About WestEd

As a community of over 900 researchers, practitioners, consultants, and administrative professionals from all backgrounds and life experiences, we are committed to making a qualitative difference in the lives of youth, children, and adults. We conduct and apply research, develop evidence-based solutions, and provide consulting services across the country in both rural and urban communities to improve equitable outcomes for individuals from infancy through adulthood. Serving as trusted partners in the areas of education, health, and justice, our teams enhance capacity within communities and school districts to prioritize impact — asking the right questions, customizing methodologies, developing relevant tools, and implementing best practices specific to a diverse range of stakeholder needs.

Furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion is core to who we are and how we work. We are committed to working with our clients to illuminate and address disparities, value and elevate diverse voices, and ensure equitable access to our resources and services. Please review our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion on our Careers page at wested.org. Come and join us!

SPECIAL NOTICE REGARDING THE WORK LOCATION OF THIS POSITION—Although WestEd provides the option of working at one of its facilities for employees, many roles allow employees to choose to work remotely for their own convenience. The decision to allow remote work at the employee's convenience is based on the requirements of the position or project in question.

Culture of the Content Area Team:

We are the Talent Development and Diversity (TDD) area at WestEd, and our team is growing! If you have a deep passion for and expertise in supporting state, local, and community level leaders in increasing educator diversity, culturally responsive and sustaining teaching and leading practices and advancing equitable outcomes for students and families, we would love to talk to you!

About the Role:

We are seeking a Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Education Systems Specialist in the Talent Development and Diversity (TDD) content area, who will help shape and steer applied research and evaluation studies of local- and state-level systems, policies, and initiatives using culturally responsive, inclusive and sustaining methods, approaches and paradigms to support equitable opportunities and outcomes for students, especially those who have been disproportionately impacted by exclusionary practices, procedures, policies, and systems.

The applied research and evaluation projects have a focus on racial equity and span diverse areas such as educator preparation and professional learning, educator workforce, school and district resource allocation, culturally responsive instruction, inclusive and sustaining culture and climate in schools/districts, and post-secondary pathways. You will use your expertise in culturally responsive, inclusive, and sustaining research and equitable evaluation practices and methods and relevant content knowledge to manage all aspects of the evaluation process including communication with clients and partners, evaluation design, data collection, data analysis and interpretation, and preparation of reports and presentations. In this role you will also be contributing to the development, delivery and expansion of WestEd’s systemic equity review line of service. This role will require you to work with a broad range of individuals (e.g., researchers, evaluation partners, education leaders at all levels of the system, educators, community organizations), demonstrate leadership, and adapt in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. You will work primarily within an existing project team in the TDD area to support research writing and technical assistance activities with state, regional, and local education agencies.

Content Focus Areas:

To help us produce credible applied research and evaluation studies and to support policymakers and practitioners to effectively implement systems and initiatives with positive impact on children and families from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, we’re looking for someone who brings the interests and areas of expertise to perform the following tasks:

• Design research efforts and evaluation plans tailored to clients’ priorities
• Work independently to conduct evaluation research
• Work collaboratively on projects with research and program associates
• Contribute to technical assistance tasks as needed
• Work to intentionally apply principles of culturally responsive, inclusive and sustaining evaluation and/or equitable evaluation throughout the evaluation process
• Develop and implement qualitative and quantitative data collection instruments and procedures:

1) Lead instrument development (e.g., surveys, observation protocols, rubrics, interview guides, focus group guides)

2) Lead various data collection efforts (e.g., facilitating interviews and focus groups, conducting observations, administering surveys).

• Support quantitative data analysis tasks including basic and advanced statistical analyses (e.g., factor analysis, multiple regression).
• Conduct and manage qualitative analyses, including the development of coding schemes and the analysis of data using qualitative analyses software (e.g., Dedoose).
• Contribute to the writing of project reports and presentations, as a co-author and where appropriate as the lead author
• Develop and manage a timeline for evaluation projects; coordinate, schedule, and manage evaluation activities.
• Collaborate with other research and program staff in business development activities to expand WestEd’s portfolio of evaluation work that is culturally responsive, inclusive and sustaining (e.g., proposal development, building partnerships).

What We’re Looking For:

• Graduate degree in education research, education practice, education policy or related field
• 5+ years professional experience as an educational researcher, practitioner, or in a related field
• Deep knowledge of research and evaluation methodology, measurement, and qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
• Experience developing research- and evidence-aligned content and products
• Experience leading/conducting applied research or evaluation in education, psychology, and/or social sciences, preferably with experience in evaluating system-level initiatives and policies.
• Experience conducting literature reviews.
• Strong commitment to apply principles of culturally responsive, inclusive, and sustaining evaluation and/or equitable evaluation in applied research and evaluation projects.
• Ability to facilitate or co-facilitate working sessions or workshops attended by educational policymakers, community partners and practitioners to apply research to practice.
• Content or contextual knowledge of the research- and evidence-base for equity, educator diversity and culturally responsiveness and sustaining education.
• Programming experience in at least one major statistical package (e.g., SPSS, Stata)
• Demonstrated ability to lead and work as a team player and to treat staff, partners, clients, and evaluation participants respectfully.
• Strong written and oral communication skills to write proposals, evaluation reports and lead presentations—effectively communicating with both expert and lay audiences.
• High level of self-motivation and ability to work independently.
• Resourcefulness, careful attention to detail, and strong organizational skills.
• Excellent problem-solving and decision-making skills, including the ability to prioritize work on multiple projects.
• High tolerance for ambiguity, demonstrated flexibility, and a willingness to new responsibilities.
• Ability to provide and accept constructive criticism.

*Note: Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Successful candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.

SALARY AND BENEFITS: Salary for this role is competitive, set at a WestEd level G and commensurate with experience. WestEd offers a very generous benefits package including medical, dental, and vision coverage, as well as Life, AD&D and Disability insurance. We also offer various retirement plan options and Flexible Spending Accounts for medical, childcare, and commuter expenses. WestEd offers generous paid holidays and paid time off (PTO), among other benefits.

Committed to the diversity of race, ethnicities, perspectives, and opportunities, WestEd offers a variety of social and professional learning communities, such as Employee Resources groups, the Data Intelligence, Insights, and Innovation PLC, and the WestEd Parent Community, just to name a few. We hope you’ll consider joining us to build better schools, communities, learning pathways, and more! #LI-Remote #LI-Hybrid

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)