Post Doc Research Associate

Postdoctoral Research Associate – Evaluation and Data Support for Youth Camp Initiatives

Location:

Salt Lake City, UT (Hybrid options available; position is not remote)

We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate to support a multi-year evaluation of the Character at Camp Initiative, a large grant‑making project from the American Camp Association that seeks to bolster camps’ capacity to support character development, broadly conceived. This position will play a key role in coordinating training and technical assistance for camp professionals, managing data collection processes, supporting conceptual design, and contributing to research translation and dissemination efforts.

The ideal candidate will have strong skills in project coordination, data interpretation, and stakeholder engagement.

Full‑time, 12‑month appointment with potential for renewal. Currently funded through 2029.

Competitive salary and benefits package. Target start date: between January and June of 2026.

• Develop and deliver training materials and presentations to prepare grantees for evaluation activities.
• Attend grantee cohort meetings to provide support and guidance.
• Lead training for camps focused on data use and interpretation for program improvement.

• Coordinate data collection efforts, including surveys and interviews, across multiple sites.
• Serve as a liaison with camps, the ACA (American Camp Association), and other stakeholders to ensure smooth communication and logistics.
• Prepare and distribute evaluation materials to participating sites.
• Support data verification processes for accuracy and completeness.
• Contribute to process improvement efforts to enhance evaluation workflows.
• Support dashboard development and data visualization for reporting and decision‑making.

• Assist with instrument development and refinement, including survey instruments and observational tools.
• Help maintain project vision and coherence across components.
• Coordinate across project activities to ensure alignment and integration.
• Contribute to grant writing and proposal development.
• Support refinement and updating of the overall evaluation approach.

Preferred candidates will bring experience in either qualitative or quantitative research methods. On the qualitative side, they should be comfortable assisting with interview case selection, conducting stakeholder interviews, and analyzing qualitative data using appropriate methodologies. Quantitatively, they should be able to support instrument validation and psychometric analysis, clean and integrate datasets from multiple sources, and create and maintain codebooks and documentation.

Strong candidates will also contribute to dissemination efforts, including reporting to advisory boards and participating camps, preparing formal reports, engaging in academic publishing and conference presentations, and helping develop evaluation tools and resources. It is expected that postdocs will generate their own research projects that are synergistic with the larger research plan, as a way to support their development and learning.

• Ph.D. in Human Development/Developmental Science;
  Education;
  Psychology;
  Parks, Recreation, and Tourism; or related fields.
• Proficiency in data management and visualization tools (e.g., Excel, Power BI, R, SPSS, or Stata).
• Mixed‑methods research experience (qualitative and quantitative).

• Familiarity with summer camps or similar youth‑serving organizations.
• Experience developing training materials and facilitating workshops.
• Mixed‑methods research experience (qualitative and quantitative).
• Experience with program evaluation, especially in youth development or outdoor education settings.
• Strong communication and organizational skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a dynamic, multi‑stakeholder environment.

This position may require the successful completion of a…