Survey Research Director I - Remote Position

The new Survey Director I will work in a highly collaborative environment to manage components of midsized to large survey research projects, including monitoring incoming respondent communication, conducting project trainings, developing survey instruments, and creating contacting protocols. This person will also lead smaller research projects with regular guidance from a senior staff person. In these cases, the Survey Director will be responsible for operations, the schedule, budgets, staff, and client relations. The ideal candidate will have knowledge related to operational methods, survey design, project management including schedule and milestone tracking, and appropriate data collection approaches. This person will receive ongoing training and support to support continued career development within the growing department.

NORC recognizes that talented and skilled researchers live throughout the U.S. and actively supports remote work arrangements.

As a condition of employment, all NORC employees and contractors - including those working remotely - must be fully vaccinated (as defined by current CDC guidance) against COVID-19.

For more than 40 years, NORC has been committed to conducting high quality education research. Our department of Education and Child Development's research covers the full array of education-relevant populations, from pre-school children to the post-graduate doctorate holders. The scope of our education research methodologies has been wide-ranging, as well - including primary data collection, analysis and reporting of existing data, transcript abstraction, classroom observations, qualitative analysis, and experimental and quasi-experimental designs.

• Serve as task/component manager on large projects
• Lead small projects
• Manage the day-to-day performance of their team(s), as applicable
• Make assignments to staff and track progress and quality
• Serve as liaison between functional groups on behalf of their project(s), such as IT, telephone center, or accounting, or outside vendors, such as mailing vendors
• Direct or contribute to the design of data collection methodologies and procedures, questionnaires, and data collection forms to implement the study as specified by the client and the project director

• Manage the organization of secondary data (reports from the field, program records transferred from the client, social media data acquisition, etc.) including implementing an organized record keeping system

• Direct, contribute to, and/or review project deliverables, ensuring quality control, including in some instances auditing and correcting data products, ensuring management of grantee or sample data, and/or secure transfer of personally identifiable information (PII)
• Interact with clients to clarify their needs, report on progress, discuss contractual matters, resolve problems, allay concerns, and provide information and recommendations
• Engage in business development activities including authoring parts of proposals

• Bachelors degree in social sciences or related field, Masters degree preferred
• At least 4 years experience in positions of increasing responsibility in survey, research, or related field
• Strong understanding of basic data collection and analytic methods
• Strong communication and collaboration skills
• Ability to think creatively and problem-solve
• Ability to prioritize across multiple tasks and projects
• Ability to work independently and on teams of different sizes
• Technical/report writing experience preferred
• Some experience in client communications and relationship management preferred
• Experience working with remote teams preferred
• Facility with technology and troubleshooting preferred
• Strong proficiency with MS Office software, including Access and Excel; knowledge of analysis packages, such as SAS, SPSS, STATA, or R, computing platforms, data processing procedures, and data file construction preferred #LI-remote,#LI-hybrid, #LI-AG1

NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, our teams have conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with us to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.

For over 75 years, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications and groundbreaking research findings. But our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, and commitment to collegiality have remained constant components of who we are as a brand, and who each of us is as a member of the NORC team. With world-class benefits, a business casual environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which were known, and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the impact their work is making on a global scale.

NORC is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer that values and actively seeks diversity in the workforce. NORC evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other legally- protected characteristics. #LI-remote,#LI-hybrid, #LI-AG1