Professional Specialist/Research Director for the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics (CSDP)

Position description

The Center for the Study of Democratic Politics serves as Princeton’s primary center for studying democratic political processes, behavior, and institutions. The Center brings together a large, vibrant and interdisciplinary community of scholars interested in democratic politics, supports their empirical research, and communicates those findings to inform public policy debates inside and outside the academy.

In concert with the faculty Director(s), the RD helps develop and implements CSDP’s academic and policy research programs. They work with CSDP affiliates, including affiliated faculty, researchers (fellows, scholars, and so on), and students. They keep up with and bring to bear research resources and knowledge from across and outside Princeton university.

The RD will help CSDP implement SPIA’s strategic priorities, especially data science and policy relevance. The RD will proactively maintain an excellent political science research profile. This includes attending and presenting research at academic conferences, seeking and obtaining ongoing opportunities for one’s own professional and technical development as a researcher, and publishing with CSDP affiliates in academic and policy outlets under the direction of the CSDP director(s), all in the service of CSDP’s research program. The RD will have some time for their own research as well.

Areas of responsibility include: * Design and deliver hands-on workshops on research methods, tools, and applications, including the collection or use of datasets, according to affiliates’ needs * Research and statistical consulting to CSDP affiliates * Make recommendations for and oversee the selection and implementation of research-relevant software, and monitor its ability to meet the evolving needs of CSDP affiliates *Oversee a new MPA fellows’ program and supervise its fellows including their research activities and their policy-oriented writing

Qualifications

Essential requirements: -PhD in political science completed by the start date of the appointment -Training in and experience using political science research methods including a strong quantitative background -Strong programming skills, including in R -Experience with the academic publishing process –Experience teaching research methods, data science, or related programming skills, or advising student activities in these areas -Excellent writing and oral communication skills -Meticulous attention to detail and ability to proof one’s own work and others’ -Experience with managing research projects from initiation through completion -Eagerness to collaborate on projects and to cooperate with others in the work environment -Ability to clearly communicate with both scholarly and general audiences

Preferred: – Prior experience in academic setting -Experience with data use agreements and how to develop partnerships and collaborations to obtain data -working with large or administrative datasets -Specialized technical skills for the social sciences

Application instructions

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