Director, Research and Evaluation

at  Board of Jewish Education

POSITION OVERVIEW

Data plays a central role in RootOne’s work – it directly informs our decisions and is the single most powerful tool we utilize to create substantive change within the field of teen Israel travel and education. By defining and measuring impact, and by working directly with trip providers and tour operators in utilizing data to recognize the strengths of their work as well as the opportunities for impact growth, RootOne’s research and evaluation efforts guide itinerary development, educator and staff roles and training, recruitment, innovation and so much more. Typically, RootOne generates 25-30 research projects each with their own research questions, instruments, analyses, and findings.
Accordingly, the Director, Research and Evaluation for RootOne serves a crucial role within RootOne’s success.

The Director is responsible for leading various research and evaluation efforts designed to:

• Maximize the long-term impact of immersive Israel travel on Jewish teens.
• Position RootOne as the leader in teen Israel engagement and education both in practice and theory.
• Better understand RootOne teen participants and their families as well as our target potential audiences (specifically Jewishly under-engaged teens and their families).
• Create a community of practice and growth mindset among RootOne’s extended stakeholder community of trip providers, tour operators, and content providers in utilizing data and best practices to grow the collective impact of our work.
• Work with field professionals and other experts in defining impact, work with field professionals and other experts in defining RootOne’s impact by developing and modifying instruments and scales that will help the field better understand the impact of immersive Israel experiences and pre- and post-trip engagement efforts on participants and alumni.

EXPERIENCE, QUALIFICATIONS, AND COMPETENCIES

• PhD required in most relevant disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and education (candidates in the process of defending their dissertation inclusive).
• Candidates with diverse cultural, educational, and experiential backgrounds are urged to apply.
• Experience in and knowledge of the field of Jewish and Israel-focused Education, with a particular understanding of teen engagement, is preferred.
• At least 7 years’ experience as the leader of a program, initiative, or organization strongly preferred.
• Extremely strong interpersonal skills and the ability to develop strong relationships with a wide variety of people.
• The Ideal Candidate will bring:
• Professional experience outside of the academic arena, specifically in making data accessible to non-academics.
• Experience with educational innovation or experimentation.
• The ability to lead and partner with integrity and inspiration; flexibility and openness to working with professional and volunteer community leaders.
• Capacity to successfully encourage stakeholders to embrace and utilize the results of research and evaluation to elevate their offerings and transform the impact of their work on teens and alumni.
• Entrepreneurial and self-starter mindset; a problem solver with top notch planning and prioritizing skills.
• Persuasive and passionate communication skills, both written and verbal (with skills in presenting, public speaking, and group facilitation).
• Advanced data analysis skills and expertise with SPSS, R, and other statistical software.
• Experience leveraging advanced digital storytelling platforms such as Tableau, GIS, DisplayR, and Microsoft Suite to visualize complex data and drive insights.
• Expertise with leading survey platforms, including Qualtrics and Alchemer.
• Extensive knowledge of research methodology and best practices, including survey design, sampling techniques, question formulation, and data collection strategies.
• A creative and collaborative disposition
• You are a candidate who will embrace working in an environment that prioritizes:
• A positive attitude
• Demonstrating care and concern for the people around them
• Leading with humble confidence and competence
• Reliability, consistency, and accountability.
• Striving for excellence.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Serve as the lead on RootOne evaluation endeavors and be the key liaison to RootOne’s third-party research and evaluation partner and the RootOne leadership team on all issues related to research and research strategy for RootOne.
• Participate as a member of the Leadership Team for the RootOne initiative, leveraging one’s experience and insights to help inform and impact the overall strategy and operations of the RootOne initiative.
• Supervise the RootOne Research Manager position to help support RootOne-focused research and evaluation, and to build out the Research and Evaluation team as needed.
• Work closely with RootOne leadership to integrate evaluative mechanisms into our data informed approaches to program delivery.
• Review and improve RootOne’s evaluation mechanisms and then regularly analyze and make meaning of results, building a cycle of ongoing learning, reflection, and iteration among our key partners (trip providers, tour operators, content providers, etc.).
• Lead RootOne’s efforts to effectively use data to communicate our programmatic impact with external stakeholders.
• Work with all areas of program delivery to consider how data influences their practice.
• Provide impact data to RootOne’s fundraising team for use in grant applications and reports, donor engagement and presentations.
• As appropriate, author articles and papers on relevant findings that will be of service to the greater fields of teen engagement, Jewish education, Israel education and teen travel.
• Support systems and develop new strategies for data warehousing, analysis, and visualization to support our internal team, as well as external partners and funders.

The Director is responsible for leading various research and evaluation efforts designed to:

• Maximize the long-term impact of immersive Israel travel on Jewish teens.
• Position RootOne as the leader in teen Israel engagement and education both in practice and theory.
• Better understand RootOne teen participants and their families as well as our target potential audiences (specifically Jewishly under-engaged teens and their families).
• Create a community of practice and growth mindset among RootOne’s extended stakeholder community of trip providers, tour operators, and content providers in utilizing data and best practices to grow the collective impact of our work.
• Work with field professionals and other experts in defining impact, work with field professionals and other experts in defining RootOne’s impact by developing and modifying instruments and scales that will help the field better understand the impact of immersive Israel experiences and pre- and post-trip engagement efforts on participants and alumni