Programs & Research Assistant (Part-Time)

at  ExpandED Schools

ExpandED is dedicated to ensuring that all young people have access to enriching learning opportunities that affirm their identities, teach them valuable skills, and spark new possibilities. Through program development, capacity-building, research and advocacy, we work toward our vision of a vibrant and stable publicly-funded system of school-community partnership so that all New York City children thrive.
Established in 1998, the organization today works with more than 119,000 children and 900 programs throughout New York City to ensure that students in under-served communities have access to innovative, engaging ways of learning to enable them to reach their full potential. Over the last two decades, ExpandED Schools’ program, research and policy efforts have led to increased recognition of the academic, social, and emotional benefits of afterschool, increased funding, and new models for school-community partnership.

QUALIFICATIONS:

The Program and Research Assistant is expected to:

• Be dependable and organized, with excellent time management skills.
• Have strong communication and writing skills.
• Have experience creating and maintaining spreadsheets (such as Excel, Google Sheets, Airtable, etc.), including using spreadsheets to organize and track information.
• Have previous experience in either (1) quantitative data collection and analysis techniques/coursework in quantitative methods OR (2) qualitative data collection and analysis techniques/coursework in qualitative methods
• Be professional at all times through quality of work, punctuality, attendance, and attitude.
• Display the initiative and ability to learn knowledge of the field.
• Experience with quantitative or qualitative analysis platforms, such as SPSS, PowerBI, NVivo, or Atlas.ti preferred but not required.
• Proficiency in Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and/or Bengali a plus.

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION:

ExpandED Schools is seeking a part-time Programs & Research Assistant to support administrative programmatic and evaluation efforts in the spring and summer of 2024, likely extending beyond into future school years. This role will first support the administrative, programmatic, and evaluation needs of the NYC Reads Initiative. Funded by the Pinkerton Foundation, this initiative seeks to build literacy supports and ecosystems in high-need neighborhoods by leveraging community assets. Tasks will include developing and maintaining surveys to inform contact lists of all partners; feedback form surveys to gauge satisfaction and learning following events; and a calendar of events to community across the initiative.
Though initial responsibilities will overlap with research & data tasks, we anticipate that sometime in the summer of 2024, this role will transition to more directly supporting the Research Department. The Research Department conducts external evaluations of a large number of federally funded afterschool programs as well as internal evaluations of specific literacy and STEM initiatives. The Research Department also engages in research projects with nonprofit partners to best serve the needs of the NYC K-12 field. Using research-based tools and methods, we undertake a systematic process to regularly monitor quality and program results. We are seeking individuals to assist in qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, conduct field observations, and to assist with other research tasks as needed.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Programs & Research Assistant will support Program and Research Team projects and tasks as needed. Potential responsibilities include:

• Quantitative data entry and data cleaning.
• Developing and maintaining spreadsheets used by multiple partners.
• Developing and administering feedback or informational surveys.
• Conducting field observations of afterschool and/or literacy programs.
• Supporting facilitation and note-taking with focus groups, interviews, or other qualitative data collection methods.
• Other tasks as needed, to be determined in collaboration with the Senior Research Associate.