Sr. Research Specialist

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is seeking a dedicated and skilled Sr. Research Specialist to join the Academy Division of the NAEYC's Learning Program Team. As a professional membership organization, NAEYC works to ensure high-quality early learning for every child, from birth through age 8, and supports educators, families, and early childhood professionals.

NAEYC is a professional membership organization with 90+ employees across the US, that works to promote high-quality early learning for each and every child, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. NAEYC advances a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and supports all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children.

Responsibilities:

• Work closely with the Director of Research Practices & Implementation and Senior Director of Applied Research to identify key research questions related to program accreditation, policy, advocacy, and institutional research at NAEYC.
• Make recommendations and contribute to the development of collateral materials, reports, and data summaries.
• Manage accreditation site visit records, including scoring processes and decision reporting.
• Track, analyze, and report on quality assessment data, program evidence, accreditation trends, and site visit efficiency.
• Collaborate with leadership to ensure the validity and reliability of NAEYC's accreditation standards, tools, and protocols.
• Generate and analyze data visualizations in collaboration with leadership and other teams.
• Support the creation of annual reports, research briefs, and white papers to share findings and insights.
• Lead data-driven decision-making processes in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
• Represent NAEYC at professional meetings and contribute to cross-functional project groups.
• Leverage publicly available data to support NAEYC's advocacy work and contribute to the strengthening of early learning and care systems.
• Perform other work-related duties as assigned, with flexibility in meeting evolving research needs.

Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Statistics, Early Childhood, Public Policy, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in research, specifically working with quantitative and qualitative data.
• Experience with data management, visualization, and analysis; including creating research databases and conducting complex analysis.
• Experience conducting focus groups and designing surveys is a plus.
• Familiarity with R or other statistical software is highly desired.
• Strong technical skills for learning and working with internal databases and statistical software.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Politically astute and able to develop positive professional relationships based on integrity.
• Strong communication skills: written, verbal, and listening; proven ability to present complex information clearly.
• Team player who fosters collaboration and draws on team strengths.
• Strong project and time management skills, with an ability to bring a positive, purposeful energy to the work.

Salary Range: Competitive, based on experience and geographic location (remote work options available outside of the DC area).

Position Designation:

This role is eligible for telework. Telework and remote work eligibility is subject to NAEYC's Telework and Remote Work Policy. Hybrid policy requires one day per week onsite in Washington, DC office. This role requires travel in support of company events.

Business Continuity:

The nature of this role assigns this position to the Business Continuity team; therefore, this role is critical to business operations and may be called upon to be present in the event of an emergency or crisis.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

NAEYC is dedicated to providing equal opportunities to all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, family responsibilities, political affiliation, matriculation, genetic information, disability, or protected veterans status, or any other factor that is a prohibited consideration under applicable laws and regulations.