Research Associate II – Public Health & Health and Human Services

At Vital Research, we believe data is most powerful when it drives positive social impact. We partner with government agencies, nonprofits, foundations, and community organizations to evaluate programs and generate insights that advance health equity, public health, aging services, supports for people with disabilities, and community well-being.

We’re seeking a curious, analytical, and mission-driven Research Associate II to join our collaborative team and contribute to high-impact research and evaluation projects within the public health and Health & Human Services (HHS) sectors.

This position is based in Los Angeles, California. Local candidates are required due to collaboration, client engagement, and business needs. This is not a fully remote position.

This is a full-time position (40 hours per week). The position may require additional hours, including occasional evenings and weekends, based on project needs and deadlines.

Candidates must have professional research and/or evaluation experience within public health, Health & Human Services, healthcare, Medicaid, or a closely related health or human services setting. General research experience without relevant public health or HHS experience does not meet the requirements for this position.

The Research Associate II plays a key role in the management and execution of multi-sector research and evaluation projects. Operating with a degree of independence, this role applies qualitative and quantitative research methods to lead project activities, analyze data, develop reports, and present findings that inform programs, policy, and practice.

This role requires demonstrated consulting experience and is designed for an experienced research consultant who can independently manage multiple concurrent client engagements. The ideal candidate is comfortable serving as a client-facing project lead, balancing competing priorities and deadlines, coordinating project teams, and driving projects from planning through final deliverables while maintaining strong client relationships and delivering high-quality work.

• Manage multiple research and evaluation projects from planning through final deliverables.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for clients and project partners.
• Coordinate project timelines, budgets, communications, and deliverables.
• Ensure research activities meet quality standards and project objectives.
• Support business development efforts, including proposal writing and client relationship management.

• Design and implement surveys, interviews, focus groups, and other data collection activities.
• Support participant recruitment and stakeholder engagement efforts, including outreach to diverse and hard-to-reach populations.
• Manage, clean, and organize quantitative and qualitative datasets.
• Maintain data integrity, confidentiality, and compliance with research protocols.
• Apply research and evaluation methods to public health and HHS programs and populations.

• Conduct rigorous qualitative and quantitative analyses using appropriate methodologies.
• Develop charts, dashboards, visualizations, and other tools to support data interpretations.
• Prepare reports, presentations, literature reviews, and client-facing deliverables.
• Translate complex findings into clear, actionable recommendations.

• Mentor junior staff and support team development.
• Supervise field staff, consultants, and project team members as needed.
• Contribute to proposal development, business development initiatives, and client relationship management.
• Participate in professional development, conferences, publications, and knowledge-sharing activities.

• Master’s degree in public health, social science, healthcare, human services, or a related field.
• 4+ years of post-master's experience in research and/or evaluation.
• Professional experience conducting research, evaluation, or analytics in public health, Health & Human Services, healthcare, Medicaid, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated consulting experience independently managing…