Deputy Research Director

Who We Are

Political Research Associates (PRA) is a national nonprofit devoted to supporting movements that are building a more just and inclusive democratic society. We provide research, strategy, and briefings to expose movements, institutions, and ideologies that undermine human rights. PRA publishes The Public Eye magazine quarterly.  The PRA staff union is a unit of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, Local 32035 of C.W.A. Our office is located in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Who You Are

PRA is seeking a dynamic, experienced supervisor and project manager with deep connections to movements for racial, gender, and social justice. You see research and analysis as essential to informing movement strategy and blocking oppressive, exclusionary, and authoritarian influences in the US. You are an excellent communicator with a background in journalism and/or scholarly, political, or advocacy research. Your knack for designing projects that serve the needs of the field demonstrates you have a head for strategy and can confidently assess priorities, work plans, and deadlines for yourself and the team you manage. As Deputy Research Director, you are a leader, and excited by the opportunity to inspire and guide a team of research analysts to advance PRA’s mission.

Responsibilities

The Deputy Research Director (DRD) reports to the Research Director, with whom they share responsibility for supervising research staff members. The DRD empowers researchers to meet programmatic goals in support of the organizational mission. In collaboration with the Research Director, and with support from the Research Program Manager, the DRD provides strategic guidance and project management for researchers. The core responsibilities of the Deputy Research Director are in the three categories of program leadership, staff supervision, and organizational development.

Program Leadership (20%)

• Collaborate in setting research program priorities, balancing emergent opportunities with longer-term strategic goals, and matching them with PRA’s capacity.

• Participate in the review of content for publication by PRA and by PRA staff in outside publications.

• Represent PRA both within the organization and externally. Work with communications and research staff to implement appropriate media/communications strategy for the research area and participate in press interviews as assigned.

• Develop expert knowledge in one or more areas of PRA’s research program and familiarity with all areas of PRA’s research.

Staff Supervision (60%)

• Meet regularly with supervisees, provide coaching and structured feedback on projects and outputs, and communicate your own work priorities and organizational goals.
• Commitment to DEI initiatives within the research team by bringing a strong intersectional justice perspective and priorities.
• Participate in hiring and recruiting efforts to build a diverse and effective team.
• Onboarding, orientation, and training of new researchers.
• Encourage, suggest, and support staff development and training.
• Performance management, goal setting, and evaluation of staff.
• Communication with supervisees, the Research Director, Research Program Manager, and team members.

Organizational Support and Development (20%)

• Work with the Development Department on funding proposals, briefings, and reports on program outcomes and impact.
• Work with the Research Director and Research Program Manager to develop annual budget proposals for the Research Team.
• Coordinate with the Communications Department to facilitate publication timelines.
• Collaborate with the future Strategic Partnerships unit to facilitate intra-organizational communications regarding PRA’s applied research goals, key outputs, and ongoing partnerships.

Job Qualifications: Required

• At least 3 years experience as a supervisor and team leader.
• Deep understanding of and connection to one or more justice movements, including but not limited to gender, racial, LGBTQIA, economic, indigenous, and immigrant justice.
• Familiarity with right-wing social movements in the United States.
• At least 3 years of experience with project management, including project planning, development, implementation, and assessment.
• Excellent communication skills, written and verbal.
• Knowledge of the research process - academic and/or journalistic.
• A commitment to personal growth and organizational development.
• A personal commitment to justice and alignment with PRA’s mission.

Job Qualifications: Preferred

• 5+ years experience as a supervisor and project manager.
• Expert knowledge of one or more research techniques (qualitative, quantitative, investigative, geo-spatial, etc.) as demonstrated by advanced training or publication record.
• Past experience doing research to support (an) organizing campaign(s).
• Expert knowledge of one or more factions of the contemporary U.S. far-right, including but not limited to the Christian right, anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ, racial and ethnic nationalists, anti-immigrant, militia, anti-Muslim, conspiracist, authoritarian, and misogynist movements.
• A research-based publication record.
• Experience as a trainer and/or doing public-facing political education.

Benefits

This is a full-time salaried position ($65,000 - $75,000). This position may be based either in our office in Somerville, Massachusetts or remotely. Relocation assistance is provided.

The compensation package includes generous paid time off for vacation, health, and flexible holidays, as well as 100% employer-paid medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance. PRA also provides a 5% employer contribution of salary towards a socially responsible retirement fund, as well as fabulous colleagues in a collaborative working environment and access to professional development.

Note regarding COVID-19 office access: PRA has implemented a variety of pandemic precautions and measures to prioritize staff safety and public health. The Somerville office closed in March 2020 and we plan to continue to limit access through June 2022.

Political Research Associates is committed to hiring someone with the right mix of experience (both traditional and nontraditional), social justice commitment, and potential to grow with us. We strongly encourage people from communities most negatively affected by right-wing ideologies & campaigns to apply, particularly: people of color; immigrants; women and feminine-identified people; lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and Two-Spirit people; genderqueer, trans, intersex, and gender non-conforming people.