What are the responsibilities and job description for the Program Evaluator position at State of Rhode Island?
Full-Time Contract / Long-Term Grant-Funded (Expected through Sept 2030)
Hours: 35 hours/week
Position Summary
We seek an experienced Research Data Analyst & Program Evaluator to support implementation and ongoing evaluation of a multi-year, federally grant-funded children’s behavioral health initiative.
In this role, you will collaborate with leadership, evaluation teams, state agency partners, and community stakeholders to guide evaluation methodology, monitor data collection, merge and manage multi-source datasets, perform quantitative analysis, and produce clear data visualizations and briefs for diverse audiences.
What You Bring to This Work
- Systems & Impact Focus: You hold human-centered values (family-driven, youth-guided, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive) as core principles and look for how different agency, provider, and funding pieces connect.
- Relationship Infrastructure: You know that trust with partner organizations, providers, and community members is what makes system-level change stick.
- Comfort with Ambiguity: You can bring structure to evolving projects, make progress without a rigid roadmap, and adjust as you learn.
- Data & Curiosity Balance: You value input from frontline providers and individuals with lived experience alongside quantitative metrics.
Key Responsibilities
- Evaluation Plan & Methodology: Guide the evaluation plan, methodology, and logic models. Monitor fidelity to the design, oversee implementation, and recommend mid-course adjustments as needed.
- Outcomes & Metrics: Co-develop objective, measurable, and realistic process and impact outcomes that complement qualitative evaluation efforts.
- Data Collection & Monitoring: Establish data collection protocols across collaborating partner entities. Train and support data contributors while monitoring data for timeliness, accuracy, validity, and reliability.
- Data Management & Analysis: Perform dataset merging, data cleaning, and quality control across varied sources. Conduct descriptive and advanced statistical analyses using SAS.
- Data Reporting & Visualization: Translate complex datasets into clear reports, graphical representations, data briefs, and quarterly/annual reporting packages tailored to funder requirements and stakeholder needs.
- Cross-Sector Alignment: Represent the project team in cross-agency workgroups, advisory boards, and stakeholder meetings across Rhode Island.
Required Qualifications
- Education: Master’s degree in a research/data-analytic field (e.g., Public Health, Social Sciences, Statistics, or related discipline).
- Experience: 3 years of progressively responsible experience in research design, program evaluation, data merging, data quality assurance, analysis, and reporting.
- Analytical Tools: Strong proficiency in SAS for statistical data management and quantitative analysis.
- Initiative Management: Demonstrated track record supporting or leading implementation for grant-funded or strategic planning initiatives. Ability to manage multiple complex initiatives independently.
- Location & Mobility: Based in or near Rhode Island, with the ability to attend periodic local in-person meetings and site visits within the state.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with federal grants (e.g., SAMHSA, HHS, or similar awards).
- Familiarity with children’s behavioral health frameworks, system-of-care models, child welfare systems, or Medicaid-funded services.
- Background working within or alongside public/state government systems.
- Experience engaging community members, youth, and families with lived experience in program or evaluation design.