SENIOR RESEARCHER - CIRCLE, Tisch College

CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) is a research center that studies young Americans' civic participation. CIRCLE is the premier source of information-facts, trends, evaluations, and best practices-related to youth civic engagement. CIRCLE disseminates the results of research to policy makers, practitioners, journalists, and scholars in various disciplines. CIRCLE is part of The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University, which prepares students in all fields of study for lifetimes of active citizenship, promotes new knowledge in the field, and builds an enduring and broadly shared ethos of citizenship and public service across Tufts University. Tisch College offers opportunities to engage Tufts students in meaningful community building and public service experiences, explore personal commitments to civic participation, and take on active and effective roles in public life and to engage faculty in expanded active citizenship research and teaching. Tisch College also seeks to influence higher education in the US and abroad to embrace active citizenship.

CIRCLE is seeking a Senior Researcher to conduct research and to help to lead some of CIRCLE's research or evaluation projects. The Senior Researcher will be a Tufts University employee and will work in the main CIRCLE office on the Tufts campus in Medford/Somerville, Massachusetts. Responsibilities include:

• serving as a researcher on a range of research projects that may include secondary data-analysis, literature reviews, field experiments, program evaluations and original surveys;
• producing reports, fact sheets and press releases on timely and relevant topics, often in close collaboration with CIRCLE colleagues;
• providing guidance to other CIRCLE staff and students who produce research (quantitative and qualitative);
• contributing to research grant proposals;
• representing CIRCLE at a wide range of events including research conferences, practitioner forums, press events and other public events;
• answering queries from reporters about CIRCLE research.

Although the Senior Researcher position does not come with regular teaching responsibilities, there may be opportunities to teach undergraduate courses on civic engagement and leadership periodically.

Basic Requirements:

• Master's degree
• Five (5) years of related experience
• Experience with statistical software packages, databases, and Microsoft Office
• Strong research skills, including a good working knowledge of at least one statistical package, such as STATA, SAS, or SPSS, and some experience using large public datasets. Experience with multivariate statistical techniques or qualitative methods and evaluation methods
• Ability to communicate effectively with practitioners, reporters, scholars, and young people through writing, speech, and graphs
• Ability to produce reliable, accurate, and readable evaluations and research products on short deadlines
• Ability to work collaboratively with CIRCLE colleagues from varied backgrounds and to interact with practitioners
• Ability to teach research methods to colleagues and student/workers

Preferred Qualifications:
PhD in a social science discipline. Enthusiasm for youth civic engagement desired; however, prior research in this specific area is not required.

Tufts University is an AA/EO employer and actively seeks candidates from diverse backgrounds.