Research Associate - Youth Justice Institute

To help support our research and evaluation efforts, the New York State Youth Justice Institute (YJI) is seeking to hire a Research Associate. The incumbent will work on myriad impactful, funded projects with a focus on evaluation and participatory research.

About the New York State Youth Justice Institute (YJI)

The YJI's work focuses on providing training, technical assistance, research, and evaluation support to youth justice-related state agencies, local partners, and others who provide direct services to youth under 25. Our approach to justice encompasses the continuum of care (from prevention to reentry), is rooted in racial/ethnicity, gender, ability, and geographic equity, and honors youth voices. Our team's expertise draws on trained social scientists and data scientists from diverse academic backgrounds; practitioners with experience in multiple fields and systems that impact youth; and professionals with lived expertise in the justice system.

Established in 2017, the YJI is a partnership between the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services and the University at Albany. Housed on the University's downtown campus, the YJI is institutionally situated within the Division for Research and Economic Development, is led by an Executive Director, and has grown exponentially in recent years. Learn more about us.

The incumbent will:

• Plan, organize and conduct mixed methods and participatory research and evaluation that helps inform programmatic decisions in multiple projects involving many stakeholders.
• Be responsible for coordinating and managing multiple research projects, participating in meetings with State and local-level partners and stakeholders, and assisting in the supervision of undergraduate and graduate students.
• Prepare systematic literature reviews, translate research findings to diverse audiences, and prepare reports manuscripts for publication and/or presentation.
• Assist in identifying extramural funding opportunities and participate in grant writing as needed, as well as provide input about trainings and other practice-based initiatives.

This full-time position is based in Albany, NY, at the YJI. It will include at least 10% travel within NYS.

The successful candidate:

• Has a drive for results: Makes things happen; is proactive; balances "analysis" with "doing"; sets high standards for self; commits to organizational goals.
• Is entrepreneurial, leverages opportunities in unusual contexts, and copes well with ambiguity.
• Is comfortable working in a dynamic team setting:
  • Collaborates with others; acknowledges others' contributions; works effectively with individuals of different backgrounds; willing to seek help as needed.
  • Influences and resolves differences across organizational boundaries: gains support and commitment from others even without formal authority; resolves differences by determining needs and forging solutions that benefit all parties; generates enthusiasm; promotes collaboration and facilitates teamwork across organizational boundaries.
  • Has strong interpersonal skills and can work effectively with diverse external partners.
  • Has demonstrated project management and organizational skills, especially with time-sensitive work, and can work on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Is proficient in composing reports, presentations and other media by communicating in an organized, logical, and concise manner to diverse audiences (different professions, ages, languages, and cultures).
• Has mixed methods expertise, from interview and focus group guide development to survey design, measurement selection, and operationalizing constructs.
  • Experience conducting research with marginalized populations with linguistic and literacy barriers is a plus
• Is familiar with community engaged research methods and tools like PRA, RRA, and participatory budgeting.
• Understands clients' and colleagues' needs and concerns; responds promptly and effectively; customizes research assistance and products as appropriate.
• Displays analytical thinking and decisive judgment:
  • Analyzes issues and problems systematically, gathering broad and balanced input; draws sound conclusions and translates conclusions into timely decisions and actions.
• Is committed to learning and knowledge sharing:
  • Open to new ideas; shares knowledge; applies knowledge in daily work; builds partnerships for cross-discipline learning and knowledge sharing.
• Has experience with or working for non-profit or philanthropic organizations and/or with youth-centered boards, forums, or leadership programs
• Has experience developing and conducting training to academic and non-academic audiences.
• Has a successful record of applying for local, state, national or international grants.

Essential Functions:

• Faithfully implement the YJI's research agenda through the following activities:
  • Design and conduct program evaluations, including:
    • Logic model development, evaluation plan development, and evaluation framework selection for multi-site and multi-year projects.
    • Theory of Change/Action development, implementation, and monitoring.
• Provide responsible, competent technical advice to internal and external stakeholders.
• Organize and manage all qualitative and some quantitative data aspects of successful evaluation projects.
• Synthesize information from external sources (literature, unstructured data gathered by external groups) to ensure programs operate as intended.
  • This may include systematic reviews, meta-analysis, abstraction-based grounded theory, text-to-data abstraction, use of administrative data collected for other purposes etc.
• Provide models for qualitative, participatory data-driven storytelling and is comfortable using qualitative data analysis software (e.g., NVivo, AtlasTi, etc.)
• Consult with relevant partners on the planning and conduct of evaluation studies, in the analysis of data, and the interpretation and presentation of findings.
• Participate in multiple research projects with supervision by senior staff, operating within time and budget constraints.
• Manage internal relationships and resources to achieve project deliverables within a "team culture."
• Promote the creation of a data-driven, evidence-based, and/or research-informed culture that builds stakeholders' capacity to fulfill funding obligations, pursue grant opportunities, and objectively demonstrate their work's impact.
• Work with different stakeholders to identify data needs, tailor training programs, and assess the impact of data literacy initiatives.
• Expand YJI's technical and subject-matter presence through conference presentations, report authoring, and multimedia information repositories.
• Provide support in or directly supervise undergraduate and graduate students.

Functional and Supervisory Relationships:

• Reports to the Senior Research Associate of the NYS Youth Justice Institute
• Supervises the following positions: undergraduate and/or graduate students

Job Requirements:

• Proficiency in qualitative data collection and analysis with an actionable mindset. This includes Demonstrated expertise in qualitative research, such as interview and focus group guide development; open, axial, and selective qualitative coding (NVivo); operationalizing constructs and codebook development; case study development; etc.
• Participatory approach to research: Demonstrated experience in designing qualitative or quantitative research that is participatory.
• Evaluation expertise: Proven formative, process, outcome, or impact evaluation record ranging from project design to implementation and dissemination.
• Basic understanding of statistical methods and data analysis techniques that can be deployed in real-world use case scenarios.
• Strong communication: Ability to explain complex data concepts in a clear and accessible manner to a diverse audience.
• Demonstrated ability to respond effectively to multiple assignments and priorities supporting multiple projects and activities simultaneously.
• Strong organizational and time management skills, oral and written communication skills, and advanced interpersonal and relationship-building skills working in a team environment.

Minimum Qualifications:

• MA or MS degree in Criminal Justice, Social Welfare, Public Policy, or a related field
• 7 years of cumulative research and practice experience, including work with government agencies, non-profits or community organizations.
• Demonstrated substantive knowledge of juvenile justice and emerging adulthood research and policy, with an emphasis on community justice, prevention, and/or participatory research with justice-involved individuals.
• Demonstrated knowledge of best practices literature, evidence-based programming, implementation science, and data narrative, as evidenced by publications and other disseminated outputs.
• Experience working with web-based survey tools (e.g., Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey), virtual conference applications (e.g., Zoom, Webex, Microsoft Teams), data analysis (Stata, SPSS, NVivo, AtlasTi), and visualization software (e.g., Tableau, Flourish).
• Demonstrated experience:
  • Conducting evaluation research, particularly in New York State.
  • Working in or with government agencies and/or the nonprofit sector.
  • Designing and reporting participatory research results.
• Applicants must demonstrate an ability to develop inclusive and equitable relationships within our diverse campus community.
• Applicants must demonstrate an ability to support diversity, equity, access, inclusion, and belonging relative to their role.

Preferred Qualifications:

• PhD in Social Welfare, Criminal Justice, Public Policy, Political Sciences, or a related field
• Strong commitment to social justice and demonstrated research record focused on any domain of youth well-being, such as economy, education, mental health, etc.
• Direct experience with youth-serving programs or organizations
• Basic skills to write code in Python as it applies to use of data analysis tools
• Demonstrated experience conducting innovative research in New York State or abroad
• Successful record of applying for grants

Working Environment:

• Typical office environment; fast-paced and team-based.
• Travel requirements for this position are about 10%.

Professional Rank and Salary Range: R2, Research Associate, $73,000 - $78,000

Special Notes:

• This position is funded by a grant and is expected to continue through at least 2028 , with the possibility of an extension. While classified as a temporary position, the initial appointment period will be for one year, with potential appointment extensions contingent on funding and program needs. Temporary assignments may conclude earlier or be extended at the employer's discretion."
• Visa sponsorship is available.

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, or Clery Act, mandates that all Title IV institutions, without exception, prepare, publish, and distribute an Annual Security Report. This report consists of two basic parts: disclosure of the University's crime statistics for the past three years; and disclosures regarding the University's current campus security policies. The University at Albany's Annual Security Report is available in portable document format [PDF] by clicking this link http://police.albany.edu/ASR.shtml

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