Research Associate

ABOUT JUMPSTART

Jumpstart envisions the day when every child in America enters kindergarten prepared to succeed. A national early education organization with operations in 14 states plus Washington, DC, Jumpstart drives outcomes for young children in three critical ways. Jumpstart provides language, literacy, and social- emotional direct service programming utilizing an evidence-backed curriculum for preschool children from underserved communities, workforce programming to expand the pipeline of qualified, diverse talent pursuing careers in early education, and policy advocacy to support the early childhood field and promote high-quality early learning for all. By leveraging nearly 30 years of experience serving over 157,900 children with the support of more than 62,500 college students and community volunteers, Jumpstart executes these three objectives to improve the quality of the early education workforce and increase opportunity for young children to succeed across America. Learn more at www.jstart.org and join us in transforming the lives of young children!

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Research Associate is a member of the Education and Research (EDU) department. EDU develops, tests, and supports programs, curriculum, training, and research that advances Jumpstart's priorities in the areas of early childhood education. The primary responsibilities of the Research Associate are to complete research reviews and documentation on current literature, programming, and practices to advance Jumpstarts programming. The Research Associate will also work with EDU staff to organize and maintain research, resources, and systems.

The Research Associate reports directly to the Senior Manager of Research and Development. This position is a part-time position of 24 hours per week.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

Research

• Gather, review, analyze, and compile current literature related to relevant and assigned topics in early childhood education. This may also include creating documents or presentations on research.
• Update existing research reports and/or produce new reports with relevant and recent findings.
• Complete research on assigned practices, policies, organizations, educational materials, or any other relevant topics.

Research Systems

• Organize and maintain systems to track and manage research, sources, and other relevant aspects.

Collaboration and Partnership

• Collaborate within Education and Research colleagues and across Jumpstarts departments to support ongoing development and quality of Jumpstart programming.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Bachelors degree in an education related field; early childhood education preferred
• Relevant experience conducting academic literature reviews, including navigating research journals or databases to find high-quality, reliable sources, compiling findings, and following citation styles
• Commitment to Jumpstarts core values: learning, social justice, community, joy, and inclusive leadership
• Demonstrated record of strong written and presentation skills
• Demonstrated ability to organize and coordinate systems with a focus on details
• Ability to perform independently with minimal guidance
• Experience and comfort working with individuals from diverse backgrounds and communities
• On-going commitment and interest in social justice or diversity, equity and inclusion work
• Ability to prioritize, work at a high capacity, and multi-task in order to meet key tasks as scheduled.
• Ability to be flexible and accommodate shifting priorities
• Demonstrated ability to use advanced functions of Windows operating systems, Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook), the internet, and web-based platforms

Preferred or Ideal

• Experience with research management systems and/or software
• Demonstrated ability to value, consider, and bring a variety of perspectives into work