Careers

General Summary: 

The Research Associate II (RAII) assists the Inclusive Postsecondary Education Team in developing and managing cross project research and evaluation projects addressing state and federal services that support postsecondary education, transition to college, and employment and community inclusion for individuals with intellectual disability. The RAII will participate in all aspects of the research and evaluation program, including development of qualitative and quantitative research protocols, design and management of data collection procedures, survey development, data collection, data analysis and the interpretation of results, coding of qualitative data and data cleaning. The RAII will oversee management on online database projects, assist with testing and development, and support revisions/refinement of existing systems. The RAII will also develop written and web-based products for multiple audiences, including secondary and higher education professionals, individuals with disabilities, family members, state and federal policy makers and the research community.  The RAII may supervise the work of other staff on project specific tasks and may provide general supervision to one or more staff. The RAII may work remotely. 

Examples of Duties: 

• Implement research and evaluation protocols in collaboration with the Evaluation Team Coordinator and Principal Investigators.
• Assist in management of database projects including development, refinement, testing, and implementation.
• Train data entry users and provide customer support and technical assistance with data entry.
• Support data collection efforts including data entry support and data cleaning in order to assure quality information.
• Conduct data analysis and summarize and interpret results both in writing and through data visualization.
• Develop written products for multiple constituencies, including reports, journal manuscripts, brief products, and web-based information.
• Respond to technical assistance requests for information and/or analysis of directory data.
• Develop presentation materials to share data-based findings including narrative content, graphs, and charts.
• Collaborate with technical assistance team to conduct data-driven technical assistance.
• Design and implement surveys of stakeholders in consultation with the Evaluation Team Coordinator.
• Design and implement qualitative research protocols in consultation with the Evaluation Team Coordinator.
• Conduct outreach activities and develop a network of relationships in the inclusive postsecondary education community.
• Stay abreast of changes in the field related to inclusive postsecondary education for students with intellectual disability
• Assist in the pursuit of funding opportunities by developing responses to state, federal, and foundation requests for proposals.
• Perform other duties as assigned

Qualifications: 

Master’s Degree required, PhD preferred, in Education or Special Education, Higher Education, Rehabilitation, Psychology, Disability Studies or a closely related field. Minimum of 3-5 years of experience working within a higher education setting, including familiarity with its unique administrative, academic, and operational processes. Experience collaborating with faculty, staff, and/or student support services is strongly preferred. Minimum of three years’ experience in multi-state large scale data management addressing inclusive higher education for people with intellectual disability systems and/or data is required. Experience in database development, FileMaker, QuickBase, as well as quantitative and/or qualitative research is required. Experience with data management and data processing techniques is required; Experience with quantitative and qualitative analysis software is preferred. Experience with grant funded projects is preferred.

•  Ability to develop, maintain, and improve databases.
•  Ability to provide customer service and technical assistance to database users.
•  Ability to plan and manage database testing including beta testers and focus groups to improve the usability of a data system.
• Demonstrated proficiency with office applications, including word processing, presentation graphics, spreadsheets and database management.
• Ability to work independently and supervise the work of others.
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
• Ability to negotiate project tasks and participate with collaborators from outside the institution, including institutions of higher education, K-12 schools, community agencies, state agency personnel, or collaborating researchers.
• Ability to work on several projects simultaneously and manage time and priorities with distributed staff.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to collect information from diverse sources, apply professional principles in performing various analyses, and summarize the information and data in order to solve problem.

Application Instructions: 

Please apply online with your resume, cover letter and list of three professional references.

Review of candidates will begin following the application closing date. 

Only Internal candidates in the Professional Staff Bargaining Unit will be considered during the first 10 business days of the posting.  All other candidates will be considered after that period. 

Salary Ranges for the appropriate Pay Grade can be found at the following link: 

Grade: 32            

Salary Ranges

This is an exempt union position. This is a grant funded position with a current end date of Sep 30, 2025, subject to renewal contingent on funding and university needs.Is this grant funded?

All official salary offers must be approved by Human Resources.

UMass Boston is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact HRDirect@umb.edu or 617-287-5150.