A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experience that directly relate to this position.

The Department of Education in the College of Arts, Sciences and Education is seeking a Research Fellow who will support key aspects of a mixed-methods policy evaluation.

The Research Fellow will support a multi-year evaluation of Michigan's Partnership Model of school and district turnaround. The project examines how the Partnership Model is implemented across districts and schools, how well it aligns with local needs, and whether it supports improvements in student-, educator-, and system-level outcomes. The evaluation uses an integrated mixed-methods design that includes analysis of statewide administrative data, annual surveys of educators, interviews with district and state education leaders, document analysis, and developmental evaluation activities designed to support continuous improvement within the Michigan Department of Education's Office of Partnership Districts. (Prior research on the Partnership Model can be found here.)

The Researcher Fellow will work under the supervision of Dr. Jeremy Singer, the Principal Investigator (PI), and work closely with the Co-PI, Graduate Research Assistants, and state and district partners.

This is a full-time, benefits-eligible appointment for one year (12 months), with the possibility of renewal based on performance and funding availability. 

• Coordinate and conduct semi-structured interviews with district leaders, school leaders, state education agency personnel, and other key stakeholders

• Conduct qualitative data analysis, including interview coding, document review, and synthesis of findings across data sources

• Collect, organize, and code Partnership Agreements, improvement plans, benchmark review materials, meeting notes, and other implementation documents

• Support the development, administration, and analysis of annual surveys of teachers, principals, and district leaders

• Contribute to the preparation, analysis, and interpretation of survey data

• Serve as a project manager for the evaluation, including coordinating project timelines, deliverables, team meetings, partner communication, and activities across multiple evaluation workstreams

• Help guide and mentor graduate and undergraduate research assistants, including assigning tasks, reviewing work products, and supporting training

• Maintain project documentation and ensure that research activities comply with approved human-subjects, confidentiality, and data-security procedures

• Draft research memos, technical reports, policy briefs, presentations, manuscripts, and other dissemination products

• Contribute to research proposals and other efforts to secure external funding, if applicable

• Ensure that all research is conducted in an ethical manner and in compliance with safety standards and data protection regulations. This includes managing sensitive data correctly. 

• Ph.D. in education, public policy, sociology, political science, economics, psychology, or another relevant social science field

• Training or professional experience in education policy, program evaluation, school improvement, K-12 education systems, or a related area

• Experience with qualitative or mixed-methods research

• Experience conducting or supporting interviews, surveys, document analysis, administrative data analysis, or other applied research activities

• Strong project-management and organizational skills, including the ability to coordinate timelines, track deliverables, and manage multiple workstreams

• Strong written and oral communication skills, including the ability to contribute to reports, memos, presentations, manuscripts, and other dissemination products

• Ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a multi-institutional research team

• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally with university researchers, government partners, educators, and other stakeholders.

In addition to a career filled with purpose and opportunity, The University of Michigan offers a comprehensive benefits package to help you stay well, protect yourself and your family, and plan for a secure future.

Benefits include: 

• Generous time off
• A retirement plan that provides two-for-one matching contributions after 12 months of eligible service with immediate vesting.
• Many choices for comprehensive health insurance
• Life insurance
• Long-term disability coverage
• Flexible spending accounts for healthcare and dependent care expenses.

Eligibility for benefits based on your job group, your appointment percentage and the length of your appointment. Learn more about employee benefits and eligibility from the UM Human Resources Benefits and Wellness webpage. 

UM-Flint offers tuition support for eligible UM-Flint staff members. In addition, UM-Flint offers dependent tuition support (DTS) for qualified dependents of faculty and staff from all UM campuses. Information can be found at: https://www.umflint.edu/hr/benefits/.

Information about our vision, mission and values can be found at: https://www.umflint.edu/chancellor/leadership-mission-vision/

Hybrid:

The work requirements allow both onsite and offsite work and an employee has an expected recurring onsite presence. On occasion, the employee may be required and must be available to work onsite more frequently if necessitated by unit leadership or their designee and/or the job requirements. 

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department.  Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes here.

The University of Michigan conducts background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background checks.  Background checks are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended.

The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.