Research Manager

Brightpoint invites you to join our team of mission-driven staff who share a common vision: an equitable world where all children and families thrive in strong communities. As a leader in the human services sector for more than 140 years, we aim to advance the well-being of children by investing in families and strengthening communities through data-informed, collaborative, and preventative solutions.

The Research Manager oversees high-quality, relevant, and impactful research and evaluation activities across the organization. Plans and supervises projects, provides technical support, designs and implements inclusive methodologies, and writes and disseminates findings. Represents the organization externally with research, academic, programmatic, community, and policy stakeholders. Prioritizes equity and inclusion in design, engagement, analysis, and dissemination. Collaborates with internal teams—policy, data, communications, and development—to inform and align policy efforts with research findings.

What you'll do:

• Directs and coordinates research and evaluation projects related to the organization’s programs and services; utilizes research findings to inform program design and implementation.
• Manages the design and implementation of research and evaluation procedures for Brightpoint initiatives; including the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data as it relates to research and evaluation projects and priorities.
• Works closely with the staff members of relevant departments across the organization to support the implementation of research projects including the initial planning and design, the execution of data collection and analysis, and translation of insights for internal and external audiences, and aligns research activities and priorities with the organization’s program, policy and strategy priorities.
• Creates and manages the dissemination of research insights through translational materials such as reports, research briefs, evidence reviews, and interactive dashboards, to convey the findings of research activities conducted by Brightpoint.
• User gathers data to create data visualizations, executive summaries, and other deliverables that interpret and disseminate outcomes and key findings from research studies and initiatives.
• Conducts literature reviews and provides analysis and summary materials to document findings available internally.
• Reviews and provides summaries of the literature on key research topics and best practice indicators of success.
• Chairs the Independent Review Board, which reviews and monitors research studies conducted with Brightpoint participants.
• Develops and maintains partnerships with research and policy institutions, other community-based organizations and leaders, relevant associations and funders, and other external stakeholders.
• Collaborates with external partners in completing community-based and participatory research projects, including assisting in convening meetings, attending research planning meetings, developing research concept papers, assisting in specific research tasks, training and mentoring community members in research methods, and assisting in writing final
  reports.
• Presents research findings to internal and external audiences, including agency staff and leaders, communities, policymakers, academia, and the media. May present findings at local and national conferences. Produces written reports, papers, and articles of a publishable standard, and makes recommendations for scope and method of dissemination.
• Collaborates with program, policy and development staff to identify potential research funding from a variety of sources including academic, private and public sector funders and assists in writing the project narrative and evaluation plan components for the proposals.
• Maintains current and relevant knowledge of external research and policy papers, projects, and funding to inform internal program, policy, and funding efforts, and ensure alignment with internal research priorities.
• Advise on the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data as it relates to research projects and priorities.
• Collaborates with the Data Analytics department to develop and implement data collection goals, tools, methodologies, and storage protocols.
• Supervises, manages workload, and monitors performance of Research Project Coordinator and other staff, as assigned. This includes hiring and training staff, implementing the agency’s personnel policies and practices, approval of timecards, performance appraisals, performance improvement plans, leaves, promotions, salary changes, terminations, and documentation of all personnel actions.

Candidate qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required; Graduate degree preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in research/evaluation/analysis required. Must be adept at research, data collection, and statistical and qualitative analysis; preference for community-based research in the areas of: Early Childhood Education, Child Welfare, or Family Strengthening.
• Minimum of 1 year of supervisory experience required.
• Demonstrates proficiency in statistical software (e.g., R or SPSS), data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau), and/or survey platforms (e.g., Qualtrics) strongly preferred.
• Experience in related fields (e.g., Public Policy, Statistics, Analytics, Public Administration, Social Work or related field) is strongly preferred.
• Experience working in applied research with low-income communities and/or knowledge of policies and issues affecting low-income communities preferred.
• Experience with policy-focused community-based, participatory action, culturally responsive, and developmental research designs and methodologies preferred.
• Experience with designing and implementing a wide variety of research methodologies including in-depth interviewing, focus groups, and/or online surveys preferred.
• Experience with evaluation principles, theories, concepts and practices preferred.
• Experience supporting and training staff and community Partners who may be unfamiliar with research and evaluation methods, to collect, manage, and analyze data, preferred.
• Must have access to transit or other reliable transportation to execute the position’s responsibilities.

Job details:

• Compensation: Salary Range $77K-$85K; offers are commensurate with candidate qualifications and experience. The salary range provided represents our current estimate for this role at the time of posting and is subject to change. The final salary will be determined based on a range of factors, including but not limited to, a candidate's relevant experience, education, qualifications, skills, certifications, and alignment with organizational needs. We are dedicated to fair and equitable compensation practices and are committed to fostering a diverse workforce while providing equal opportunities for all candidates.
• Benefits: Medical/dental/vision insurance, 3 weeks paid time off in the first year including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day (PTO increases with tenure); 11 paid holidays, supplemental insurance options, 401(k) with match (more benefits details here).
• Location: Must be within reasonable driving distance to Chicago and available to work from home office at 200 West Monroe Street (downtown Chicago loop).
• Schedule: Hybrid (remote/in office); Full-time, salary; general business hours with flexibility for occasional travel locally and to other locations in the state and overnight travel for conferences or other meetings.
• We don’t just hire talent—we grow it: Emerging Leaders will have access to leadership development opportunities and one-on-one mentorship.
• Student Loan Forgiveness: Brightpoint is an approved agency for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
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