This position will play a critical role in organizational efforts to demonstrate the contribution of YMCAs to community strengthening.
The Specialist, Research and Learning position will conduct youth and adult research and evaluation for assigned projects, including: program and practice literature review program and participant data collection, analysis, and reporting; fidelity measurement, program quality assessment, outcome measurement systems, with emphasis on reporting and acting on results.
The Specialist, Research and Learning will play a critical role in organizational efforts to demonstrate the contribution of YMCAs to community strengthening through youth and adult pathways, and in department efforts to build and maintain research-based learning capacity at Y-USA and in YMCAs. This position empowers YMCAs and the Movement to evaluate performance and use the results to communicate achievements and to drive the continual improvement of Y to better serve participants and to foster growth, innovation, and funding opportunities.
- Design, enhance, and implement multiple research and evaluation strategies for assigned areas
- Gather, analyze, and report information from YMCA network to understand initiative scope, depth, and specifics
- Manage and contribute to centralized data systems
- Build capacity of YMCA and Y-USA research and evaluation skills through trainings, online communities, and/or other learning solutions
- Document evaluation strategy, assess validity, and recommend enhancements; maintain related research and evaluation resources
- Establish and maintain strategic relationships with partners and vendors as needed
- Routinely identify and share relevant industry research
- Attend internal and advisory meetings as required
- May conduct site visits for research and evaluation strategies
- Complete related projects and assignments as needed
- Minimum of 5 or more years of experience in administration and execution of evaluation projects is required
- Minimum of 5 or more years of experience in survey design, focus group research, literature searches and reviews, and other methods of information gathering; logic model development; qualitative and quantitative analysis; statistical concepts is required
- Demonstrated to identify and implement third-party evaluation methods as appropriate
- Demonstrated experience building, validating, or customizing data collection and evaluation tools, rubrics, and assessments is required
- Demonstrated experience with common youth and adult program management information systems and data management business processes a plus
- Demonstrated ability to develop and provide in-person and web-based presentations including training on evaluation systems and results of program evaluation required
- Demonstrated experience working with multiple stakeholders, including participants, funders, and partners
- An experience-based understanding of theories of change, logic models, and identification and measurement of outcomes across networks is strongly preferred
- Demonstrated advanced knowledge of survey software, relational databases, and Microsoft Office; experience with statistical software preferred
- Demonstrated strong customer service skills; ability to work and reason independently, as well as within a team
- Experience working in a nonprofit or network is preferred. Experience with the YMCA movement is preferred but not required
- Ability to travel up to 10 percent of time