Job Summary

The Evaluation and Research Associate supports the ELRC's mission by designing, managing, and executing high-quality research and evaluation projects in learning and development—using theory-driven, creative approaches grounded in applied social science, research methodologies, and evaluation frameworks.

This role collaborates with internal teams, external partners, and clients to ideate projects, launch funded initiatives, and keep them on schedule and budget. Key responsibilities include developing evaluation/research plans under supervision, handling day-to-day tasks like regulatory compliance, overseeing data collection/analysis/interpretation, crafting program improvement recommendations, preparing reports/presentations/manuscripts, advancing methodologies, and monitoring trends for emerging opportunities and funding.

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ABOUT US:

When you join Purdue University, you join a community that keeps moving forward. For more than 150 years, we’ve been known for not only our groundbreaking work in STEM research, but also for our collective imagination, ingenuity and innovation. 

What We Are Looking For :

Education and Experience

Qualified candidates will need :

• Masters Degree
• At least one (1) year of relevant and progressive experience in evaluation or social science research.

Skills needed:

• Must have both theoretical and practical knowledge of applied social science research in learning or development domains.
• Be able to demonstrate ability to write grant proposals, work with a variety of funding entities, and develop and implement funding strategies.
• Must have excellent organizational skills and the ability to work independently and with groups to develop, initiate, and run new and existing programs. 
• Be self-motivated, confident, and have excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Must be able to work in collaborative environment and seek ways to capitalize on synergistic opportunities with other programs.
• Possess a good working knowledge of statistics and educational research design, strong analytical skills and a good working knowledge of both qualitative and quantitative evaluation and research design.
• Significant expertise in project management and ability to effectively manage multiple complex projects simultaneously while maintaining a high level of professionalism and precision.
• Must be a self-starter, independent thinker with the ability to work collaboratively with faculty and staff from a wide variety of disciplines.
• Communication/presentation, organizational skills, experience with word processing, data management, powerpoint, and some combination of (SPSS, SAS, R, and NVIVo). 

What is helpful:

• PhD preferred.

What We Would Like You to Know:

Purdue University will not sponsor employment authorization for this position  
A background check will be required for employment in this position
FLSA: Exempt (Not Eligible for Overtime)
Retirement Eligibility:  Defined Contribution Waiting Period 
Benefit Statement: Purdue University offers a substantial Benefit Package including medical, dental, and vision insurance as well as a generous paid time off package for sick and vacation days
All applications must be held the first 5 business days due to our Equal Opportunity Employment policy

Career Stream

Professional 2
Pay Band S120
Job Code #20003722

Link to Purdue University's Compensation Guidelines: https://www.purdue.edu/hr/mngcareer/compguidelines/index.php 

Who We Are:
ELRC supports research, education, and engagement projects through our expertise in educational theory, research methodology, evaluation, and project management. We partner with people at Purdue University, including other centers and institutes, as well as those outside the university.
Scholarship driven by Center professionals propels Purdue into the national conversation surrounding evidence-based education reform. The Evaluation and Learning Research Center (ELRC) applies social science theory and research methods to design, engineer, research, and evaluate social innovations that promote learning, development, and justice.  We work collaboratively with partners and clients who share our vision to:
    Accelerate solutions to learning and development challenges by conducting collaborative and transdisciplinary original research and designing empirical and theory-based innovations;
    Build research capacity, enhance credibility, and inform transparent decision-making by providing external evaluation and contract research; and
    Enhance organization and program capacity and success through expert consulting, training, facilitation, and strategic planning.

EOE:
Purdue University is an EOE employer.