Social Scientist

About Us

Totally Joined For Achieving Collaborative Techniques (TJFACT) is a minority owned, CVE verified Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and HUBZone certified performance driven professional services government contracting company that provides a broad spectrum of services and solutions to the U.S government agencies and organizations.

About the position

TJFACT is seeking to hire a well-qualified Social Scientist in Washington DC to join our DOS INL/KM (International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Office of Knowledge Management) Team!

The Social Scientist must be ready to 1) conduct independent research on the effectiveness of INL programs; 2) analyze project performance data collected by others in the Bureau and advise on improvements to Bureau guidance and implementation procedures; 3) advise on evaluations of Bureau projects conducted by outside implementers; and 4) provide training and coaching on project design and monitoring techniques.

This role is contingent upon award.

The COVID Vaccine is recommended for everyone’s safety but not required for employment, therefore we kindly recommend employees are vaccinated prior to working for TJFACT.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Design, conduct, and present independent research, orally and in writing, to assess effects of INL programs using qualitative and quantitative methods from the social sciences, as appropriate. Data sources will include internal INL project performance data, publicly available datasets, data and reports available for purchase, and new data collected for a given research project.
• Analyze INL project performance data (statistical and textual) to identify strengths and weaknesses of the data needed for assessing project effectiveness, and advise accordingly to improve Bureau policies on design, monitoring, and evaluation, including drafting documents, and conducting analyses, feasibility studies, and strategy options.
• Design and supervise evaluations of INL programs in accordance with INL evaluation standards, including.
• Design and/or review of research questions, in collaboration with INL program staff and/or project implementers.
• Design and/or review of research strategies, including data collection and methods.
• Design and/or review of survey questionnaires, focus group discussion guides, and sampling plans.
• Supervision and monitoring of data collection, potentially including field visits.
• Rigorous review and quality control of analysis provided by project implementers.
• Independent cleaning and analysis of monitoring and evaluation data.
• Written and oral reporting, including visualization of findings and recommendations for future projects, primarily aimed at a general audience of policymakers, but with preparation for engaging technical specialists as well.
• Conduct market research, develop inputs for government cost estimates, draft statements of work and other pre-award documents, prepare technical evaluations and associated documentation, participate as a technical advisor to a source selection board or as a nonvoting member of a source selection evaluation board, assist in the evaluation of a contractor’s performance, and work in a situation that might permit access to confidential business information.
• Design performance monitoring plans in collaboration with INL program staff and in accordance with INL project design and monitoring standards, and monitor data collection, modifying plans as needed to ensure best performance.
• Develop curriculum and teach project design, monitoring, and evaluation techniques to non-experts.
• Participate in and contribute to INL’s Monitoring and Evaluation Community of Practice and other forums related to project design, monitoring, and evaluation, potentially involving participation in situations where it might be assumed that participants are agency employees or representatives; and
• Support broader project design, monitoring, and evaluation efforts as needed.

Required Qualifications:

• US. Citizen
• A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution
• A PhD in political science, economics, sociology, criminology, monitoring and evaluation, or a related field
• Six to ten years’ experience in relevant field
• Demonstrated knowledge of Federal regulations in regard to area of specific need
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite
• Demonstrated experience facilitating organizational change
• Demonstrated ability to work on projects and issues within overall policy guidelines
• Demonstrated skilled in oral and written communication, sufficient to draft action and info memos, congressional testimony, press guidance and congressional and general correspondence
• Demonstrated knowledge of international narcotics and law enforcement issues
• Demonstrated knowledge of issues related to development, foreign assistance, politics and economy, sociology, anthropology, organizational development, and/or narcotics and law enforcement
• Demonstrated experience conducting mixed-methods research and analysis, including the development of research questions and design of measurement strategies
• Demonstrated experience teaching or collaborating with non-experts on the development of research questions and quantitative metrics
• Demonstrated ability to provide advice, guidance, and consultation with regard to the interpretation and application of social science analysis.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience working in foreign assistance and/or social science research in developing countries.
• Demonstrated experience using R, Python, or other statistical software for data analysis and visualization.

Benefits:

• Medical, Vision and Dental Insurance
• 401-K plus match
• Paid Vacation days
• Paid holidays
• Short Term and Long-Term Disability
• Voluntary Term Life

TJFACT is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, protected veteran status or status as an individual with a disability. EOE/Minority/Female/Disabled/Veteran. We reserve the right to modify or revise the job descriptions in part or in its entirety. Reasonable accommodations will be made in accordance with governing law.