Apply for this Position

WestEd Position Announcement

Position Title:	Policy Research Associate
Reports to:	Project Director
Program:	Innovation Studies
Salary:	Level G - $69,840 - $87,300
Location:	San Francisco, CA
Time Base:	100%
Position No:	3701

WestEd, a nonprofit research, development, and service agency, works with education and other communities to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning for children, youth, and adults. While WestEd serves the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah as one of the nation's Regional Educational Laboratories, our agency's work extends throughout the United States and abroad. WestEd has 16 offices nationwide, from Washington and Boston to Arizona, Southern California, and its headquarters in San Francisco.

Innovation Studies

The Innovation Studies program creates and disseminates user-friendly information on promising new approaches to school improvement. Program staff study innovative practices in action, using research and theory to analyze key features that contribute to successful outcomes. Then they communicate this information to educators, policymakers, and funders through a range of print and web products, multimedia, and practical tools. The Doing What Works website, for example, shows educators how schools have implemented research-based practices and helps them plan their own improvement strategies, on topics of mathematics, instruction, and school turnaround.

The regional educational laboratory (REL West) provides analytic support and conducts studies for four western states: Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. The aim of the REL program is to make education a more evidence-based field by building the capacity of educators and policymakers to use data in regular decision-making.

Initiative Description – Postsecondary Readiness and Success

A new initiative within Innovation Studies focuses on policies and practices to enhance students’ preparation for, access to, and success in postsecondary education and careers. It includes research, development, technical assistance, policy analysis, and outreach strategies to inform practitioners, educational leaders, state and federal policymakers and major foundations about proven and promising strategies to improve postsecondary readiness and success. Programmatic focus areas may include, but are not limited to, dual enrollment, career-technical programs, early outreach programs, assessments, curricular alignment, P-16 data quality and use, and effective developmental education and first-year experience approaches. The goal is to grow this initiative substantially over the next five years.

A proposed alliance for 2012-2016 under REL West is a California Community College Alliance on Career and Technical Education. REL West will provide analytic support to selected California Advancement Academies (CAAs), which align CTE curriculum between community colleges and targeted industry-driven job training programs. To support the CAAs, the Career Ladders Project (CLP) provides technical assistance, documents the work of the CAA initiative, and establishes communities of practice across community colleges. For the past two years, the network of community colleges, working with CLP to design and implement successful programs, has evolved into an alliance of educators working on a similar set of challenges related to implementing specific curricula, pedagogical approaches and program design. This network, with the support of REL West, could continue to refine data collection activities, identify targeted milestones of progress, improve practices in priority areas such as pedagogical approaches based on contextualization, and reinforce lessons learned through continuous improvement.


Position Description

This position will be a key team member in the Postsecondary Readiness and Success initiative. The Policy Research Associate is a seasoned professional who manages and carries out tasks under the general direction of the project director. The position offers the potential to advance to project director with evidence of successful completion of responsibilities, creation of positive field relationships, and development of new projects and funding.

Responsibilities

• Direct specific projects that may involve policy analysis, design and oversight of projects in the field, and/or convening and dissemination. Use project management strategies to establish clear, shared understanding of the tasks and the steps required to accomplish them, and to monitor progress.

• Participate in planning for REL community college alliance and manage ongoing communication with field partners to identify research projects or analytic support projects that will contribute to knowledge about specific strategies to increase completion rates.

• Serve as content expert in support to Completion by Design; meet with cadres to determine needs, locate and summarize relevant research or leading examples, develop products that communicate effectively to cadres.

• Write and edit policy papers with other WestEd staff, and work with editors to revise as necessary. Oversee review by outside reviewers and stakeholders.

• Develop and implement dissemination strategies, including public presentations and events.

• Engage with other WestEd staff in strategic planning for the new initiative on postsecondary readiness and success and also with related projects at WestEd.


Qualifications

• Deep knowledge of critical education issues in postsecondary readiness and success.

• At least 3 years experience conducting research, publishing articles, and/or conducting field work related to postsecondary readiness and success.

• PhD degree in related field – or equivalent.

• Demonstrated facility working in the field with people in a variety of roles, including community college administrators, faculty, and students; K-12 educators; and policy makers.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills. Demonstrated expertise in writing products for broad distribution for varied audiences, including policymakers and practitioners.

• Detail oriented. Able to plan project steps and timelines, and manage to completion on time and within budget, but also flexible to changing client needs. Able to multi-task and effectively handle multiple projects simultaneously.


• Must be authorized to work in US (Visa Sponsorship not available).

Application Process

We invite you to Apply for this Position.

Human Resources
WestEd
730 Harrison Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
http://www.WestEd.org

WestEd is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Positions are open until filled.