical reasoning skills
• Strong written and oral communication skills, including an ability to translate complex research methods and findings for a practitioner and policy audience
• Experience in client communications, financial management and relationship management
• Strong proficiency with MS Office software; proficiency with statistical, financial and resource management/analysis packages. Working knowledge of computing platforms, data processing procedures, and data file construction

NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, our teams have conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with us to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.

For over 75 years, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications and groundbreaking research findings. But our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, and commitment to collegiality have remained constant components of who we are as a brand, and who each of us is as a member of the NORC team. With world-class benefits, a business casual environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which we’re known, and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the impact their work is making on a global scale.

NORC is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer that values and actively seeks diversity in the workforce. NORC evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other legally- protected characteristics.