Senior Researcher

Reports to: VP, Programming & Impact 

Location: DoSomething.org is headquartered in New York City with a hybrid and remote work culture. Preferably, candidates will be based in the New York City Metro area, but candidates in other locations within the U.S. will be considered.

WHO WE ARE
DoSomething.org is a twenty-nine year old nonprofit fueling young people to change the world.

We have mobilized millions of DoSomething.org members to clothe young people in homeless shelters, clean up 3.7 million cigarette butts from the streets, run the largest youth-led sports equipment drive, and registered over 350,000 young people to vote since 2018!

Want to know more about our impact? Check out our 2021 Year in Review. 

THE POSITION

As a Senior Researcher working on the Programming and Impact team, you will be responsible for leading qualitative and quantitative research studies focused on young people and what motivates them to change the world with the goal of building an evidence base for how DoSomething’s programming centers, amplifies, and fuels young people to achieve impact and systemic change. The Senior Researcher will collaborate across programming, product development and DoSomething Strategic, the social impact consultancy arm of DoSomething.

 Research Execution - 50%

• Perform and conduct detailed and in-depth research studies on young people, youth culture, activism, and systemic change across a number of social causes through a range of research tools, methodologies, and approaches with an emphasis on qualitative research
• Define, develop, implement, and document research processes, guidelines, standards, and protocols and reporting standards
• Initiate, maintain and develop contacts with sources and experts outside of DoSomething to support DoSomething’s programmatic goals
• Manage external vendors, including hiring of third-party support for commissioned research and ad hoc contractual analysis support 
• Manage research teams and oversee work flow of various studies

Thought Leadership - 30%

• Collaborate with key departments to develop and implement DoSomething’s thought-leadership agenda to boost organization’s reputation as the “go-to” expert on young people and social change 
• Draft and publish blog posts, newsletter features, white papers, reports, issue briefs, op-eds, and webinar presentations based on research studies executed
• Represent DoSomething at CSR, ESG, Social Science, activism and social change conferences and gatherings around the country, and with the press 

Support with Program Strategy & Product Delivery - 20% 

• Provide input to product, program, and marketing and communications teams, ensuring a research- informed throughline between program and business strategy  
• Consult on all strategy, program, and product development initiatives
• Collaborate with DoSomething Strategic to ensure their needs are incorporated into the research pipeline 
• Support DoSomething Strategic in crafting custom scopes, deliverables, and presentations for client projects

WHAT YOU’LL BRING 

• 8 years cumulative research experience as a reporter, qualitative or quantitative researcher; direct experience in youth or cause-focused research is strongly preferred 
• Strong qualitative and quantitative research chops: track record leveraging both kinds of methodologies to prioritize and draw meaningful conclusions that tie back to business or program goals 
• Solid track record of researching and delivering studies using sources such as panels and/or focus groups, surveys, FOI requests, and third-party data sets
• Experience identifying and working on studies – or strands of stories – that support efforts to bring about change
• The ability to quickly build up knowledge on an issue area or a subject matter 
• Demonstrated experience project managing research – including working with freelancers, project management tools, time management and publication timelines involving multiple people and/or providers 
• Proven understanding of research codes of practice 
• Experience working with prioritization frameworks and roadmaps and wrangling many stakeholders with a diverse range of interests 
• A genuine belief in the collective power of young people, and obsession with getting young people to take action on important social issues

WHO YOU ARE 

• A strong written and verbal communicator; must be an effective presenter and negotiator with direct public speaking experience; dexterity in style and delivery to engage a wide range of constituencies 
• Analytically minded and able to synthesize complex information, connect ideas with data, and present in a digestible, easy to understand format 
• A consciousness and curiosity for current events and trends among our primary demographic, and the ability to apply an intersectional equity and inclusive lens to inform understanding of youth culture throughout the identity and political spectrum 
• A high degree of comfort and confidence stepping up as a thought-leader across the entire organization; collaborative by nature with an affinity for working cross-functionally in highly matrixed environments
• Committed to DEI; an ability to collaborate across differences and model a commitment to continuous learning and exploration of equity, inclusion and belonging in the workplace

Compensation: Base salary range starting at $70k annually 

Select Perks & Benefits

• 3 weeks vacation, paid winter holiday break (from Christmas to New Years), and ½ Day Summer Fridays (Memorial Day to Labor Day!). 
• Medical and dental premiums fully covered by us. You read that right!
• An incredibly compelling reason to wake up and make it to work every day.

DoSomething.org is an equal opportunity employer. 

Please, no calls. 

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DoSomething.org and DoSomething Strategic (“we”, “us”) are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This policy explains when and why we collect personal information on candidates, and how we keep it secure.

How and why we collect data from you.

• We collect and retain data that is included in your job application. This includes your full name, contact information, and any personal information disclosed in your resume, cover letter, and other supplemental application materials.
• Data is collected for evaluation criteria when seeking employment at DoSomething
• We will only use your data for what was originally intended -- for purposes of seeking and gaining employment at DoSomething. Your data will not be “recycled” for marketing emails or to sell to third parties.

How long do we retain this data?

• DoSomething will retain candidate profiles for 3 years.
• Annually on August 1, candidate profiles from 3 years prior will be entirely deleted from our system.

Is your data secure?

• JazzHR maintains secure job board pages. Job boards will default to HTTPS. Additionally, if we were to terminate our contract with JazzHR our candidate data is deleted from JazzHR’s systems in accordance with JazzHR’s Terms of Service.

Salary : $70 - $0