Research & Program Assistant

Institutional Research & Educational Assessment Job Description

Job Summary



Provide research, program, and administrative support for the office of Institutional Research and the Liberal Arts Advising program. Perform office organizational tasks, processing of invoices, expenditure tracking, project recordkeeping, and preparation of research deliverables. Responsible for managing the administrative aspects of survey and focus group data collection processes, for preparing research reports for presentation and printing, and for maintaining and providing appropriate access to information about institutional statistics to internal and external constituencies.

**This is a 26.25 hour a week, fully benefited position.**

Take appropriate actions to support a diverse workforce and participate in the College's efforts to create a respectful, inclusive, and welcoming work environment.



Essential Functions

Institutional Research, Assessment, and Accreditation (50%)

Coordinate and respond to external surveys, ad-hoc, and routine queries about college facts and statistics. Find, retrieve, and process information from public higher education and internal data sources. Prepare, check, and format tables and graphs. Manage details of survey and focus group data collection processes, including incentive payments and data collection timelines. Provision Qualtrics users. Work as a part of the IR team on diverse projects, including reaccreditation.

Program Support for Liberal Arts Advising (33%)

Provide administrative and program support to the Faculty Director of Advising, Liberal Arts Advising Program, and related programming, including Sophomore Reboot. Manage LAA budget and schedule, coordinate communication with Liberal Arts Advisors, and provide support for scheduling and reimbursement for advising meetings. Organize Sophomore Reboot and other LAA-related events, including logistics, food, publicity, and communications.

Administrative Support (17%)

Process invoices, maintain records, and track expenditures for the IR office. Proofread and number-check reports, enter data, prepare documents for publication and presentation. Maintain website documents to ensure that information is up-to-date. Develop and maintain organization of documents, including IRB and NDA records; implement document retention policy. Maintain IR project list including tracking timelines and confirming deliverables for IR team.

Other Functions

Analysis and Project Management

The Research & Program Assistant will have opportunities to participate, with coaching, in other technical, analytic, and managerial tasks based on interest and availability.

All employees are expected to participate in the College's efforts to create a respectful, inclusive, and welcoming work environment.

Minimum Qualifications (knowledge, skills, education, experience, certifications, licenses)

Bachelor's degree or equivalent.

Experience working with individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with or interest in social science research (e.g., undergraduate work in sociology, psychology, statistics, data science) and experience working to advance principles of equity and inclusion are preferred. Familiarity with Tableau, R, Cognos, and/or Workday a plus.

Skills

Excellent attention to detail, strong organizational skills, writing skills, graphical presentation skills, comfort with quantitative data. Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines independently. Advanced knowledge of G-Suite and MS Office, including graphing, document formatting, and data management capabilities. Demonstrated track record as a proactive learner.

Additional Information

Two years fixed term.

Please attach BOTH a current resume and a cover letter in order for your application to be considered for this position . You may combine your resume and cover letter into a single file or attach multiple files to your application, but BE SURE you have provided all attachments BEFORE SUBMITTING your application. You will NOT be able to attach additional files after you have hit the Submit button.

Review of applications will begin

July 12, 2021

Compensation Grade:

Grade L Non-exempt

Position Type:

Fixed Term

About Smith College

Located in Northampton, MA, Smith College is one of the largest women’s colleges in the country and is dedicated to excellence in teaching and research across the liberal arts. A faculty of outstanding scholars interact with students in small classes, as advisors, and through student-faculty research projects. The College is a member of the Five College Consortium with Amherst, Hampshire and Mt. Holyoke Colleges, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Students cross-enroll and faculty cross-teach across the Five Colleges.

Smith College is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, age, color, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression or veteran status in the recruitment and employment of faculty and staff, and the operation of any of its programs and activities, as specified by all applicable laws and regulations. Women, minorities, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.