Director of Research and Evaluation

Umoja is a community of educators and learners committed to the
academic success, personal growth and self-actualization of African
American and other students. The Umoja Community seeks to educate
the whole student–body, mind and spirit. Informed by an ethic of
love and its vital power, the Umoja Community will deliberately
engage students as full participants in the construction of
knowledge and critical thought. The Umoja Community seeks to help
students experience themselves as valuable and worthy of an
education.

Scope 

Umoja Community is currently seeking a full-time, hybrid
Director of Research and Evaluation (DR&E), located in the
state of California, to help us as we strive to meet our mission.
The primary duties of the DR&E are to develop, implement, and
oversee Umoja’s evaluation, measurement, and program impact
activities and coordinate external research partnerships. The ideal
candidate will have both a solid academic background and
significant experience working in program evaluation. They must be
adept at helping others understand why and how data can be most
helpful to them in operating programs. In addition, this person’s
vision, deep commitment to social justice, inclination toward
continuous improvement, and her/his/their client-centered focus
will assist in more fully integrating this function into and
throughout the organization.

Measurement & Evaluation: 

Use data to develop policy and program recommendations for
senior and middle management, external partners, policymakers, and
the general public. 

• Lead the development. Implementation and management of data
  sharing agreements that are mutually beneficial to external
  partners. 
• Lead Umoja’s measurement and evaluation activities for Umoja’s
  suite of programs, pilots and other initiatives to ensure robust
  evidence to inform program and policy scaling, pivots, grant
  applications, reporting, funding and other adjustments. 
• Lead management of data and information systems and analytic
  efforts to ensure robust data practices are used to inform agency
  policy and programming. 
• Keep up to date with research and trends for educationally
  underrepresented student populations and share with staff, campus
  partners, and external audiences. 
• Contribute to basic Umoja training offerings through the
  creation of training material, especially within the area of
  outcomes data related to student support services and instructional
  support.

Research Partnerships and Learning: 

• Collaborate with senior leadership to develop Umoja’s research
  agenda and lead its implementation. 
• Foster and support applied research partnerships that answer
  operational questions, inform organizational strategy, and
  contribute to the national dialogue around Black and other student
  success. 
• Develop and manage processes, learning formats, and
  communication tools to ensure research, measurement, analysis, and
  evaluation results are disseminated in practical and actionable
  formats for Umoja staff and leadership and external audiences and
  partners. 
• Work with the staff and college-based Umoja program
  coordinators to help establish and collaborate with the
  college-based Institutional Research Offices to design and
  implement an Umoja research agenda; and 
• Participate in planning and facilitation of the Regional
  Symposia, Summer Learning Institute, the Umoja statewide conference
  as well as other designated events and trainings as
  assigned. 

Leadership: 

• Lead, mentor, and oversee the research and evaluation
  team. 
• Develop an overarching vision for the role of research,
  evaluation, and continuous process improvement within the
  organization. 
• Provide leadership and recommendations for emergent
  organizational strategies and policy initiatives, including grant
  development, writing and idea synthesis, and internal and external
  stakeholder engagement. 
• Oversee, plan, and monitor the reporting of third-party grants
  received as well as use of grants distributed. 
• Other duties as assigned by the CEO. 

Presentations and Electronic
Materials: 

• Contribute to development of electronic materials for Umoja’s
  website, and other marketing materials and reports. 
• As necessary, make presentations to professional, educational,
  and community conferences and organizations 

Supervisory Responsibility: Yes 

Travel: 40% 

Requirements

Required Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy, Evaluation Science,
  Sociology, Applied Statistics or closely related field, Master’s
  Degree preferred AND 
• A minimum of six years of experience with applied research
  strategy and/or design and implementation, policy analysis, program
  evaluation and measurement OR 
• An equivalent combination of experience and education that
  provides the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform
  the essential functions of this position. 

Required Knowledge, Skills and
Abilities: 

• Experience supervising staff including coaching, mentoring, and
  providing strong leadership in a dynamic work
  environment. 
• Knowledge of education student success literature and/or
  knowledge of related social policy arenas such as health, housing,
  or other areas. 
• Experience conducting or leading program
  assessments. 
• Experience translating program evaluation findings into
  improvements to current program effectiveness or future program
  development. 
• Experience managing external evaluators conducting program
  evaluation activities. 
• Knowledge of and familiarity with analytic software programs
  such as Stata, Tableau, and/or GIS; proficiency with MS Office to
  include Word, Excel, Outlook, and database software. 
• Applies effective written and verbal communication techniques
  to convey clear and timely messages to internal and external
  stakeholders; listens to others’ ideas and concerns; has
  exceptional public speaking skills. 
• Values and contributes to a work environment that embraces and
  appreciates diversity, equity, and inclusion; treats others with
  respect; promotes cooperation. 
• Analyzes problems, identifies alternative solutions, and
  implements recommendations; demonstrates critical, creative, and
  reflective thinking. 
• Establishes and nurtures relationships with internal and
  external stakeholders, regularly inviting feedback and suggestions;
  works cooperatively with others as an active member of a
  team. 
• Works effectively and efficiently to provide quality service to
  satisfy service expectations; seeks ways to improve service
  delivery; demonstrates strong program management skills. 
• Takes responsibility for own work performance and balancing
  critical job requirements, initiating, and completing work; manages
  time/conflict/stress; ability to work effectively under pressure in
  a fast-paced environment. 
• Adapts to changing business needs, conditions, and work
  responsibilities; responds positively to change, embracing and
  using new practices or values. 
• Collaborative team player that is at ease working with multiple
  and diverse stakeholders and who brings enthusiasm, curiosity,
  humility, and humor to their work.

Benefits

As a member of the Umoja Community you will enjoy: 

• Full Benefits 
• 14 Paid Vacation Days 
• Hybrid Work Environment 
• Professional Development