Job Opening: 2023-24 UNCF FDPRI Research Fellow – Atlanta, GA

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Job Summary

The Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute is seeking an actively enrolled graduate student in a Ph.D. program to join our team as a 9-month paid Fellow. This individual will assist a Sr. Research Associate and the FDPRI Team in various research projects and publications. The team leads a research portfolio inclusive of longitudinal mixed-method research addressing the outcomes of various programmatic activities aimed at student success and institutional transformation for 50 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominately Black Institutions (PBIs).

This is an ideal position for an insightful self-starter with strong analytical and writing skills and knowledge of the postsecondary education sector (especially related to issues of student success, equity and workforce development). The successful candidate will have knowledge of and experience with gathering and synthesizing data from publicly available data sources, survey analysis, excel in writing literature reviews, research reports, and analyzing data. Successful candidates will also provide insight and recommendations for disseminating research findings to various academic and non-academic audiences. There are also opportunities for co-authorship and professional development.

Duties and Responsibilities

  • Ability to work 20 hours/week
  • Available during UNCF business hours
  • Interpret and present quantitative and qualitative information; advise on results and findings
  • Contribute to the development of FDPRI research and publications
  • Assist in the development of research dissemination which may include, contacting external partners, researching the landscape of higher education and creating summaries of findings.
  • Provide support for research dissemination events, like conferences, panels, and institutional site visits.
  • Gather pertinent research to help in the dissemination of research for social media, .
  • Analyze data from various sources to contribute to FDPRI publications, one pagers, websites, PowerPoint presentations, infographics, blog posts, speaking engagements, and presentations.

Qualifications and Skills

Research 

  • Actively enrolled graduate student (Ph.D.) in one of the following preferred disciplines: education, public policy/administration, political science, psychometrics, statistics, data science, or other social science field. Students in other fields are also welcome to apply if the candidates have a strong knowledge base/experience of post-secondary education.
  • Training and experience in conducting quantitative research
  • Strong knowledge and/or experience in post-secondary education, especially as it relates to the experiences of HBCU students using an equity-centered lens.
  • Strong knowledge and use of qualitative: Dedoose, Atlas.ti and/or quantitative statistical software such as: STATA, SPSS, or R
  • Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, multi-disciplinary, client-oriented setting
  • Passion for problem solving, data analysis, and ability to surface key trends from data
  • Completed some coursework in research methodology
  • Writes clearly and informatively, edits work for spelling and grammar, varies writing style to meet audience needs, presents numerical data effectively

Professionalism 

  • Prioritizes and plans work activities, uses time efficiently, sets goals and objectives, develops realistic action plans, ability to manage multiple projects, follows through on commitments.
  • Demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness, looks for ways to improve and promote quality, applies feedback to improve performance, monitors own work to ensure quality
  • Adapts to change in the work environment, able to deal with frequent change, delays, or unexpected events
  • Ability to collaborate effectively with internal and external partners
  • Is consistent at work and on time, ensures work responsibilities are covered when absent
  • Follows instructions, responds to management direction, takes responsibility for own actions
  • Displays original thinking and creativity, meets challenges with resourcefulness, generates suggestions for improving work, develops innovative approaches and ideas

Preferred Qualifications 

  • Experience in survey design and management
  • Ability to distill and interpret complex research findings for non-academic audiences

Apply by emailing your resume or CV to: pattersonresearch@uncf.org 

About FDPRI

The Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute, FDPRI, is the nation’s foremost research organization focusing on the educational status of Black students from pre-school to and through college. Committed to understanding and expanding the pathways that lead to educational attainment, FDPRI conducts and disseminates research that informs policymakers, educators, philanthropists, and the general public on how to best improve educational opportunities for and outcomes of Black and other students of color across the pre-school-through-college-graduation pipeline. 

UNCF’s mission is to build a robust and nationally-recognized pipeline of under-represented students who, because of UNCF support, become highly-qualified college graduates and to ensure that our network of member institutions is a respected model of best practice in moving students to and through college. UNCF’s North Star is to increase the total annual number of African American college graduates by focusing on activities that ensure more students are college-ready, enroll in college and persist to graduation. This is done through a three-pillar strategy. Positioning member institutions as a viable college option for students and investing in institutional capacity to improve student outcomes; creating transformational support programs to ensure students are enrolling and persisting through college 3 completion; building awareness of educational attainment and cultivating college-going behaviors within the African American community.