Manager of Qualitative Research

Who We Are:
SEIU 775 Benefits Group’s mission is to improve the skills, health and stability of the caregiver workforce through innovation and high-quality benefits and programs.
We partner with workers, employers and industry stakeholders to collectively solve workforce problems through innovation, creativity and an evidence-based approach. Together, we deliver high-quality benefits and services to support a growing caregiver workforce.
We are a nonprofit – passionate about revolutionizing the future of in-home care, and are looking for others to join our smart, collaborative and kind team.

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The Details: *
Location: Headquartered in Downtown Seattle, remote work possible from AZ, CA, CO, FL, OR, TN, VA, WA
Work Schedule: Our typical business hours are 8:30-5:00 Monday-Friday.
Travel Requirements: Up to 10%
Category: Full-Time, FLSA Exempt, Regular, Non-Union
Physical Requirements: Must be able to work on a computer screen for long periods of the day.

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About the Position: *

Reporting to the Director of Research Insights and Innovations (RII), the Manager of Qualitative Research will drive a diverse research portfolio of health, training, and retirement benefits and service-related projects designed to inform and support the organization’s strategic priorities. The Manager of Qualitative Research is responsible for overseeing the design, planning, implementation, and monitoring of research, program evaluations and development activities assigned to their team to ensure it remains on-track, appropriately scoped, high quality, and aligned with the RII department and organization’s goals. This role requires deep cross-functional engagement with research partners (both within RII and externally), other Benefits Group teams, and caregivers themselves to ensure relevant, efficient, high-quality and impactful work.
Our ideal candidate has strong strategic, performance management, communication, process improvement and technical research skills. We are looking for someone who brings an enthusiastic can-do attitude to the RII leadership team to improve the value we bring both within our department and to diverse stakeholders. While qualitative leaning in focus, our ideal candidate will have mixed-methods research and research design expertise and be able to mentor and advise the team in these domains as well. We’re looking for someone who can connect early innovations with structured research design, rigorous measurement, and codification with overall strategic goals, helping us all to ultimately increase the dissemination and impact of our research.
A successful manager will be a strong communicator, solutions-oriented but problem-focused, agile, dedicated to empowering and partnering with colleagues, and skilled in collaborative approaches regarding design, evaluation and measurement options. If you want to develop and drive evidence-informed approaches that improve caregivers’ experiences and benefits – we want to hear from you!

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You Will: *

• Work independently under the direction of the Director of Research Insights & Innovations to drive projects from conception to execution and from evaluation to scaling;
• Directly manage a team in all phases of new research and evaluation projects and pilots, providing technical research and career development mentorship;
• Provide subject matter expertise and leadership on all aspects of qualitative research, helping codify best practices for fielding methods, analysis, and reporting and quality assurance in support of qualitative projects;
• Design or assist with the design of all requisite qualitative research questionnaires, screeners and recruitment criteria, discussion guides and other key research instruments to address the research objectives;
• Serve as a resource and subject matter expert in qualitative and quantitative research methods, survey design, literature reviews, market research, and data visualization, as well as how these other forms of research best couple with qualitative research in our mixed-methods work;
• Provide leadership and support on the department’s publication work both academic and grey literature publications, conference abstracts and beyond in furtherance of our department’s work;
• Think strategically and develop and clearly communicate desired goals and outcomes for new work assigned to your team;
• Serve as a member of the department leadership team and partner on department-wide process improvement strategies, policies and procedures, and performance standards, to achieve goals and foster team cohesion;
• Guide staff and leadership to continuously evaluate process, identify problems, and develop strategies to enhance the success of pilots and projects, building on previous learnings, research best practices, and your knowledge of the caregiver and similarly situated populations;
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Director of Research Insights and Innovation.

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You Will Need to Have: *

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Required Leadership Competencies*

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Managing with Vision and Purpose: *

Connect their work and the work of teams they lead to the organization’s Mission, Vision, and Values.

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Advancing Diversity: *

Supports equitable and fair treatment and opportunity for all.

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Courage: *

Is not afraid to take action when necessary, accepts critical feedback that is shared with the team without being defensive and incorporates feedback into their work.

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Strategic Agility: *

Sees ahead clearly; can anticipate future consequence and trends accurately.

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Decision Quality: *

Makes good decisions in the appropriate amount of time based upon a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgement.

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Building Effective Teams: *

Blends people into teams when needed; creates strong morale and spirit in their teams, while creating a collaborative environment.

• Advanced degree in Public Health, Business Development, Public Administration, or related research-oriented field; exceptional hands-on experience and results related to this position can be substituted in lieu of education;
• 1-3 years prior experience managing and coaching a diverse team of direct reports; significant effective leadership over complex project teams such as that of a principal investigator can be substituted in lieu of direct management experience;
• A minimum of 3-5 years’ experience conducting research with significant independence/leadership in designing and driving the work;
• Comfortable with qualitative data analysis and coding processes and qualitative analysis software (e.g. Altas.TI, Dedoose, Nvivo or the like);
• Comfort with Qualtrics or other survey platforms, or an eagerness to learn;
• Successful track record of managing multiple projects simultaneously;
• Demonstrated excellence in writing and data interpretation, active listening, written and oral communication skills, and experience translating technical findings to broad, diverse audiences;
• Inventive and agile in responding effectively to a fast-paced, fluctuating environment;
• Demonstrated skill in guiding staff to “love the problem” and pursue solutions that are right-sized, feasible and appropriate for an applied research setting;
• Strong critical thinker that applies structure to simplify complex problems, moving projects from concept to evaluation rapidly, identifies project risks and opportunities early
• Ability to work effectively with different styles, within different team cultures, and to mentor others accordingly;
• Strong commitment to continuous personal learning and organizational learning;
• Grace under fire, sense of humor, happy to take and give feedback.

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It Will Be Great if You Have: *

• Advanced data manipulation and statistical/quantitative analysis skills and familiarity with analysis software (preferably R, Stata, or Python).
• Experience with publishing in academic journals.
• Lived experience as a caregiver.
• Experience evaluating training/education programs or workforce development pathways.
• Experience partnering or developing programs with populations similar to the caregiving workforce.

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Statement of Affirmative Action*
SEIU 775 Benefits Group is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an Affirmative Action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or Veteran status.

Job Type: Full-time