Director of Research - Civic Nation

[Careers at Civic Nation]

Hello --

Civic Nation is looking to fill the position of Director of Research to join the team. Please see below for more information. 

Thanks, 

Anita

Title: Director of Research 

Department: Covid-19 Trust Campaign

Status: Exempt

Reports to: Vice President of Research and Impact 

Salary: $90,000 - $125,000

General Description

Civic Nation seeks a Director of Research for a new public education and grassroots mobilization effort, the Covid-19 Vaccine Trust Campaign, which seeks to build trust in the COVID-19 vaccines and promote other behavioral changes to combat the pandemic. The effort will serve as a centralized hub to coordinate and disseminate messages and effective strategies through a broad coalition of trusted partners. 

Reporting to the Vice President of Research and Impact, this person will be primarily responsible for identifying, interpreting, and communicating the wealth of research on COVID vaccine attitudes and best practices in behavioral science to encourage vaccine uptake in our priority communities. Above all else, they will make action-oriented information accessible and concise for a broad network of partners working together to increase vaccine distribution to underserved communities. 

The ideal candidate for this position brings at least five years of experience in research, including policy research, academia, and/or public opinion research for advocacy or political campaigns. Ideally, they have a background in behavioral science, with public health experience a plus. While this role does not have direct reports to start, it is possible that they will manage 1-3 people as the initiative grows. 

This is a remote, “short” term campaign that will end in July 2022. 

ABOUT THE COVID-19 VACCINE TRUST CAMPAIGN 

Extensive research shows that half of Americans say they either will not or are unsure if they will get a COVID-19 vaccine, with particularly high rates of uncertainty among the very communities hardest hit by the pandemic. Experts across the public health sector are calling for an unprecedented public outreach campaign to overcome this hesitancy. 

Recognizing this urgent need, we are launching the COVID-19 Vaccine Trust Campaign, a communications, outreach, and grassroots mobilization effort to build public trust in the COVID-19 vaccines through trusted messengers who can engage in dialogue and share clear, consistent information with the target audience. 

The program will serve as a centralized hub to coordinate and disseminate messages and effective strategies through a broad coalition of trusted partners. We’ll work with partner organizations to reach local leaders who will serve as medical experts, and work to expand our network of validators through grassroots programs that encourage community-based institutions to share information with their communities. 

YOUR IMPACT 

● Conduct meta-analyses of existing surveys and research in the field to synthesize consistent findings, identify open questions, and distill best practices for persuasion, battling misinformation, and increasing vaccine acceptance.

● Establish relationships with a community of researchers to work together, share knowledge, and where applicable, data; to improve all our collective knowledge and understanding.

● Communicate learnings and best practices on strategy and messaging to the internal organization leadership, to anchor messaging and targeting decisions in data and evidence.

● Work closely with the training team to tailor and communicate action-oriented recommendations to community organizations, focused on the unique needs and challenges within their communities.

● Where applicable, work with the rest of the Research and Impact team and/or outside consultants to embed first party research into our programs, such as digital experiments or message testing. 

YOUR EXPERIENCE

● 5+ years of directly relevant experience, conducting first-party research and aggregating knowledge from across fields.

● Has worked with a political, advocacy, or public policy campaign.

● Experience working directly with data to produce independent analysis.

● Experience partnering with program, digital and/or media teams to integrate research into programmatic decision-making.

● Academic or professional exposure to behavioral science.

● Management experience preferred.

● Experience in public health is a plus. 

YOUR COMPETENCIES

● An informed and thoughtful point of view on the role of behavioral science and research in creating an effective and culturally competent outreach campaign across diverse communities.

● Competence with a statistical programming language (such as R or Python) and the ability to design robust experiments and conduct statistical analysis independently.

● Familiarity and comfort with statistical methods and the ability to read others’ studies and results with an informed and critical perspective.

● Exceptional ability to translate experimental results into action-oriented best practices and pragmatic recommendations.

● Comfort in a rapidly changing environment and demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities.

● A high level of emotional intelligence and communication skills, and an ability to (and interest in) talk about technical concepts to a broad audience of people with varying technical backgrounds.

● Experience with and understanding of public health issues is a plus. 

ABOUT CIVIC NATION 

Civic Nation serves as a mobilization hub at the intersection of creative communications, community organizing, narrative and culture change strategies, and high-level stakeholder engagement. At Civic Nation we house some of the most innovative campaigns organizing for progress across the country including It’s On Us, The United State of Women, and When We All Vote, Co-chaired by Michelle Obama. 

Civic Nation also partners with some of the country’s most influential voices, brands, organizations, and institutions, and brings together a collection of leading talent with deep expertise in their individual issue area and a collective passion for civic engagement. 

SALARY AND BENEFITS 

The salary range for this position is $90,000-$125,000. Our comprehensive benefit plan includes 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance for employees; generous paid time off; access to 401k plan, and more. 

TO APPLY 

Submit a cover letter and resume to car...@civicnation.org with the subject line Director of Research, COVID Vaccine Trust Campaign. 

The cover letter, addressed to Christine Campigotto, should be concise, compelling, and include what makes you the best fit for this role. If you wish, please feel free to include a work sample from your career and/or academic background. 

The urgency of this campaign matches the urgency of the crisis we face. We will be scaling up quickly and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis but not accepted after Wednesday, March 3rd. 

At Civic Nation, diversity, equity, and inclusion are directly aligned with the fundamental belief that people are inherently capable but often lack opportunity. We know that a diverse workforce allows us to see problems in more nuanced ways, creating the thought leadership needed to fulfill our mission and reach our goals. Civic Nation is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes people from all backgrounds, experiences, abilities, and perspectives to apply.