Researcher

Job Title: Researcher

Direct Supervisor: Vice President & Co-Director of Research

Available Positions: 1

Post Date: January 13, 2020

ABOUT US

Slover Linett Audience Research is a Chicago-based social research firm for the cultural sector, which we broadly define to include museums of all kinds, arts organizations, science communicators, media enterprises, and cultural funders. We use the tools of social science research, evaluation, and dialogue to help our clients grapple with strategic questions in a wide range of areas including programming, marketing, experience design, community engagement and inclusion, and institutional strategy. We are researchers above all, but also consultants and facilitators dedicated to pro-social change: we’re committed to helping practitioners and funders make culture more responsive, relevant, and rewarding to more people. For more information, please visit our website at sloverlinett.com.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Researchers are the heart of our firm, and they work on all aspects of our research studies, including research design and sampling; fielding and data collection; and analyzing, writing, and co-presenting the final report. Our Researchers work in collaborative teams with Project Directors/VPs on each engagement, and they work closely with Research Coordinators, who help support all of the firm’s projects.

We are seeking a Researcher with a great mix of right- and left-brain skills: advanced data collection and analysis in both qualitative and quantitative forms, coupled with a demonstrated ability to understand and communicate the implications of that data to our clients. The ideal candidate will have applied experience in research or consulting: managing clients, juggling multiple projects, and meeting both deadlines and budgets. In addition, the ideal candidate will have a demonstrated interest in the cultural sector—museums, performing arts, science engagement, arts philanthropy or policy, etc.—but also the ability and inclination to see that sector through the eyes of people who have traditionally been excluded, marginalized, and/or underrepresented by cultural institutions. We are seeking to expand the range of perspectives, life-experiences, competencies, and identities on our team, so that we can learn more about, and work to get better at, using research on behalf of greater equity, inclusion, and innovation in the arts & culture field.

Specific, day-to-day responsibilities for this position include the following:

Research Design:

Work with clients to understand their goals and objectives for research through client kickoff meetings and discussion with the Project Director, then collaboratively develop project goals;
Create and monitor project timelines;
Design quantitative survey instruments based on client goals, with sensitivity to the needs and experiences of the audiences/communities of interest in the study;
Develop survey sampling and analytical plans;
Design qualitative interview guides, focus group screeners, focus group guides, and ethnographic observation protocols, with sensitivity to the needs and experiences of the audiences/communities of interest; and
Participate in (and sometimes lead) client meetings, such as instrument reviews, with the support of the Project Director.

Research Implementation:

Monitor and manage recruits for focus groups and interviews in collaboration with our Research Coordinators;
Moderate and manage focus groups, conduct phone and in-person interviews, and conduct participant observation and in-context intercept interviewing;
Collaborate in qualitative debriefs with other project team members;
Participate in (and sometimes lead) client trainings and strategy sessions;
Work with Research Coordinators to test survey programming, make updates to our survey software (Decipher) based on testing;
Monitor and track survey launch, reminders, and response rates;
Clean and analyze data in SPSS using syntax to run descriptive statistics, crosstabs, factor analysis, regression analysis, cluster analysis, etc;
Create and apply weighting schemes for quantitative data; and
Create detailed data tables of crosstab analysis in WinCross.

Research Dissemination:

Write research reports in both bulleted and narrative text formats containing key findings, implications, and recommendations;
Participate in the presentation of reports to clients and discussion of implications and recommendations;
Create clear, accurate, and attractive data visualizations (charts, tables, diagrams, etc.) using Excel, PowerPoint, and other programs for our reports and presentations, training documents, etc.;
Proofread reports by reviewing written content, formatting details, graphics, etc. to ensure accuracy, polish, and readability; and
Review the formatting of appendix materials for reports (e.g., research protocols/instruments, detailed data tables, and open-ended responses).

Requirements

The successful candidate will have all four of these core qualifications:

1. deep experience with the full cycle (from planning and design to writing and reporting) of quantitative or qualitative research (with at least some experience with each);
2. a demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate richly with colleagues in both written and verbal formats;
3. Spanish-language fluency and/or experience working with/in low-income communities or communities of color; and
4. the ability to write clearly and concisely, and to edit and proofread others’ writing for clarity and concision.

In addition, candidates for this position should be highly organized, flexible, detail-oriented, and able to multi-task in a fast-paced environment and will need to manage and prioritize a range of different tasks. We are open to diverse academic and professional backgrounds, including qualitative and quantitative social science disciplines and the humanities (e.g., social psychology, cognitive psychology, user experience [Ux] research, market research, museum studies, public policy research, etc.).

We are seeking applicants who can speak to pressing issues and emerging trends in the arts & culture field. Candidates should have excellent capabilities with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel (including functions and formulas) as well as experience with a statistical program such as SPSS, SAS, Stata, or R (we use SPSS). We also have an open Research Coordinator position that requires less research experience; please also take a look at that posting to see if it might be a fit for you.

HOURS & TRAVEL

This is a full-time, salaried position located in Chicago and will require occasional work in the evenings and weekends to meet deadlines or to conduct research. Some travel is expected for on-site fieldwork, client trainings, and/or presentations.

COMPENSATION

We’re offering a starting annual salary of between $55,000 and $67,000, depending on experience. (For the right candidate, we would be open to hiring at the Senior Researcher level, with a correspondingly higher salary.) In addition, we offer a competitive benefits package of vacation, holidays, sick days, health insurance reimbursement, disability insurance, and profit-sharing.