Job Description:

Description

WestEd is a nonpartisan, nonprofit agency that conducts and applies research, develops evidence-based solutions, and provides services and resources in the realms of education, human development, and related fields, with the end goal of improving outcomes and ensuring equity for individuals from infancy through adulthood.WestEd has more than a dozen offices nationwide, from Massachusetts, Georgia, and Washington, DC, to Arizona and California, with headquarters in San Francisco.

Throughout WestEd's over 50-year history we have maintained a strong commitment to staff diversity. Individuals of different ethnicities, races, abilities, gender identities, and sexual orientations, as well as from different cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, work at all levels of the organization. We value the range of perspectives provided by this diverse workforce and the ways in which those perspectives enrich and inform our agency and the work we do. Read more aboutWestEd's Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Project Description:

Under the guidance of experienced WestEd researchers, interns will participate as full team members on a range of research and evaluation projects. They will author sections of literature reviews; participate in quantitative and/or qualitative data collection, analysis, and reporting; help design evaluation plans; and collaborate with the team to develop and submit proposals to funders.

Our expectation is that interns will develop skills and experience in applied, client-driven research while enhancing their ability to communicate results that are actionable and useful to a variety of audiences. As such, we are looking for individuals who wish to pursue research-driven careers.

Scope of Work for the Intern:

* Conducting literature searches through online databases
* Contributing to literature reviews, reports, presentations, proposals, and database management
* Analyzing quantitative and qualitative data
* Developing, programming, administering, and analyzing online surveys
* Participating in one-on-one interviews and focus groups
* Authoring and communicating technical results and arguments clearly to non-technical audiences

Timeframe:

* Internships can begin as soon as May 24, or sometime afterwards depending on the intern's schedule.
* Potential interns should be willing to commit to a two-month period, at minimum. Note, though, that internships can be extended well beyond that period.
* Interns may work up to 20 hours per week.

Goals(s) of Internship:

We are currently seeking to fill one or more paid internships to help contribute to one or more of our current projects, some of which include, but are not limited to:

1. Working with a local school district to develop, implement, evaluate, and refine a comprehensive school safety plan


2. Building Tableau dashboards and infographics from extant databases


3. Analyzing interview transcripts and survey responses for a variety of initiatives at postsecondary institutions


4. Authoring key sections of client-facing reports and proposals to government and non-government funders

Supervision and Evaluation:

Upon hiring, interns will work with WestEd staff to develop a learning plan that will outline their goals for the internship. Throughout the internship period, interns will meet with their supervisor on a bi-monthly basis to discuss progress towards goals and revise them as necessary. In addition to these bi-monthly meetings, the supervisor will communicate with interns via email, video-conferencing, and phone on a regular basis to outline specific assignments and provide feedback. Interns will also participate in weekly team meetings.

Qualifications:

Required Qualifications (Skills and experiences applicants must have):

* Relevant Master's degree preferred; or BA in program evaluation research or related field (policy, education, psychology, sociology, public administration, public health)
* Coursework in research methodology that includes quantitative and/or qualitative methods, research design, and/or program evaluation (Mixed methods preferred)
* Ability to conduct online literature searches using academic databases (knowledge and experience with Mendeley reference manager software would be very helpful)
* Experience analyzing quantitative and qualitative data
* Excellent ability to write and communicate clearly and succinctly
* Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)
* Knowledge of statistical applications (Stata or R preferable), Tableau, and/or qualitative analysis packages (Atlas.ti preferred)

Preferred Qualifications (Skills and experiences that are good to have):

* Experience with administering online surveys
* Conducting one-on-one interviews and focus groups
* Writing and communicating technical results and arguments clearly to non-technical audiences

* Completion of Human Subjects Research course from the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program

Application Requirements:

• A copy of your resume or CV, along with a cover letter and completed employment application.


• A writing sample that demonstrates your ability to conduct and translate research findings. A sample could be a class project or a research project in which you helped author sections (please indicate what your contribution was.)


• A brief description (no more than one page) of a project in a relevant field (K-12 education, higher education, crime and safety) that you have participated in and the value that you added to the project. Please include your role, duties, successes and challenges.


• Two references (academic and/or professional)