ABOUT US

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Since its founding in 1949, the Institute has been driving change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most critical challenges facing communities in the United States and around the world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Institute has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, and an international network of partners.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
To achieve our mission of a more free, just, and equitable society, we commit to working proactively to advance the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion across our myriad endeavors such as recruitment, compensation, training, and advancement of staff. The best people-serving institutions make this commitment, and we seek to be a leader in the ways that we do so and learn from others. Visit our website to learn more about our commitment and recent actions taken toward building and nurturing a diverse and inclusive environment.

College Excellence Program (CEP)
The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program (CEP) aims to identify and replicate practices and policies that significantly improve college student outcomes. Through our portfolio of projects, CEP works to improve colleges’ capacity to achieve high levels of success for all students and to eliminate disparities in postsecondary attainment and social mobility for students from low-income backgrounds and historically marginalized and underserved groups. Our work focuses on improving higher education institutions in six areas: ensuring high-quality learning, increasing completion rates, improving community college transfer and baccalaureate attainment, increasing post-college employment and earnings outcomes, ensuring strong access to college credentials of value, and achieving equity in outcomes across all domains. We advance those outcomes by quantitatively identifying and publicly elevating those colleges achieving excellent and equitable outcomes, conducting research on how those outcomes were accomplished, publishing reports and practical tools to support college leaders and practitioners interested in replicating effective practices, and conducting professional development programs for presidents, senior teams, boards of trustees, and others. Learn more about our work at https://highered.aspeninstitute.org/.

ABOUT THIS ROLE
As a core component of how CEP advances college reform, we research student success strategies and institutional capacities aligned to advance our mission. As a Research Associate, you will work with CEP’s Research and Innovation team to analyze data, build internal- and external-facing tools, and draft reports, case studies, and inquiry guides. You will also contribute to developing actionable insights into what college presidents, other senior leaders, and their teams can do to reform internal operations and external partnerships with employers and other educational institutions to advance student success and equity. The research products you assist in developing will inform the field and be used in professional development sessions, including presidential fellowships and convenings, state partnerships, and college-team training sessions.

You should apply if you thrive in applying meticulous detail to spreadsheets and data; you are strategic about organizing columns and rows to strengthen your team’s analytic capacity, and if there’s something amiss in the data, you’ll find it. You’ve spent time on teams that produce slide decks, memos, and other internal and external deliverables that ultimately land in the hands of top-level executives or explain expert research to general audiences. You love working with others to identify the best way to simplify complex ideas and string together a compelling narrative that leads decision-makers to action.

Reporting to a Senior Program Manager on CEP’s Research and Innovation team, this role is based in our Washington D.C. office with a minimum of 40% in-person work (approximately 2 days per week) and requires travel for up to five weeks per year. The salary range for this position is $62,500 - $72,500.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Qualitative and Quantitative Research:

• Use Microsoft Excel or other data tools like STATA or R to conduct data analyses using sources such as the National Center for Education Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the American Community Survey. Work with your supervisor and other teammates to identify the right questions to ask.
• Visualize education data in an easy-to-interpret and translatable way.
• Synthesize qualitative and quantitative information into summaries and/or literature reviews.
• Translate findings of data analyses and qualitative research into compelling narratives and action-oriented products for higher education executives, such as slide decks, short case studies, frameworks, and infographics.
• Collaborate with team members to ensure data quality control across projects.
• Conduct background research for literature reviews.
• Contribute to short (e.g., blog posts, case studies) and long-form research products (e.g., The Workforce Playbook).

Project Management:

• Manage key research process components (e.g., setting project timelines, scheduling virtual research interviews, project check-ins with collaborators and research team, managing deadlines).
• Manage editorial, design, and publication processes for written products.
• Other duties as assigned.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO THRIVE

• Bachelor’s degree (or 4+ years of work experience in quantitative research)
• 1+ years of relevant experience (including experiences during school)
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to write and edit research deliverables suitable for executive-level audiences or broader public
• Project management skills and an ability to set and meet deadlines across multiple multi-part projects
• Proficiency navigating data sources such as the National Center for Education Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the American Community Survey
• Demonstrated ability to perform beginner-to-intermediate-level analyses in Microsoft Excel, STATA, or R
• A reputation for internalizing feedback to take your work to the next level.
• Belief that collaboration produces a better product than you could have achieved on your own.
• Deep passion for CEP’s mission to improve higher education outcomes for historically marginalized communities through institutional excellence.

HOW TO APPLY
All interested applicants must submit the following for full consideration:
1. A one-page cover letter. CEP prefers cover letters that describe what motivates you and how you understand and relate to our mission rather than a narrative version of your resume. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.
2. Resume/CV.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Aspen Institute offers a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, and prescription benefits, retirement benefits, and paid leave.
The Aspen Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all District and federal laws. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or protected veteran or disabled status and will not be discriminated against.
If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation regarding the accessibility of our website, a modification or adjustment of the job application or interview process due to a disability, contact HRSupport@aspeninstitute.org or call (202) 736-5800.