Director of Research

Character Lab is looking for a Director of Research to help facilitate the work of the top tier scientists we partner with, as well as improve the systems and procedures that touch upon all aspects of our Research Network.

The Director of Research will work primarily on the Character Lab Research Network (CLRN) where they will liaise between top tier scientists and a fast growing network of school partners to facilitate a variety of research projects that provide teachers and students with tools and resources for character development. Reporting to our Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Sean Talamas, as well as collaborating with other Directors, this individual will come into a role where they can combine their passion for research and education with their skills in project management and communication.

We are looking for an individual who has hands-on experience with research and understands its demands. Juggling multiple projects at once, the right candidate embraces time management, can spot areas to improve process inefficiencies, and will thrive within our small and dynamic team.

Key Responsibilities

• Facilitating the work of top tier scientists

• Liaise with our Education Manager, who manages our school partnerships and data teams, as needed

• Creating operational procedures for:

  • Data management

  • Power analysis

  • Evaluation of study proposals

  • Pre-registration on the Open Science Framework

• Manage and promote CLRN’s visibility in academic and research spaces

• Develop strategic partnerships in the service of forming a scientific advisory council to inform our research practices

• Proactively identify capabilities and opportunities for alternative types of data collection (e.g. big data, longitudinal studies)

• Conduct internal studies, including but not limited to A/B testing different platforms, beta testing new features, or studying the impact of CLRN on the future of character research

• Manage and delegate tasks to our research associate

• Occasional travel (once every other month)

Qualifications

• 5-7 years of relevant experience in research execution and evaluation

• Master’s degree required; PhD in psychology or related field preferred

• Fluent understanding of scientific best practices and advances in open science efforts

• Excellent communication, leadership, and project management skills

• Comfortable working with multiple collaborators and thinking strategically about system improvements across many projects and partnerships simultaneously

• Experience with educational or school-based research preferred

Physical Demands/Environmental Factors

• Prolonged and irregular hours of duty, as necessary

• Some light to medium level of manual labor (e.g., preparing mailings, moving boxes of materials, etc.)