Job Description

Job Summary:

Synergy Enterprises, Inc., a minority, and woman-owned government contractor located in North Bethesda, MD, currently has an opportunity for a full-time Research Associate (at least 30 hours a week). This position is remote.

This position is an integral part of the Data & Evaluation Team, which works to support primarily education and public health-based projects across the company. Candidates will have proficiency in the data collection, cleaning, analysis, and visualization process. This role involves working with Data Team members to translate raw data into insightful visuals, such as charts, graphs, dashboards, and interactive displays, using visualization software to engage in data storytelling customized for a variety of target audiences. Ideal candidates will have experience working in the education and/or public health domains as evidenced by subject matter expertise and/or experience analyzing and evaluating data sets in these domains. Ability to work independently, as well as a contributing member of a larger team, to communicate areas of strength as well as areas in need of support are critical to working effectively in this role.

Strong candidates will demonstrate proficiency in the following domains:

• Data Visualization: Experience using data visualization tools and software to create compelling and interactive visualizations. Experience with Tableau required, Power BI or D3.js a plus.
• Data Analysis: Ability to analyze data sets varying in size to identify trends, patterns, and key insights that can be communicated effectively through visualizations. Experience with data analysis software such as R, Stata, SAS, Excel, Python, SPSS, QDA Miner, or Google Analytics.
• Data Storytelling: Experience selecting the most appropriate visualizations to fit the data and crafting a narrative that guides the intended audience through the insights.
• Survey Development: Proficiency using survey platforms such as Qualtrics, including ability to work with Senior Research Associate to support survey creation, distribution, and data management.
• Evaluation & Report Writing: Experience designing and implementing evaluation frameworks to assess the effectiveness of programs, including interpreting data from multiple sources to derive meaningful insights. Ability to craft clear and concise reports that communicate findings to internal stakeholders and external partners.
• Collaboration: Ability to collaborate with data scientists, communication specialists, and SMEs in public health and education to understand data requirements and ensure that visualizations accurately represent the underlying data. Experience working with data from any of the following content areas is advantageous:  elementary or secondary education, behavioral health (substance use specifically).
• Data Security & Privacy: Understanding and adherence to data security and privacy considerations, especially when dealing with sensitive or confidential data.

Qualifications

• Minimum of Bachelor’s Degree in Social or Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, or a related field; Master’s Degree or equivalent experience preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Suite, particularly Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to facilitate strong written and oral data presentations in addition to the statistical software referenced above.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Attention to detail, particularly to ensure data and reporting meet high standards, such as compliance to federal guidelines.
• Able to obtain necessary clearances from various Federal agencies.
• Team player who will jump in and take on tasks as needed (willingness to learn new skills or content areas, ask questions)
• Self-starter with strong time management and multitasking skills.

Other job requirements:

Physical demands and work environment:

• Physical demands:  While performing the job duties, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; stoop; bend; push; turn; crawl; sit; use hands to handle objects and documents; manipulate objects; reach with hands and arms; talk and hear.  Employees may occasionally land/or move up to 20 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, recognizing, registering, and responding, color recognition, depth perception. Employees may use office equipment such as telephone, computer, computer software, calculator, printer, copier, and facsimile. 
• Work environment: Employees are not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions.  The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

The above statements describe the general nature and level of work being performed.  They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and skills required of employees so classified

Qualifications

Qualifications

• Minimum of Bachelor’s Degree in Social or Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, or a related field; Master’s Degree or equivalent experience preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Suite, particularly Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to facilitate strong written and oral data presentations in addition to the statistical software referenced above.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Attention to detail, particularly to ensure data and reporting meet high standards, such as compliance to federal guidelines.
• Able to obtain necessary clearances from various Federal agencies.
• Team player who will jump in and take on tasks as needed (willingness to learn new skills or content areas, ask questions)
• Self-starter with strong time management and multitasking skills.

Other job requirements:

Physical demands and work environment:

• Physical demands:  While performing the job duties, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; stoop; bend; push; turn; crawl; sit; use hands to handle objects and documents; manipulate objects; reach with hands and arms; talk and hear.  Employees may occasionally land/or move up to 20 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, recognizing, registering, and responding, color recognition, depth perception. Employees may use office equipment such as telephone, computer, computer software, calculator, printer, copier, and facsimile. 
• Work environment: Employees are not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions.  The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

The above statements describe the general nature and level of work being performed.  They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and skills required of employees so classified

See more jobs at SynergyEnterprisesInc

Apply for this job

Job Description

Primary Responsibilities:

• Experience conducting research independently and with minimal oversight including literature reviews and other research efforts on emerging issues related to education policy and practice, particularly with respect to federal, state, and local resources.
• Conduct research to identify and resolve operational challenges and help develop and implement complimentary methods for delivering content and providing technical assistance.
• Conduct research to help develop topic areas, tools, resources, courses, and other informational products, such as fact sheets, written technical assistance responses, toolkits, and guidance documents.
• Ensure alignment of current research and evidence-based practices with content, developing research briefs and outlines for courses, tools, and other resources.
• Writing both short informational brief reports and publications, as well as longer reports.
• Contribute to the development and delivery of virtual and in-person trainings, including webinars, virtual meetings, online courses, videos, and live conference presentations.
• Ability to review, edit, and provide feedback on a variety of content and publications.
• Ability to analyze data sets varying in size to identify trends, patterns, and key insights that can be communicated effectively through visualizations. Proficiency in using data visualization tools to create compelling and interactive visualizations.
• Experience selecting the most appropriate visualizations to match content and crafting a narrative that guides the intended audience through the insights. Ability to use of graphic design principles, particularly consideration of user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) in website/ Learning Management System development and dashboards an added bonus.
• Curate, vet, and manage resources for external resource library and other website resources.  
• Be proficient and professional representing the TA Center and its various endeavors at virtual and in-person events, meetings, and via phone, email and online meetings.
• And other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications

Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree or PhD in Education or Social Science related field.

• Advanced skill set with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and web-based databases.

• Skills in conducting virtual meetings on a variety of platforms (e.g., Zoom, Adobe Connect).

• Demonstrated skills in research, data collection, and analysis (knowledge of Qualtrics preferred).

• Content expertise in one or more of the following areas: 21st Century Community Learning Centers, creating and providing professional development for educators, out-of-school time professionals, and school leaders; working with State Education Agencies in grant management, competitive grant awards, needs assessment and evaluation; and website development.

Attention to detail, particularly to ensure data and reporting meet high standards, such as compliance to federal guidelines

• Self-starter with strong time management and multitasking skills.

• Excels at working in a fast paced, dynamic environment.

• Ability to work under pressure, managing several complex assignments with multiple deadlines.

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Proofreading or copyediting experience is a plus.

• Understanding of online data collection forms.

• Additional skills a plus: grant management experience, website and learning management system development, communications.

Other job requirements:

• The position requires that individuals be available to work as necessary throughout the standard workweek and often on weekends as well.

• The position requires the ability to travel, including overnight (approximately 20% of time, depending upon need).

Physical demands and work environment:

• Physical demands: While performing duties of job, employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to handle objects and documents; reach with hands and arms; talk and hear. Employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision. Employee may use office equipment such as telephone, computer, computer software, calculator, printer, copier, and facsimile.
• Work environment: Employees are not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed.  They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and skills required of employees so classified. 

See more jobs at SynergyEnterprisesInc

Apply for this job

Job Description

Primary Responsibilities:

• Review, analyze, and translate needs assessment data and information on research and best practices in comprehensive literacy programming into plain language for project deliverables.
• Collaborate with subject matter experts and others on the project team to develop and refine plans for providing technical support to state and local education agencies.
• Research, write, and/or revise white papers, ad hoc reports, fact sheets, PowerPoint presentations, planning documents, implementation guides, training modules, and other technical assistance and training resources to support the design, development, and delivery of literacy plans.
• Participate in ongoing planning meetings with the project team and consultants/subject matter experts during the development period, and modify materials as needed to produce demonstration versions for use in the field at the end of the year.
• Verify facts as needed, and review content for clarity, readability, grammar, and alignment with editorial style guides and quality standards.
• Work on multiple deliverables in various stages of completion while meeting all required deadlines.

Qualifications

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree and 5 years of experience in education and/or education writing
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality informational and/or training materials for education leaders, policymakers, teachers, and/or technical assistance providers — and (preferably) to provide detailed training and implementation materials that take into consideration audiences’ varying knowledge/skill levels and implementation readiness (applicants are encouraged to submit a writing portfolio with 3-5 writing samples relevant to the Senior Writer position)
• Knowledge of and familiarity with literacy education, standards, and assessment for children from birth through grade 12 and with implementation of literacy policy and laws at the state level; experience working in or with a state education agency or is preferred but not required
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and to collaborate with other team members
• Efficient time and task management skills, including the ability to meet deadlines while producing high-quality work
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Word and PowerPoint applications

Physical demands and work environment:

• Physical demands: While performing the job duties, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; stoop; bend; push; turn; crawl; sit; use hands to handle objects and documents; manipulate objects; reach with hands and arms; talk and hear. Employees may occasionally land/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, recognizing, registering, and responding, color recognition; depth perception. Employees may use office equipment such as telephone, computer, computer software, calculator, printer, copier, and facsimile.
• Work environment: Employees are not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

The above statements describe the general nature and level of work being performed. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and skills required of employees so classified.

See more jobs at SynergyEnterprisesInc

Apply for this job

Job Description

Primary Responsibilities:

• Provides thought leadership, ideation, and strategies to engage CLSD Grantees and non-Grantee State Education Administrators to improve literacy outcomes for students.
• Provide monitoring, and TA support services including product development and resource development.
• Manage all aspects of the CLSD Blanket Purchase Award contract and Task Orders (TO) issued under the contract.
• Adeptly assign, deploy, train, and supervise team members assigned to the active TOs.
• Respond to TO requests, Ad-Hoc reports, White Papers, and provide ideation, timelines, budgets for all major deliverables.
• Must be able to demonstrate ability to independently conceptualize, develop, write, and substantively edit reports, concept papers, management plans, and monthly reports.  Must demonstrate expertise and experience in collaborating with team members and clients to serve as a “working” project director who can work hand in hand with teammates and clients in designing and developing deliverables.  This position is not just a supervisory position. 
• Ensure that all deliverables are submitted in a timely manner with high quality results and within allocated budgets.
• Leads Task Leads with the identification of new options, efficiencies, and enhancement of current services.
• Identifies and resolves operational problems – develops and implements alternative methods for work improvement in conjunction with the Senior Managing Principal, Assessment & Evaluation Services.
• Oversees the Deputy Project Director and ensures that tasks and set deadlines for team members (IT, etc.) are reasonable and understood to meet project and client needs.
• Maintains and coordinates liaison relationships with project staff, subcontractors, consultants, grantees, CLSD stakeholders, and client to assure understanding and appreciation of mutual objectives and problems.
• Manages escalated issues and problems and ensures timely resolution.
• Captures lessons learned and best practices, documentation and dissemination of information, managing developing presentations, creating standard operating procedures, etc.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or higher in related field.
• 10+ years’ work experience in a government (preferably federal) contracting environment.
• Understanding of Technical Assistance, Monitoring, Annual Performance Measures
• Excellent leadership, management, coordination, interpersonal and teamwork skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and willingness and ability to be flexible depending on changing priorities and deadlines.
• Excellent writing and presentation skills.
• Ability to function in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office applications required.

Other job requirements:

• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends as contracts or deadlines demand.
• Some travel may be required to meet contract or project specifications.

Physical demands and work environment:

• Physical demands:  While performing duties of job, employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to handle objects and documents; reach with hands and arms; talk and hear.  Employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision. Employee may use office equipment such as telephone, computer, computer software, calculator, printer, copier, and facsimile.
• Work environment: Employees are not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

See more jobs at SynergyEnterprisesInc

Apply for this job