The College Board: Policy Research Analyst

Working with the Executive Director of Policy Research and College Board staff, the Policy Research Analyst synthesizes existing scientific literature, designs rigorous methods for evaluating programs and policies, conducts statistical and econometric analyses, drafts papers and reports, and presents findings to internal and external policy and professional audiences. These tasks are carried out both independently and in collaboration with senior staff, other College Board research scientists, and external researchers.
 
The Policy Research group’s efforts focus on three broad areas of research: college preparation and access; college affordability and financial aid; and college admissions and completion. Working with policymakers and the education community, the successful candidate will work with this team to make critical connections between policy and real-world practice to improve college outcomes for all students. Through a strong program of research, scholarship, and balanced policy analysis, Policy Research will develop innovative approaches and solutions to the most pressing challenges facing education today.
 
An important dimension of the work of the Policy Research Analyst will be to maintain up-to-date knowledge about the state-of-the-art in education science across a broad range of policy-relevant disciplines and research knowledge bases. The successful candidate will be expected to evaluate the quality of external research, adjudicate potentially contradictory findings, and assist the Executive Director and senior leadership with ensuring that written material and public statements by the College Board are scientifically accurate and are based on the best research available—internal or external.
 
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS/RESPONSIBILITIES
• Develop and contribute to the Research department’s education policy research agenda.
• Maintain a body of research to support and further the Policy Research group’s focus on three broad areas of education policy research: college preparation and access; college affordability and financial aid; and college admissions and completion.
• Design and conduct rigorous education policy research using large-scale datasets.
• Collaborate with College Board staff and external agencies on the creation of new datasets for rigorous econometric analyses.
• Collaborate on research projects with external researchers and consultants.
• Provide support to Executive Director of Policy Research and College Board staff through advanced knowledge of the education policy literature and technical analyses of a wide variety of large-scale datasets.
• Candidates will have a Master’s degree in social science, education or a related field, or a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field with three or more years of relevant research experience.
• All candidates must be familiar with experimental and quasi-experimental research studies and able to rapidly and accurately analyze large datasets using advanced statistical methods and appropriate statistical software.
• Demonstrated proficiency in statistical software such as Stata, SAS, and/or SPSS and experience working with large-scale datasets is required.
• Familiarity and experience working with at least some existing sources of external education data (e.g. NCES, state or postsecondary unit record systems, National Student Clearinghouse). Experience undertaking policy-relevant research and a deep understanding of education policy issues and the research literature are highly desirable.
• Strong interest in working in a collaborative environment that emphasizes quality, rigor, and critical thinking
• Capability to translate research results into practical application
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively is essential
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including public speaking skills, listening and information processing and synthesizing skills
• Strong analytic and quantitative skills
• Experience with large-scale datasets
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to travel 5% of time
 
BENEFITS

We offer our employees an outstanding benefits package which includes 4 weeks of paid time off, a generous retirement savings plan, tuition reimbursement and ongoing professional development and training.

APPLY

If you are interested in joining the College Board in this position and you meet our qualifications, we encourage you to apply by visiting our Careers page at www.collegeboard.org/careers. Please search for the job title and submit your resume with a brief, introductory cover letter.