Research and Evaluation Specialist

at  Texas State University

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: APPLICANTS MUST SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS HOW THEY MEET THESE REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE POSITION.

• Master’s Degree.
• A minimum of three (3) years of professional experience with research or program evaluation related work.
• Demonstrated experience developing data collection instruments for social sciences.
• Demonstrated experience with quantitative analysis techniques, analysis software (e.g., SPSS, R, SAS, STATA), and data management software (e.g., Microsoft Excel).
• Demonstrated experience with qualitative analysis techniques and software (e.g., NVivo, Dedoose, ATLAS.ti, etc.).
• Demonstrated experience disseminating reports from data sets.
• Demonstrated experience managing surveys with Qualtrics.
• Demonstrated experience in academic, technical, public policy, and/or legislative report writing.
• Demonstrated experience designing and applying social science research methodologies.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Five (5) or more years of professional experience with research-related work.
• Documented educational training related to one or more of the following fields: mental health in school-aged children, school-based law enforcement (SBLE), and school behavioral threat assessment (SBTA).
• Demonstrated experience with one or more of the following techniques: meta-analysis, advanced statistical sampling, and survey creation and validation.
• Demonstrated experience conducting social science research related to educational environments.
• Documented authorship in peer-reviewed journal(s).
• Documented experience writing grant proposals.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the Texas Education Code.
• Demonstrated experience with client relationship management.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) is an official university-level research center at Texas State University. The TxSSC is tasked in Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code and the Governor’s Homeland Security Strategic Plan with key school safety initiatives and mandates. The TxSSC serves as the clearinghouse for the dissemination of safety and security information through research, training, and technical assistance for K-12 schools and junior colleges throughout the state of Texas. As a result, Texas has become a national leader in school safety practices and is relied upon for assistance and guidance from jurisdictions throughout the nation.
The Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) welcomes highly qualified candidates to apply for a Research Analyst position in the Research and Evaluation (R&E) Division. The successful candidate will be responsible for conducting scholarly research and supporting program evaluation related to school safety, security, and health. The R&E Division is currently involved in projects related to security personnel on school campuses, emergency planning for students, safety and security of facilities on campuses, educator maltreatment, and school behavioral threat assessment (SBTA).
The successful candidate will expand the capabilities of the TxSSC and have the unique opportunity to be part of a collaborative team who support each other in project conceptualization, data collection, analysis, and dissemination of research and evaluation findings to various stakeholder groups. All research and evaluation efforts aim to ensure that schools and communities across Texas are safe, secure, and healthy learning environments.

• Design appropriate methodologies to address topics related to school safety, security, and health.
• Conduct systematic literature reviews on topics related to school safety, security, and health.
• Design and administer data collection procedures including surveys, focus group and interview protocols, as well as other appropriate data collection procedures.
• Analyze quantitative and qualitative research data.
• Stay current on new analysis tools and techniques and integrate when appropriate.
• Develop and contribute to written reports for internal and external stakeholders, scholarly articles for peer-reviewed journals, grant proposals for private and government entities, scholarly presentations for national and state conferences, and other research-related publications.
• Disseminate information clearly and concisely in verbal and written formats to a variety of stakeholders including researchers and practitioners.
• Organize project materials by keeping detailed records to ensure research activities are well-documented.
• Provide training and support for other team members on qualitative and quantitative analysis approaches.
• Assist in managing data collected from statewide surveys and TxSSC trainings and events and help with yearly assessment of programs and activities.
• Provide technical support to school stakeholders and internal staff in a professional manner.
• Work collaboratively and professionally with all divisions of the TxSSC.
• Perform other duties as assigned.