Director of Research Strategy and Consulting

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Salary Range: $120,000 - $135,000

Position Summary

The Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL) is seeking Director of Research Strategy and Consulting, including ones with considerable training and experience in research. Full- and part-time opportunities may be available. This contract position is located in New York City and reports to the Executive Director of CPRL.

ABOUT THE CENTER FOR PUBLIC RESEARCH AND LEADERSHIP:

The Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL) is a partnership of professional schools that prepares students for leadership positions in public education organizations committed to improving the life chances of all children, particularly those of color, from low-income households, or otherwise traditionally underserved. The program brings together upper-level graduate students in business, education, law, and policy from universities across the nation to study and engage in research and consulting projects serving public- and social-sector organizations in the U.S. and Brazil that are undertaking and supporting transformational change in P-12 education and in the public sector as a whole. The program offers graduate students the rigorous, multi-disciplinary, academic, and experiential preparation they need to flourish in exciting leadership, management, and professional positions in those same organizations while simultaneously offering the organizations high-quality, low-cost research and consulting support.

Responsibilities

Project Direction:

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  Manages, supports and mentors teams of graduate and professional students in designing and implementing research and consulting projects in the P-12 education sector.
  
  
  
  • Team management: Serves as the manager of teams of four to six graduate students for four- to ten-month consulting engagements; sets up project management structures; promotes team cohesion, oversees creation of project plan and allocation of tasks.
  • Strategy development and thought leadership: In collaboration with CPRL leadership and staff, designs research and consulting strategy and methodology for projects; executes and adapts strategy and methodology based on type of project, gathered information, and client feedback; communicates strategy, vision, methodology, and outcomes to relevant stakeholders.
  • Professional development of students: Actively develops student skills and dispositions necessary for the research and consulting projects; provides leadership opportunities for students within the team structure; provides ongoing feedback to students; collaboratively establishes professional growth goals with the team and individual students and monitors progress towards these goals.
  • Quality assurance: Ensures all work products are high quality and delivered on time.
  
  
  
  
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  Serves as liaison with client organizations: Serves as the primary point of contact with the client; develops project scope of work; manages student-client interaction; documents all changes in project scope.
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  Communicates with CRPL leadership: Updates and receives feedback from CPRL leadership about project work; provides written and oral updates about project and student progress; surfaces issues for additional CPRL support; communicates feedback from leadership to student team and integrates it into project work.
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  Collaborates with CPRL staff on project work and on the development of student resources: Works closely with Directors leading analogous or interconnected projects; contributes to the design and execution of project-related professional learning experiences and materials for students.
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  Collaborates with fellow Directors to ensure project success: Meets with Directors about project work; collaboratively troubleshoots problems; engages in discussions and activities to ensure consistent expectations for students.

Program Management

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  Supports and coaches CPRL project directors
  
  
  
  • In coordination with other Senior Team members, provides oversight of CPRL portfolio of projects.
  • Serves as liaison with client organizations and collaborate with project directors to ensure project success.
  • 
    Generates business for CPRL
    
    
    
    • Identify and cultivate prospective clients; manage existing relationships; and support the Deputy Director, Strategy and Operations in screening and selecting projects that are aligned to CPRL's mission, vision, values, and strategic plan.
    
    
    
    
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    Supports the organizational improvement of CPRL
    
    
    
    • Collaborate with Senior Leadership Team to reflect on organizational processes and cocreate systems to improve program delivery.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

• Advanced degree in education, law (JD, LLM), management or business, policy, or social sciences required.
• 5-7 years of significant experience - including partly in a leadership role - in project and/or project and implementation management, research, team-building and leadership, and/or business analysis
• Minimum four years of P-12 education-related experience in research, management consulting, organizational leadership, program design or evaluation and/or other relevant area.
• Strong research and analytical skills, with preference for candidates with expertise in modeling and analyzing qualitative and/or quantitative data and in matching research methodologies to client and project requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to design, direct and carry out team projects with minimal supervision and to work closely with stakeholders in public sector or non-profit agencies.
• Intellectual capacity to think strategically in a fast-paced environment; understand multiple perspectives; learn about new topics; problem solve and develop responsive solutions under changing circumstances.
• Ability to respond to and integrate feedback from both peers and supervisors; ability to communicate feedback to individuals and teams in a clear and productive manner.
• Experience as a P-12 teacher or experience teaching/mentoring young professionals preferred.
• Excellent interpersonal, organization and communication skills.
• Excellent writing, editing and presentation skills.
• Must be able to work with diverse constituencies and support an inclusive work environment

When applying, please include your resume, cover letter, and a work sample as described here:

• Select a representation of your best work that specifically showcases your readiness for this role.
• Include a brief description (~3 bullets) about why you chose this work product, who the product's audience was, what your contribution was (if it was a team product), and anything other relevant information for understanding your submission.

We understand that many work products may contain confidential or proprietary information and will be redacted accordingly before submission.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.