Evaluation Research Director
Summary/Objective: At CARECG, we work together with communities who receive federally funded grant awards in areas such as substance use prevention/treatment, HIV/AIDS prevention/treatment, and mental health promotion to provide a full range of consulting and evaluation services. We are looking for an Evaluation Research Director (ERD) to support our grant evaluations. The person in this position will be responsible for oversight and day-to-day management of the research and evaluation for large-scale, federally funded (e.g., SAMHSA, CDC, IHS, HRSA) client projects, fully remote. The ERD will work collaboratively with a CARECG Programs Lead (Project Director) who is the primary partner (client) contact, and is responsible for strategic planning, capacity-building, and implementation support for the partner. The Evaluation Research Director will work closely with the Project Director and the partner, and will have primary responsibility for planning, implementation, and monitoring of all aspects of the outcome evaluation for each project.
To adequately serve the needs of this role, the Evaluation Research Director must be able to manage the responsibilities of multi-method (quantitative and qualitative) evaluation projects of all sizes, which include working collaboratively with other CARECG departments and external partners (clients). The ideal candidate will have the capacity to exercise independent judgment and discretion on decisions with minimal oversight, as well as possess skillsets related to project management, personnel supervision, evaluation design, quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, and facilitation/presentation of evaluation results to different types of community data stakeholders, individually or in groups. They will also have experience working and/or conducting research with historically underserved populations, including people who identify as LGBTQ+, Native American/American Indian, Alaskan Native, and Hispanic/Latino.
This position reports directly to the Vice President (VP) of Research, and will work closely with the VP and several other Research Directors to manage research and data evaluation activities across 50+ partners and 140+ projects at CARECG, with a supporting team of 4-6 Research Managers (who are primarily responsible for data gathering, cleaning, and analysis, report-writing, and survey development) and 1-2 Research Coordinators (who are primarily responsible for data entry, management of quantitative data, and evaluation support). This director will have direct supervisory responsibilities for a team of 2-4 people.
Essential Functions and Responsibilities:
- Provide full life cycle support for the design, management, and reporting of all evaluation, research, and data gathering activities for a portfolio of partner projects.
- Work directly with the partner (in collaboration with the CARECG Project Director) to plan and execute all required outcome evaluation activities.
- Troubleshoot challenges associated with developing and executing data and evaluation projects.
- Ensure internal processes are efficient and consistent across sites and projects.
- Design and co-design a variety of evaluation data deliverables (e.g., survey design, report-writing, community needs assessments, other data collection tools) to prepare for, manage, and complete federal reporting requirements.
- Lead a team of internal CARECG staff to develop high quality, accurate, thorough, and consistent products across partner projects; this includes completing tasks as needed, as well as providing guidance to staff as they complete tasks and reviewing all products.
- Work collaboratively with CARECG staff within the Research department as well as CARECG staff in other departments.
- Maintain working relationships with external CARECG partners and stakeholders, such as state, tribal, and community agencies and non-profit organizations.
- Supervise and approve timesheets for hourly staff members (2-4 people).
- Support the development and utilization of internal policies/procedures for research and data activities and products.
- Monitor the state of the behavioral/mental health and substance use prevention field and collaborate with national, regional, state, tribal, and/or community groups to understand ongoing evaluation efforts and how they relate to and can be included in CARECG’s work.
- Work independently in a fast paced, remote environment while maintaining close communication with team members.
- Have knowledge and or experience working with Microsoft Office Teams, Microsoft Office Forms, Survey Monkey, Word, and Excel.
Education, Experience, and Skills: This position will utilize skills often associated with a Master’s or Doctoral degree in a field such as evaluation, research management, program planning, public health, social work, or community research. A degree, similar work experience in these fields, or a combination will all qualify as evidence of capacity to perform the functions of this position.
These are the preferred qualifications:
- 10+ years of combined degree/work experience in evaluation, research management program planning, public health, social work, community research, behavioral health, mental health or related field.
- Evaluation expertise with federally funded grant mechanisms and reporting systems, such as those used by SAMHSA, CDC, IHS, and HRSA.
- Demonstrated capacity for working with/conducting research with historically underserved populations, in particular LGBTQ+, Native American/American Indian, Alaska Native, and Hispanic/Latino communities.
- Experience in public health, behavioral health, substance use disorder prevention/treatment/recovery, and/or social work.
- Excellent leadership and strategic thinking skills.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to mentor, supervise, and interact with a diverse workforce.
- Demonstrated ability to make and implement strategic, independent decisions that benefit the team and organization as a whole.
- Demonstrated commitment to serving traditionally underserved / excluded communities in ways that respects and raises up their voices and centers a social justice framework.
