This posting is with the Philadelphia Office of Children and Families (OCF) Division of Performance Management and Technology (PMT). OCF supports Philadelphia’s most vulnerable children and families and prioritizes safe children, strong families, and supported schools. OCF administers a number of City-supported programs, including Out-of-School Time, WorkReady, Community Schools, and PHLpreK. OCF also oversees the Department of Human Services (DHS), which provides child welfare services, delinquent services, and child welfare prevention programs to promote safety, permanency, and well-being for children and youth at risk of abuse, neglect, and delinquency.

The Division of Performance Management and Technology supports the core missions of OCF and DHS in the following ways:

• Evaluating service quality and consistency, identifying needed improvements, and tracking these improvements over time;
• Building a world class data and information technology infrastructure;
• Developing and maintaining integrated information systems and data analytics so that practitioners can easily access and utilize quality and accurate data in their day-to-day decisions;
• Strengthening how the child welfare system utilizes data to make informed decisions about the children and families we serve; and
• Conducting short- and long-term research to evaluate the effectiveness of programs and system-wide initiatives in order to continually inform child welfare policy and practice.

Job Description

The Office of Children and Families is seeking to hire a qualified candidate for the role of Research and Evaluation Associate. Reporting to the Senior Research Officer, the Research and Evaluation Associate will be on Performance Management and Technology’s newly formed Implementation Science team. This team supports the development, implementation, sustainability, scale-up, and ongoing evaluation of system initiatives. The vision of this team is to provide evidence for processes at the system level around key implementation strategies and department commitments. The use of Implementation Science Teams will support OCF in developing the infrastructure to design and successfully implement new system initiatives, strategies, and evidence-based programs. The Implementation Science team focuses on bridging the gap between research and practice five priority areas that PMT has identified:

Continuous Quality Improvement: Guide strategic processes to improve practice/initiatives through the establishment of a continuous quality improvement workflow to assure the full and effective uses of the evidence-based innovations. Implementation scientists will utilize improvement cycles to problem-solve barriers that arise during implementation.

Assessing Readiness: Assess organizational and stakeholder readiness for change and for the implementation of new initiatives. The Implementation Science Team will also be responsible for developing a systematic process to identify the steps needed to enhance capacity to implement effectively.

Equity and Antiracism: Examine of how marginalized groups have been affected by systemic racism. The team will also conduct assessments of how groups may be affected by a proposed action or decision to minimize or eliminate unanticipated adverse consequences. Through the utilization of improvement frameworks, the Implementation Science team will be able to identify challenges faced and carry out strategies to address them while simultaneously centering equity.

Community-informed Practice: Create opportunities to center the experience of system involved parents and youth in the development and evaluation of system initiatives. There will be an intentional focus on amplifying community voice, including their input, participation, and priorities into data collection, research, policy, and technical assistance. Implementation Science Managers will collaborate closely with stakeholder groups to identify community needs, assets, and best approaches to fit the setting.

Research Translation: Support the integration of existing research and best practices into practice and to inform next steps in original research projects. The team will assist in the dissemination of products that increase knowledge of impact and focus on research implications and recommendations.

Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Able to develop research and analytic plans including refining research questions, determining appropriate methods and crafting the project scope and timeline
2. Responsible for analyzing and interpreting administrative data.
3. Responsible for supporting data quantitative and qualitative data collection processes
4. Assist with coordinating, managing and conducting evaluation activities for various DHS projects and initiatives.
5. Serve on the External Research Committee to review and provide methodological feedback for proposed studies from external researchers
6. Ensuring and informing that equity principles are integrated into data preparation, study designs, data collection methods and analyzing, interpreting, and disseminating data and results
7. Informing data collection and implementation strategies explore opportunities for co-creation, power sharing, and commitment to being people and community driven
8. Providing strategic support to Implementation Science Team and/or partners in identifying gaps in research and training needs specific data needs
9. Establish and lead a collaborative environment for project teams where knowledge is shared across disciplines on a regular basis to advance projects.
10. Follow up with all responsible parties on the project to ensure that adequate communication occurs, and implementation activities are accomplished in a timely manner.
11. Able to prepare and conduct presentations to a variety of stakeholder groups regarding project findings.
12. Responsible for designing and writing of reports, logic models, literature reviews and other written materials.
13. Develop visual presentations, including PowerPoint slides, charts, graphs, and infographics from raw and summarized data for a wide range of audiences.
14. Assisting with development, organization and publication of applicable research findings in collaboration with the Senior Research Officer and Data and Evaluation Associate.

Research and Evaluation:

The Research and Evaluation Associate will help to assess the effectiveness and impact of existing processes, interrogating current practices, as well as identifying best practices relevant to OCF’s strategic plan. The Associate will support projects involving PMT and other OCF departments for key evaluation activities and will also help to continuously shape strategy of implementation activities and guide dissemination by making recommendations based on data, current research, and identified community/stakeholder needs.

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Research Practice:

• Knowledge of data and implementation science concepts, methods, and tools 
• Ability to develop research protocols, data collection instruments, and literature reviews
• Strong mixed methods research, data analysis, quality improvement and assurance skills 
• Commitment to equity and community-engaged research principles
• History of innovation and willingness to experiment and push boundaries to overcome the status quo in social service delivery

Project Management:

• Demonstrate effective project/team management competencies, such as establishing collaborative team structure and mechanisms, the ability to run a project or serve as project manager, and the ability to ensure a successful project lifecycle.
• Success managing and coaching a talented and highly motivated staff
• Exceptional writing and communication skills, including writing for diverse audiences and experience presenting to public officials and at conferences on complex material
• Attention to detail and ability to manage multiple initiatives in a fast-paced environment
• Demonstrate an ability to identify several courses of action to make informed decisions about project development and implementation.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with OCF staff and external stakeholders including other City agencies and contracted providers.
• Demonstrate presentation skills, strategic thinking, and high professional ethics.
• Accuracy, attention to detail and organizational skills
• Experience preferred in child welfare, public health, education, and or human service organizations.

Education and Experience:

• Completion of a Master’s degree program at an accredited college or university with course work in Public Health, Social Work, Social Psychology, Sociology, Social Policy, and/or other relevant social or statistical science field
• Minimum of 5-7 years working in advocacy, research, program planning, performance management, quality improvement, and/or evaluation systems. 
• Project management experience and/or applicable business experience
• Familiarity with child- and/or family-focused service-delivery in Philadelphia is desired
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, including data analysis tools like Excel and/or open source tools

Essential Functions:

Ability to physically perform the duties and to work in the environmental conditions required such as maneuvering in office space – reaching file cabinets, fax and copier machines when necessary. Must be able to sit for up to 2 hours while looking at and using a computer. Must possess the ability to use a keyboard and mouse for typing or performing data entry functions. Must be able to travel locally and attend conferences out of the City if necessary.

Equal Opportunity Employment: 

PMHCC, Inc. is committed to equal opportunity. employment for all employees and applicants without sexual preferences, age, national origin, disability, status or any other characteristic protected by law. It is our policy to support equal regard to race, religion, color, sex, behavioral health status, military 

Americans with Disabilities Act: 

Employees as well as applicants who are currently, or become disabled, must be able to perform the functions of the job with either reasonable accommodation or unaided. PMHCC, Inc. will examine reasonable accommodations on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the law.