Research Associate or Senior Research Associate

Do you get excited about diving deep into data, insights, and research?

Do you aspire to conduct research aimed at improving the lives of vulnerable individuals, children, and families?

Do you like working on collaborative teams to drive social change?

MEF Associates isa small business offeringa full range of evaluation, policy research, and technicalassistanceservices.

Our mission is to improve the lives of individuals, children, and families by building knowledge and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of public policyand programs.

Since our founding in 2009, this mission has guided our work across a wide range of policy areas —including child and family policy, workforce development, income security, early childhood education,and more.

Our portfolio includes a wide range ofclients across federal, state, Tribal, and local governments, as well as foundations and philanthropic organizations.

At MEF, we help our clients understand and maximize their impact through rigorous, actionable, and participatory research an devaluation.

Wherever possible, we apply the most rigorous methods available to generate reliable evidence about what works, for whom, and under what conditions. This includes designing and implementing randomized controlled trials (RCTs),as well as quasi-experimental and mixed-method studies. Weare also skilled at pairing impact analyses with in-depth implementation research to understand how programsoperatein practice and toidentifylessons that inform continuous improvement and future scaling.

Here at MEF,weare committed to:

• Producing the highest-quality products through effective teamwork and creative solutions.
• Generating meaningful change in our communities.
• Fostering a workplace culture that empowers staff, promotesa strong senseof belonging, and encourages work-life balance.
• Upholdingethicalresearch practices through transparency, honesty, and accountability.

As a relatively small firm, we value close collaboration and a supportive work culture.

We are committed to the growth and professional development of our staff.

Wealsovalue the benefits that come from research being conducted by individuals with varied backgrounds and life experiences.

We are seeking to hire a n Associate or Senior Associate who can support our work primarily in our Income Support and Economic Mobility domain, which includesareassuch aspublic housing,asset building and financial empowerment,workforce development,post-secondary training,and employment and training programs. Th is position may also contribute to work in other areasof the firm, including work in our Children and Families domain.

This position will involve a leadership roleonsubstantive research and evaluation projects. The work you do willlikelycenteronquantitative research,alongside mixed-methods research,project management,and business development.

While responsibilities vary by project, the work you do could encompass the following responsibilities:

• Serving as project director, project manager, or task lead for ongoing research and evaluation projects.
• Designing research and evaluation projects—from the initial proposal phase to full-scale project implementation.
• Designing and leading analysis plans for quasi-experimental and experimental impact and descriptive outcome studies.
• Leadingquantitativedata collection activities (e.g.,fielding surveys,gatheringMIS data from programs, accessing administrative data from agencies).
• Managingquantitativedata analysis projects(e.g., data cleaning,conducting impact analyses, outputtingresultsinto tablesand figures), including overseeing junior researchers.
• Building, reviewing, and documenting reproducible analysis code, and archiving data to support transparency and replication(R, Stata).
• Completing structured and systematic evidencereviewsand syntheses to support evidence clearinghouses.
• Authoring reports,briefs,and presentations that translate technical findings into clear, plain-language products.
• Designing data visualizations that communicate findings to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Representing the firm in interactions with clients and partner organizations.
• Identifying new business…