Code for Science & Society

Title: Research Lead

Position Type: Full time with benefits

Salary range: $95,000-$110,000 USD annually with benefits

Location: Remote, with supervisor based in New York.

Program Description

Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI) is seeking a Research Lead to join a growing team working to increase adoption, investment in, and the sustainability of open infrastructure in research and scholarship. This is a leadership position, responsible for working with the Executive Director to lead the direction of IOI’s Research division and roadmap in a year of tremendous growth for the organization.

This is a role for a strategy-minded practitioner, eager to help scale IOI’s offerings and impact, as well as engage in research directly alongside the Research team. This includes scaling the Catalog of Open Infrastructure Services (COIs) as a resource for funders, decision makers, and infrastructures; working with existing infrastructure providers to apply our existing research to their growth and development; and mapping out research needs to underpin funding decisions (including for IOI’s 2024 Collective Fund). This role will also involve piloting and testing IOI’s core offerings to stakeholders, exploring earned revenue streams to diversify IOI’s support, while working with the team to make research outputs as openly available and accessible as possible.

This position will play a central role in operationalizing IOI’s core aim to provide funding recommendations and investment guidance for research infrastructure.

This is a management position, overseeing the research function at IOI, and managing a small team of Research Data Analysts, Research Project Manager, and a team of short-term Research Affiliates.

This is a full-time, remote position, reporting to the Executive Director.

Research responsibilities:

Work with the IOI Executive Director and key stakeholder groups to scope, operationalize, and iterate on IOI’s core research product offerings to increase investment in open infrastructure;
Manage and support the development of IOI’s team of Research Data Analysts and contractors;
Articulate a coherent vision for IOI’s applied research efforts that supports clear alignment across a diverse portfolio of projects and clients;
Maintain links and collaborate where possible with other external data collection, evaluation, and systems change efforts;
Successfully design and lead the execution of quantitative and qualitative research, alongside and in support of the core team;
Support and train staff and community partners that are unfamiliar with research design and evaluation to collect, manage and analyze data;
Keep current regarding funding requirements for data collection and reporting and put into place local methods to ensure reliable, accurate compliance which reflects service activities.

Strategic responsibilities:

Serve as part of the organization’s leadership team and contribute to the development and execution of strategic decisions and offerings;
Own and manage IOI’s research workflows, ensuring that research outputs are strategically aligned, accessible, and actionable;
Develop, implement and monitor an evaluation plan addressing strategic and program evaluation questions, data collection methods, analysis, and reporting;
Prioritize inbound requests for research support and analysis;
Collaborate with the Executive Director, other members of IOI staff, and external collaborators to determine resources available, resources needed, and evaluation outcome goals for projects and programs.

Your Relevant Skills & Career Goals

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or equivalent experience in designing, executing, and reporting findings of complex research projects;
Experience with data-intensive research and analysis, both quantitative and qualitative;
Knowledge and experience of community-based and participatory research methods to inform program development and design of product offerings;
Knowledge and experience of program evaluation principles, theories, concepts, and practices;
Ability to analyze information, summarize findings, and present them in ways easily understandable to decision-makers;
Program or organizational-level leadership, with a thoughtful approach to staff management in remote settings.

Work Location & Environment

We strive at IOI to ensure our work balances being trustworthy and evidence-based with a design that makes the topics we care about actionable, approachable, reusable, memorable, and understandable.

We are committed to openness and transparency, and aim to share our process, findings, and work in formats that enable participation and reuse. Transparency and access are two critical components of the healthy, inclusive ecosystem we are building towards, and we aim to reflect that in our work.

We believe in iterative development, and are committed to soliciting and incorporating feedback into our work products and process.

We aim to foster a healthier, more equitable and inclusive research ecosystem. This underlies all of our work as a team, with the community, and in how we approach this work.

We’re a highly collaborative, fully remote team that believes in empowering others, learning together, and (respectfully) challenging our own assumptions to better serve the communities we care about. We value honest, kind, and transparent communications in our work together and actively cultivate a team culture of learning and iteration.

A stipend of up to $3,000 USD is provided to support equipment costs and home office needs for employees. Project staff work across a variety of time zones, with project leadership based in New York, USA. Candidates should be available 3+ hours / day to allow for effective communication, connection, and collaboration. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, life insurance, 401k with 4% employer match for US employees.

Additional details:

This is a grant-funded position.
CS&S is the fiscal sponsor and organizational home of IOI. CS&S offers employee benefits through TriNet for US-based employees, including health insurance and retirement.
International applicants will be considered for a contract position.
Candidates should already be able to work legally where they are based, we can not offer visa support for this position at this time.
IOI is a fully remote organization, with project leadership based in US Eastern Standard time. Candidates should be available 3+ hours / day with project leadership.

Application Process

Please follow this link to apply. At the link you will be prompted to upload a single pdf document containing a cover letter and resume along with a short statement about why you're interested in the role.

Applications are due February 6, 2023, and will be reviewed following the application deadline. We are looking to hire for this role ASAP, so please share this opportunity and don’t hesitate to apply.

About IOI

Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI) was launched to create a strategic, global body dedicated to furthering a network of open, interoperable community-led and -supported infrastructure to advance scholarship, research, and education. We work in concert with institutional funders, decision makers, and philanthropic funders to better understand the decision points, funding and governance models available, and costs associated with maintaining, sustaining, and scaling open infrastructure projects.

IOI is fiscally sponsored by Code for Science and Society (CS&S). CS&S is an equal opportunity employer committed to hiring a diverse workforce at all levels of the organization thereby creating a culture that allows us to better serve our clientele, our employees and our communities. We value and encourage the contributions of our colleagues and strive to create an environment where everyone can reach their full potential and drive outstanding results. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, gender identity or expression, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal law. This policy applies with regard to all aspects of one’s employment, including hiring, transfer, promotion, compensation, eligibility for benefits, and termination.