Role: Research and Evaluation Lead (Contract basis)

Location: Remote within the United States.

Work authorization: Candidates should be authorized to work in the United States

Compensation: $80-$120 per hour (based on experience) and up to 20-30 hours per week.

Deadline To Apply: January 15, 2025 at 11pm ET, applications reviewed on a rolling basis

Who we are:

ideas42 is a nonprofit that applies insights from behavioral science—the study of how people make decisions and act in the real world—to improve lives and drive social change. Working globally, we reinvent the practices of institutions and create more effective products and policies that can be scaled for maximum impact.

For the past 15 years, we've been at the forefront of applying behavioral science to create a more equitable world. As we've developed our expertise, we've helped define an entire field. Our efforts have extended to 50+ countries as we've partnered with hundreds of governments, foundations, NGOs, private sector entities, and philanthropic leaders.

About the role:

Our Research & Evaluation (R&E) team provides critical data-related expertise to the organization and this role supports our (Un)warranted initiative in which we reform court date communications to help courts and system partners across the country effectively reduce missed court appearances and their harmful consequences.

We are seeking a motivated researcher to join our R&E team and lead multiple research and evaluation efforts for our (Un)warranted initiative. The ideal candidate has demonstrated success in leading all phases of field research, from development of new projects (refining research questions, identifying and developing relationships with government partners, designing evaluation methodology, etc.) through to management, analysis, and write up of results.

This research will directly inform policy and grow the evidence as we scale proven solutions, such as court date notifications, to improve the legal system and specifically outcomes for involved individuals. Much of the work will be evaluating the impact of behaviorally informed interventions on court appearance, warrant and jail rates, with an initial focus on court date communications (i.e. state citation forms, court reminders, etc.). These evaluations are typically quasi-experimental (RDiT, DiD), with occasional randomized evaluations where possible.

Candidates should be self-starters with excellent communication skills and comfortable working both independently and collaboratively. We are looking for someone who is inquisitive, detail-oriented, resourceful, and thoughtful, and who can be relied on to be organized and lead this body of work.

This position is a part-time commitment, with a minimum of 24 months of work and opportunity for longer term. We anticipate this role will be up to 20-30 hours per week, with periods of higher and lower intensity.

Candidates with lived experience and/or having been personally affected by the criminal legal system are strongly encouraged to apply.

Key responsibilities:

Partner development and management: Develop and manage relationships with government (courts, sheriffs, etc.) and academic partners. This includes proposing new research to potential partners, assessing partner viability, gathering and reviewing relevant data, running power calculations, and building and maintaining strong ongoing relationships for current and future work.

Evaluation planning: Develop rigorous quasi-experimental research methodology, draft pre-analysis plans, register the evaluation, obtain necessary IRB approvals, and ensure compliance with ethical and research standards. Develop language for proposals detailing research plans, as needed.

Data management: Coordinate with government partners to understand local variables and definitions, develop research datasets and pull timelines from administrative data, and reviewing data and logic to ensure accuracy, quality, and adherence to protocols. Perform rigorous cleaning and management of large, complex datasets, ensuring data integrity and preparing data for in-depth analysis.
Data analysis and interpretation: Execute statistical analyses as outlined in the pre-analysis plan using Stata and/or R. Work collaboratively with the research team to refine analysis. Ensure replication analysis, sharing of early results with reviewers, and incorporation of external feedback for robust results.
Results write-up and dissemination: Lead write up of results briefs/reports on the research and effectively communicate findings for policymakers and practitioners. Support academics with development of journal articles. Work with ideas42 communications team, partners, and funders to disseminate publications. Present research at convenings, conferences, and webinars.

General research and impact tracking: As needed, develop and engage in additional research projects and/or data activities to advance the goals of the (Un)warranted initiative and track its impact across all jurisdictions. Undertake primary and secondary research projects as relevant related to interventions, costs, or other issues.

Minimum qualifications:

PhD in Economics, Statistics, Public Policy, Criminology, or a related social science field with a strong emphasis on econometrics and impact evaluation.
Minimum of 7 years of experience leading quasi-experimental evaluations and randomized controlled trials in the field, including their design, management, data analysis, and write up of results.
Track record of success in developing and managing trusting relationships with government partners and working with administrative datasets.
Advanced proficiency in working with large datasets using econometric techniques and statistical analysis.
Experience applying a racial equity perspective to research projects regarding study questions, design, analysis, and interpretation of results.
Track record of successfully managing multiple projects simultaneously.
Commitment to high-quality outputs and working with teams to achieve them.
Strong knowledge of advanced statistical techniques, including econometric methods for quasi-experimental impact evaluation and statistical software (R or Stata preferred).
Experience using version control (e.g., Git) and reproducible research tools (e.g., R Markdown) to ensure transparency and replicability of analyses. Familiarity with tidy code writing and organizing complex code is required. Experience generating easily understandable data visualizations for diverse audiences.
Mission-aligned, self-starter, and able to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
Excellent communication and relationship building skills with the ability to engage and persuade a diverse network of partners, including government partners.

Preferred qualifications:

Experience working with court, jail, or other legal system data and/or knowledge of the legal pretrial system.

Working with Us

We are a culture-first organization where rules or processes do not take precedence – people and their ability to make well-reasoned decisions do. You’ll find that our team members are deeply caring, wicked smart, and both tenacious and rigorous in their work.

Our core values are at the heart of everything at ideas42:

We live and breathe what we do. We look at everything through a BEHAVIORAL LENS.
We take OWNERSHIP. We don’t just work at ideas42, we take shared responsibility for it.
We DO GOOD. We use our expertise to improve millions of lives and create a better world for all.
We have fun. We let PLAYFULNESS inform the way we work and our approach to the world, helping to drive our creativity and improve our solutions.
We live with a SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY. We approach our colleagues, partners and people whose lives we seek to improve with an attitude of selflessness and cooperation.
We are TENACIOUS. We never take the easy route, but push to stretch the limits of what’s possible.
We are RIGOROUS in how we think and how we tackle problems.

Application Process Overview

The ideas42 application process has four stages:

Application: Submit your application and resume
Case Study: Selected candidates will receive a short assignment, to be completed over approx. 1 week
First Round Interview: Selected candidates will be invited to interview with an ideas42 program team member
Final Round Interview: Selected candidates will be invited to interview with an ideas42 senior team member. References will also be requested and contacted during this time.

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