Director of Engaged Community Research, King Boston

The Boston Foundation believes that one of the great strengths of the Greater Boston community is the rich diversity of its residents in race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, age and physical abilities. The Foundation seeks to enhance and support that diversity, not only by its grant making, but also by adopting and implementing employment policies and practices designed to recognize and respond to such diversity.

The Boston Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We encourage applications from people with diverse backgrounds and experience. 

All applications should be submitted online. Go to https://www.tbf.org/who-we-are/careers and select "Director of Engaged Community Research, King Boston" to complete our online application process.

Job Description

Title: Director of Engaged Community Research

Department: Philanthropy Group, King Boston

Reports To: Deputy Director, King Boston

FLSA Classification: Exempt  FTE: 1 

Supervises: None

Position Summary:

The Director of Engaged Community Research serves as an integral research leader for the organization, working with the Executive Director and Deputy Director to shape and execute King Boston's research, evaluation, archival, and community data vision. The position is primarily responsible for co-establishing, managing, and implementing the organization's community-engaged research and data collection efforts. This position works with cross-sector partners to develop research projects and reports and assists organizational leadership in the development and execution of King Boston's research, policy and advocacy agenda.

The Director of Engaged Community Research must be adept at research, analysis, and partnership building and possess excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills. This person must be organized, a problem solver, self-directed, and demonstrate leadership and initiative, while also being a committed team player. The position requires political savvy, a keen understanding of significant research and public research issues facing the city/state, and strong leadership and project management skills.

Essential Functions:

Research Coordination 

• Builds and leads the development of King Boston's research agendas and accompanying work plans, working in conjunction with the Executive Director, Deputy Director, King Boston Advisory Board members, and cross-sector partners;
• Defines King Boston standards for qualitative and quantitative research and evaluation;
• Designs and manages research projects including, but not limited to, the Equity Statement Project, local racial equity data indicators, and the King Center Annual Report;
• Develops and maintains systems to support research coordination and goals. Manages the research process and keeps products on track for release dates determined in partnership with King Boston leadership;
• Creates research reports and fact sheets and reviews other materials such as blogs, testimony, and   talking points as needed; and
• Identifies new research and analysis opportunities to develop the King Boston research agenda further.

Public Research and Advocacy

• Provides technical assistance and support when the need is identified and/or requested;
• Assists in developing and executing King Boston's advocacy and legislative agenda; and
• Leads community-engaged research in support of King Boston's advocacy efforts.

External Partnership Development and Support

• Takes a leadership role in work with partner organizations around crucial and timely research issues; 
• Develop and facilitate relationships with institutions of higher education to work on joint projects and learn from and inform the work of other anti-racist scholars; and
• Serves as a leading resource and liaison to local, state, and national partner organizations.

Other Duties

• Provides technical and other assistance for other King Boston staff members in general and newly hired research staff;
• Participates in various King Boston internal meetings, including program planning, resource utilization, and scheduling;
• Performs other duties as assigned related to King Boston's mission or to support coalition partners, funders, or other stakeholders; and
• Individuals assigned to this position may perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Preparation, Knowledge, Previous Experience:

• Social Science Doctoral Degree or equivalent experience;
• 5-7+ years working in a related field or research; and
• Able to build partnerships and communicate clearly with diverse communities.

Skills, Abilities, Competencies:

Strategic Leadership and Agility

• Able to articulate a clear vision of the research agenda and goals that are shared by leadership and staff;
• Anticipates trending issues and potential opportunities and consequences accurately;
• Able to manage complex and occasionally shifting timelines; and
• Works constructively with King Boston leadership and board.

Quantitative/Qualitative/Mixed Methods Skills

• Knowledgeable in Quantitative, Qualitative, or Mixed Methods;
• Analyzes and clearly documents data to make comparisons and draw conclusions;
• Identifies cause and effect relationships to solve complex problems;
• Identifies opportunities to visualize data and/or present analysis creatively to expand potential reach and impact;
• Working knowledge and/or willing to gain new knowledge of archives; and 
• Understanding of new and emerging methods in researching and evaluating complex systems and issues in the field of racial equity and justice.

Written Communications and Editing

• Prepares written documentation to transfer technical information about concepts, situations, products, services, or results to diverse audiences;
• Prepares data-based research reports for diverse audiences; and
• Can organize, express, and communicate ideas in a clear, succinct, accurate manner.

Other:

• Passion for racial and economic justice;
• Commitment to contributing to an overall organizational culture; 
• Capacity to integrate into all functional areas while autonomously leading one’s work;
• Ability to prioritize tasks and meet organizational deadlines;
• Ability to work with evolving priorities and timelines;
• Ability to balance attention to process, results and relationships as a facilitative leader;
• Demonstrated ability to build, nurture and facilitate diverse and democratic partnerships; and
• Proficient in Google applications (Drive, Docs, Sheets, Gmail) and Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

   Working Conditions & Physical Demands:

• Ability to work at a computer station for long periods of time; and
• Remote position, must be able to work remotely and/or in a site to be assigned.

The content is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by persons assigned to this job. It is not intended to constitute an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties required.

External and internal applicants and position incumbents, who are or become disabled as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act or applicable state law, must be able to perform the essential functions of the job (including those listed above) either with or without reasonable accommodation. If any, reasonable accommodation will be determined by management in consultation with the employee on a case-by-case basis.

This job description is intended to be general and may be revised from time to time. At management's discretion, the employee may be assigned different or additional duties from time to time.