Job Overview

The Research Specialist performs professional duties required to collect, review, analyze, and interpret data to monitor student outcomes and inform decisions about instruction and school improvement. Responsibilities include the management of division-wide and ad hoc surveys of staff, students, and parents; data analysis and reporting to central office and school administrators; consultation and technical assistance to administrative and school staff for the interpretation of data; and the coordination of the external research review process.

Roles and Responsibilities

The following information is intended to describe the overall nature and scope of the work being performed. This is not a comprehensive listing of all responsibilities or tasks; work may differ and other work may be assigned when deemed appropriate.

• Develops, administers, and reports the results of division-wide and ad hoc surveys to collect data based on the requirements of division and school leaders.
• Oversees the work of vendors contracted for specific aspects of survey implementation.
• Prepares written and electronic reports, analyses, and presentations of data for a range of audiences and projects.
• Works with stakeholders to gather requirements, then plan, design, develop, test, and publish complex data visualization and analytics applications to support effective decision-making and improve access to data from multiple systems.
• Provides professional development and protocols for administrative and school staff to analyze data.
• Collaborates with interdepartmental staff in the collection and reporting of data.
• Coordinates the review, approval, and monitoring of requests from external researchers to conduct studies within the school division.
• Participates on the interdepartmental LCPS Data Team to establish and maintain a Data Governance framework that will ensure accurate, reliable and secure enterprise data.

Qualifications

Below are the minimum qualifications for this job. Equivalent combinations of education and experience are also acceptable.

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree required

Experience

• Three years’ experience with analyzing data and creating visualizations for diverse technical and non-technical audiences

Licenses and Certifications

                NA

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrate knowledge of survey research methodology
• Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of federal and state accountability requirements
• Superior accuracy and attention to detail
• Ability to work both cooperatively on a team and independently and to work under pressure and/or with frequent interruptions
• Exceptional organizational skills, analytical skills, problem-solving ability, and strong written and verbal presentation skills
• Ability to change direction quickly and manage multiple requests with shifting priorities.
• Demonstrates an understanding of local, State, and Federal requirements relating to the reporting of student information and effectively executes this understanding in the workplace
• Demonstrates the professional and personal characteristics necessary for working effectively with leadership and school personnel

Physical Requirements

The following provides a brief description of physical requirements for this job:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly talking, expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word. The employee must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly. The employee must possess normal cognitive abilities including the ability to learn, recall and apply certain practices and policies. Frequently sitting and/or remaining in a stationary position for long periods of time. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects.

Reports to: *Required

FLSA Status: Exempt

Months/Days/Hours: 12 months/ 248 days/ 8 hours

Salary Level: Scale B/Universal - Exempt Level16

Salary Scale: https://www.lcps.org/compensation

Salary Range: $92,712 - $152,743

Remote Work Eligible: No