Job Description
Special Instructions to Applicants: All interested applicants should attach a cover letter and resume in the Supporting Documents section of the application. We suggest the documents be in PDF format to avoid formatting issues. To be considered for this position, all supplemental questions must be answered.
Additional Supporting Document: Applicants should attach a one-page Partnership Research statement that addresses how they think about conducting research that is collaborative and community-oriented.
About Rice:
Boasting a 300-acre, tree-lined campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report . Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio and a residential college system, which supports students intellectually, emotionally, and culturally through social events, intramural sports, student plays, lecture series, courses, and student government. Developing close-knit, diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition, which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities.
Rice is also a wonderful place to work. Rice faculty, staff, and students share values that are essential to our success as a healthy community. These values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rice’s culture. They are reflected in the way we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name — RICE — Responsibility, Integrity, Community, and Excellence.
Position Summary:
The Kinder Institute for Urban Research and the School of Social Sciences are hiring a Community Support Hub Research & Evaluation Specialist to serve as an embedded liaison at the United Way of Greater Houston to establish a first-of-its-kind Community Support Hub that aims to triage and respond to data and evaluation questions and services for Houston-area nonprofits in coordination with the United Way of Greater Houston’s Coffee and Quality programming. This role combines strong analytical expertise with exceptional communication and relationship-building skills to help community partners navigate questions related to data collection, program measurement, reporting requirements, and evaluation design. This staff member will be a colleague to their United Way Senior Quality Coach counterpart at the Support Hub. The Community Support Hub Research and Evaluation Specialist will also provide regular communication to the Houston evaluation network with updates on the progress of Support Hub activities and summarize short-form, peer-reviewed articles that provide timely insight into policy implementation, analysis, and evaluation.
The Community Support Hub Research and Evaluation Specialist will work closely with the Director of the Houston Population Research Center at the Kinder Institute, the School of Social Sciences Assistant Dean for Student Programs, the Coffee & Quality team, and the Assistant Vice President for Strategy, Learning & Analytics at the United Way of Greater Houston to advance a menu of Support Hub offerings; refine a process to collect, sort, triage, and respond to incoming requests; and develop a decision tree that resolves and channels Support Hub requests to the appropriate audiences in a timely manner. The Community Support Hub Research and Evaluation Specialist needs to be thoughtful in their approach to developing an accessible user experience and adept at responding to Support Hub inquiries in a way that meets community partners where they are and ensures organizations receive the necessary guidance to turn their data into meaningful action and impact.
The Community Support Hub Research and Evaluation Specialist will also co-facilitate a series of “Open Office Hours” in partnership with the United Way of Greater Houston’s Coffee and Quality team for community nonprofits to offer Support Hub services in person. In years two and three, the Community Support Hub Research and Evaluation Specialist will help create a rotational program with Rice University Master of Social Policy Evaluation students to develop their skills and expertise in working with community nonprofits. This is a three-year, grant-funded position with no guarantee that the position will be funded after the grant ends. All efforts will be made to seek additional funding in order to provide continued support for this position beyond the initial three years.
Ideal Candidate Statement:
Ideal candidates function as both evidence experts and relationship managers and work well in a team environment to actively collaborate and diagnose what support is needed. The candidate has superior project management and communication skills to listen and respond to community partners’ questions, is highly customer-service-oriented, possesses meticulous attention to detail and accuracy, and is comfortable working in an evolving environment with increasing levels of responsibility and ownership as the Support Hub evolves.
Workplace Requirements:
Hiring Range: $65,000
*Exempt (salaried) positions under FLSA are not eligible for overtime.
Minimum Requirements:
Special Instructions to Applicants: All interested applicants should attach a cover letter and resume in the Supporting Documents section of the application. We suggest the documents be in PDF format to avoid formatting issues. To be considered for this position, all supplemental questions must be answered.
Additional Supporting Document: Applicants should attach a one-page Partnership Research statement that addresses how they think about conducting research that is collaborative and community-oriented.
About Rice:
Boasting a 300-acre, tree-lined campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report . Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio and a residential college system, which supports students intellectually, emotionally, and culturally through social events, intramural sports, student plays, lecture series, courses, and student government. Developing close-knit, diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition, which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities.
Rice is also a wonderful place to work. Rice faculty, staff, and students share values that are essential to our success as a healthy community. These values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rice’s culture. They are reflected in the way we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name — RICE — Responsibility, Integrity, Community, and Excellence.
Position Summary:
The Kinder Institute for Urban Research and the School of Social Sciences are hiring a Community Support Hub Research & Evaluation Specialist to serve as an embedded liaison at the United Way of Greater Houston to establish a first-of-its-kind Community Support Hub that aims to triage and respond to data and evaluation questions and services for Houston-area nonprofits in coordination with the United Way of Greater Houston’s Coffee and Quality programming. This role combines strong analytical expertise with exceptional communication and relationship-building skills to help community partners navigate questions related to data collection, program measurement, reporting requirements, and evaluation design. This staff member will be a colleague to their United Way Senior Quality Coach counterpart at the Support Hub. The Community Support Hub Research and Evaluation Specialist will also provide regular communication to the Houston evaluation network with updates on the progress of Support Hub activities and summarize short-form, peer-reviewed articles that provide timely insight into policy implementation, analysis, and evaluation.
The Community Support Hub Research and Evaluation Specialist will work closely with the Director of the Houston Population Research Center at the Kinder Institute, the School of Social Sciences Assistant Dean for Student Programs, the Coffee & Quality team, and the Assistant Vice President for Strategy, Learning & Analytics at the United Way of Greater Houston to advance a menu of Support Hub offerings; refine a process to collect, sort, triage, and respond to incoming requests; and develop a decision tree that resolves and channels Support Hub requests to the appropriate audiences in a timely manner. The Community Support Hub Research and Evaluation Specialist needs to be thoughtful in their approach to developing an accessible user experience and adept at responding to Support Hub inquiries in a way that meets community partners where they are and ensures organizations receive the necessary guidance to turn their data into meaningful action and impact.
The Community Support Hub Research and Evaluation Specialist will also co-facilitate a series of “Open Office Hours” in partnership with the United Way of Greater Houston’s Coffee and Quality team for community nonprofits to offer Support Hub services in person. In years two and three, the Community Support Hub Research and Evaluation Specialist will help create a rotational program with Rice University Master of Social Policy Evaluation students to develop their skills and expertise in working with community nonprofits. This is a three-year, grant-funded position with no guarantee that the position will be funded after the grant ends. All efforts will be made to seek additional funding in order to provide continued support for this position beyond the initial three years.
Ideal Candidate Statement:
Ideal candidates function as both evidence experts and relationship managers and work well in a team environment to actively collaborate and diagnose what support is needed. The candidate has superior project management and communication skills to listen and respond to community partners’ questions, is highly customer-service-oriented, possesses meticulous attention to detail and accuracy, and is comfortable working in an evolving environment with increasing levels of responsibility and ownership as the Support Hub evolves.
Workplace Requirements:
- Position will be housed at the United Way of Greater
Houston
- Occasional travel
- Evening and/or weekend work as needed
Hiring Range: $65,000
*Exempt (salaried) positions under FLSA are not eligible for overtime.
Minimum Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree (or foreign equivalent) in sociology,
economics, another social science, public health, or a related
field, and completion of a university-level course, thesis, or
dissertation