Senior Research Associate-Behavioral Health

Job Description

Westat is a leader in research, data collection and analysis, technical assistance, evaluation, and communications. Our evidence-based findings help clients in government and the private sector accelerate advancements in health, education, transportation, and social and economic policy. Our dedication to improving lives through research and our approach to projects grounded in investigative curiosity, statistical and data rigor, adaptive methods, and advanced technology are why clients find exceptional value in our work.

Westat has an immediate opening for a Senior Research Associate to join our team. Our work focuses on evaluations and technical assistance to strengthen behavioral health and public health policies. You will be supporting projects that address the needs of individuals with mental health conditions and substance use disorders. In this highly collaborative and fast paced position, you will work closely with project leadership and multi-disciplinary project teams to translate science into resources for a variety of audiences.

Audiences could include federal and state policy makers, clinical service providers, and individuals affected by mental health conditions and substance use disorders. Content areas include prevention, promotion, treatment, and recovery services for an entire array of mental illness and substance use disorders. In this role, you will have opportunities to contribute to research on behavioral health topics such as behavioral health system transformation, healthcare financing, mental health and substance use services, recovery and resilience, substance misuse prevention, overdose prevention, opioid and stimulant use disorders, and advancing access to effective behavioral health care.

Strong writing skills and having the ability to work fast are essential to our quick turnaround process for developing resources which typically include federal reports, clinical services implementation guides, policy analyses reports, and peer-reviewed journal articles. We value regular in‑person collaboration and preference will be given to candidates who can work 2 days per week at our Bethesda, Maryland office or at one of our other Westat office locations.

• Manage day-to-day implementation of behavioral health research projects, which may include project management, directing and supervising junior staff, data collection/data management, data analysis, report writing, manuscript preparation, and client management.
• Assist with operationalizing project scope, goals, and deliverables including:
• Develop, monitor, and adjust long- and short-term work plans for project deliverables
• Set target milestones and goals for adhering to deadlines
• Define staffing needs, roles, and responsibilities
• In collaboration with the project director, delegate tasks to appropriate team members
• Provide direction, management, and support to evaluation, technical assistance, and training activities on federal contracts
• Participate in business development with networks of internal and external staff on proposals and projects for a variety of federal agencies, states, and foundations
• Lead and support qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods evaluations and be able to interpret the results for broad audiences
• Lead meetings with federal clients and internal project teams

• A master’s degree in public policy, economics, or a social science discipline such as psychology, sociology, or analytical methods such as applied statistics with 6 years of relevant experience; or a PhD in public policy, economics, or a social science discipline such as psychology, sociology, or analytical methods such as applied statistics with 2 or more years of relevant experience
• Experience conducting evaluations on mental health and substance use relevant topics
• Experience being the lead writer on technical reports (such as literature reviews, study plans, methodology reports, summaries of research findings) or peer-reviewed journal articles
• Experience with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods evaluation approaches and using analytic software as appropriate
• Experience…