Research and Evaluation Manager (Temporary - 2 Years) at DESC – Seattle, Washington

Job Title: Temporary Research and Evaluation Manager (2 Years)

Days Off: Saturday/Sunday

Pay Range: $105,442.80 – $119,298.96 for full-time. Less than full-time employment in this role is negotiable to facilitate employee’s continued appointment with a current academic research job at another institution, when doing so is important to the employee’s career and when the combination of the DESC and external employment equals full-time. Employment at DESC must be no less than 0.6 FTE, with preference for higher.

Shift: Office Day

Location: Pioneer Square/Downtown/Remote

Insurance Benefits: Dental, Life, Long-term Disability, Medical (no premiums/payroll deductions for employee coverage)

Other Benefits: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (34 days per year for 1.0 FTE), Retirement Plan

APPLICATION SUBMISSION DEADLINE: March 27th, 2026

About DESC

DESC (Downtown Emergency Service Center) is a nonprofit organization working to help people with the complex needs of homelessness, substance use disorders, and serious mental illness achieve their highest potential for health and well-being through comprehensive services, treatment, and housing. Our vision is a community where no person is abandoned, ignored, or experiencing homelessness.

As the region's leading provider of services to multiply disabled adults who have experienced chronic homelessness, DESC serves almost 3,000 people each day. Our integrated service model is designed to help people secure and maintain appropriate, safe and affordable housing. DESC is recognized nationally and regionally as an innovator in developing solutions to homelessness.

Requirements for application submission for Research & Data Evaluation Manager

Complete applications will require submission of the following:

• Current CV or resume
• A letter of interest describing:
• Why the candidate is interested in this position at DESC specifically
• Relevance of the candidate’s expertise to DESC’s work (homelessness and housing services, behavioral health services, program evaluation, etc.)
• The candidate’s intent, if any, to retain employment with an external research center, including the percent of time and focus of that work *Note: A candidate may choose but is not required to submit the above using the NIH Biographical Sketch Common Form and Supplement if applicable and desired.
• A brief (1-2 page excerpt) writing sample the candidate has produced about a previous research project.? This may be from, but is not required to be, a scientific journal article.

Statement regarding short-term intentions:

This is a newly created, short-term, grant-funded role with a two-year duration. During this time, the Research and Evaluation Manager will play a crucial role in establishing DESC’s research infrastructure and internal data protocols. While the current funding is short-term, DESC’s intent is for this position to serve as the blueprint for a permanent Research and Evaluation team. The successful candidate will not only manage studies but will also build the systems and framework and demonstrate the impact and necessity of this work. Our long-term objective is to integrate this body of work into our permanent organizational structure to support DESC’s mission for years to come.

Job Definition

The DESC Research and Evaluation Manager will oversee a new body of activities to study DESC’s work and organization for the purposes of gaining insight, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and translating results for a variety of audiences. The activities will range from developing DESC’s research and evaluation opportunities and priorities, conducting analyses using existing data at DESC, designing and implementing studies at DESC, and coordinating with external researchers and data providers on projects of varying scope. The person in this role will interact with numerous DESC staff, including organizational leaders, administrative staff, program managers, and direct service staff. This role will develop this new body of work for DESC in coordination with an oversight committee, though they will need to be able to work independently without frequent direction from their supervisor.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead or collaborate on formulation of and modifications to DESC’s research and evaluation agenda
• Conceive and develop a range of research questions and evaluation projects applicable to DESC’s research and evaluation agenda
• Design studies using scientifically rigorous quantitative and qualitative analysis methods
• Maintain familiarity with previously completed and current research projects at DESC
• Maintain familiarity with research and evaluation literature relevant to different aspects of DESC’s work
• Learn about and observe the full range of DESC’s work, identifying data most helpful or needed to ensure robust performance measurement and to be able to answer key research questions
• Independently conduct data analysis projects, pulling data from DESC's client information system(s) using established reports and by writing SQL queries
• Recruit and collaborate with external research partners on DESC evaluation projects
• Review and assess research proposals and requests submitted to DESC by external parties including students, research institutions, and others
• Serve as primary liaison at DESC for external researchers
• Develop, submit, and monitor human subjects review materials, as appropriate
• Produce data visualization through charts, graphs, figures, and tables
• Write reports for a range of audiences including internal leaders, managers, and staff, community and national partners, the general public, and scientific journals
• Participate in local, regional, and national meetings, as requested
• Other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications

• A doctoral degree from a regionally-accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science, or a master's degree from a regionally-accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and three years of relevant full-time research experience in the appropriate field of specialization
• Coursework in epidemiology, population health, biostatistics, economic analysis, or public policy analysis and evaluation
• Certification in training on the protection of human subjects in research
• Knowledge of social services and/or healthcare delivery systems
• Proficiency with quantitative and qualitative data management and analysis
• Experience developing and contributing to publications such as evaluation reports and scientific journal articles
• Experience navigating and complex datasets and data collection systems
• Experience querying data using SQL, or the ability to quickly learn
• Proficiency with R, SPSS, or other statistical software
• Comfortability working in fast-paced environments, with minimal supervision
• Any other combination of skills and experience that gives you the ability to do the job.

Desired Qualifications

The below qualifications are desired but not required.

• Proficiency with data visualization software
• Familiarity with or professional connection to local area research centers, institutes, or labs is strongly preferred.
• Past research experience in addiction medicine, behavioral health, public health, poverty/economics, and/or working with populations experiencing homelessness with human subjects

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be required to sit, communicate with other employees, required to lift and carry items weighing up to 40 pounds and to operate computer hardware systems. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Equal Opportunity Employer

DESC is committed to diversity in the workplace and promotes equal employment opportunities for all staff members and applicants. The Agency will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, caste, marital status, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability in any employment practice, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification. Minorities and veterans are encouraged to apply.