Principal Researcher, Education

Description

 NEBRASKA CHILDREN AND FAMILIES FOUNDATION: 

Nebraska Children and Families Foundation (NCFF) is a nonprofit created to support children, young adults, and families with the overall goal of giving our state's children what they need to thrive. We do this by building strong communities that support families. Our mission is to create positive change for Nebraska’s children through community engagement and we believe in a Nebraska where all children will have the resources and support to thrive. 

SUMMARY:
The Principal Researcher serves as the Project Director for NCFF's U.S. Department of Education Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Mid-Phase grant to scale and rigorously evaluate Nebraska Growing Readers Plus TeacherRead/FamilyRead (NGR+), which enhances the existing Nebraska Growing Readers (NGR) book-distribution program with two evidence-based shared book reading components, FamilyRead (FR) and TeacherRead (TR). This work will support quality and rigor for a three-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing NGR alone, NGR+FamilyRead, and NGR+FamilyRead+TeacherRead, with a focus on data-informed learning. 

This includes responsibility for working with the VP for R&E and NCFF's Project Leadership Team to oversee delivery of the RCT, which is contracted to an independent external evaluator. As Project Director on the grant, this position requires the development and management of a multi-year portfolio of contracts, budgets, and tasks across the grant. This position provides leadership to internal project staff and works to support collaboration among internal staff, contracted research and implementation partners, and NDE to co-design and implement NGR+. 

The Principal Researcher also plays a key role in ensuring compliance with U.S. Department of Education grant requirements.  

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Essential functions of this position focus on serving as Project Director to oversee the NGR+ EIR Mid-Phase grant and its three-arm RCT. 

Project Leadership and Management 

• Serve as Project Director for the NGR+ EIR Mid-Phase grant, holding overall responsibility for the scope, quality, timeline, and outcomes of the RCT across the pilot and three implementation cohorts. 
• Provide overall direction and leadership for the project, ensuring full alignment with federal grant requirements and NCFF's strategic goals. 
• Develop, manage, and execute the project work plan, including deliverables, timelines, and milestones across all grant components. 
• Manage contracts and working relationships with the independent evaluator, Implementation Supports Team, Recruitment Team, Advisory Team, and any other subgroups within the grant; ensure deliverables meet contract terms, timelines, and quality standards. 
• Coordinate project implementation across multiple partners, including NDE, school districts, evaluators, and literacy organizations. 
• Ensure adherence to evidence-based practices and fidelity to the approved grant proposal. 
• Serve on the Project Leadership Team, the Dissemination Team, and other internal/external workgroups relevant to NGR+ and early literacy research and evaluation. 
• Anticipate and manage risks to project timeline, budget, recruitment, or data integrity across the pilot and three RCT cohorts, and develop mitigation or contingency plans as needed. 

Federal Compliance and Reporting 

• Oversee compliance with all applicable federal regulations, including U.S. Department of Education EIR grant requirements and funder expectations throughout the life of the grant, such as study preregistration and performance reporting. 
• Prepare and submit required federal performance reports, budget justifications, and continuation applications. 
• Maintain comprehensive documentation to support audit readiness and ensure proper record retention. 
• Monitor subrecipient performance and ensure all contracts, memoranda of understanding, and subawards meet federal standards. 
• Establish and maintain systems for tracking deliverables, outcomes, and performance metrics required by the Department of Education. 

Evaluation, Data, and Continuous Improvement 

• Oversee the RCT contracted to the independent evaluator, ensuring the study is designed and executed to meet WWC evidence standards without reservations. 
• Provide leadership for the project's evaluation and research components, ensuring adherence to the approved evaluation plan. 
• Oversee and ensure the quality of all evaluation activities, including instruments and tools, data processes, fidelity monitoring, and cost-effectiveness analysis conducted by the evaluator. 
• Collaborate with internal and external evaluation partners to design, implement, and analyze formative and summative data collection. 
• Facilitate continuous quality improvement (CQI) cycles by reviewing evaluation findings and identifying actionable insights for program refinement. 
• Ensure the integration of evaluation results into decision-making, reporting, and sustainability planning. 
• Provide technical assistance and build capacity to support NCFF and NDE staff in using RCT implementation and impact data for planning and continuous improvement. 

Fiscal and Administrative Oversight 

• Develop, manage, and monitor the multi-year grant budget, ensuring expenditures align with approved budgets and federal cost principles, including invoicing and allowable-cost compliance for contracted partners. 
• Oversee subaward agreements, invoices, and payment schedules in collaboration with NCFF's fiscal and contracts teams. 
• Coordinate with NCFF finance staff to ensure accurate tracking of match and cost-share requirements. 

Partnership and Communication 

• Serve as NCFF's representative in all state and federal communications related to the EIR project. 
• Foster relationships with NDE, LEA partners, Regional ESUs, and community organizations to support recruitment of approximately 120 classrooms across three cohorts and to sustain family and educator engagement. 
• Facilitate communication and alignment across state and local partners to ensure coordinated implementation. 
• Develop materials and reports that communicate project progress and outcomes to internal and external audiences. 
• Organize and implement effective methods of sharing overall RCT findings; present outcome and cost-effectiveness data to internal staff, the funder, LEA partners, and others as needed. 
• Support dissemination of project results, lessons learned, and evidence-building activities. 

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: This role has direct supervisory responsibility to the Senior Researcher and will indirectly provide leadership to program staff (Lead, Early childhood Nebraska Growing Readers Plus) .  

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

Required Skills/Abilities: 

• Deep subject-matter expertise in Education research and or evaluation  
• Experience with research design and methodology (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods) and statistical and analytical rigor 
• Strong project management, organization, leadership and grant management skills are essential   
• Ability to synthesize and critically evaluate large bodies of literature or data  
• Familiarity with Education-specific tools, instruments, or techniques  
• Understanding data analytic approaches, their use and the interpretation of findings  
• Translating complex findings for non-expert audiences (executives, policymakers, funders, community stakeholders) 
• Public speaking and presenting at conferences or to leadership 
• A demonstrated track record: publications, successful grants, or a portfolio of impactful research/evaluation projects  
• Experience overseeing or conducting complex or evaluation and or research studies  
• Experience managing budgets and contracts, including multi-partner arrangements involving state agencies, universities, and independent evaluation firms  
• Leading cross-functional or interdisciplinary teams, often without formal management authority 
• Working with people from diverse backgrounds including those with and without strong evaluation/research skills  
• Develop, manage and execute the project work plan, including deliverable, timelines, and milestones across all gratn components.  
• Strong interpersonal skills, particularly with community members across rural settings  
• Strong oral and written communication skills  

EDUCATION and EXPERIENCE: 

Required: 

• Doctoral degree in a field relevant to the Nebraska Children and Family Foundation's work (such as research and evaluation, policy evaluation, child welfare, education, public health, etc.) and 5+ years of work experience in research, evaluation, data analysis, and reporting. OR Master’s Degree or related certifications in a field relevant to the Nebraska Children and Family Foundation's work (such as applied research and evaluation, policy evaluation, child welfare, education, public health, etc.) and 10+ years of work experience in research, evaluation, data analysis, and reporting. 
• Experience using both qualitative and quantitative methods for design, analysis, and reporting. 
• Experience with analysis software. 

Preferred: 

• Doctoral degree (Ph.D.) in a related field. 
• Previous experience leading or co-leading a complex evaluation or research design  
• Experience with federally funded grants 
• Experience with evidence-based literacy practices 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: 

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and talk or hear.  
• The employee frequently is required to use hands.  
• The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, and reach with hands and arms. 

WORKING CONDITIONS: 

• Flexible schedule including possible evenings and weekends, 
• Willingness to travel, including overnight stays. 
• Nebraska residency required. Hybrid office arrangements available in Omaha and Lincoln