Health Research Scientist (Contract)

Ipsos Public Affairs

Ipsos Public Affairs conducts formative, strategic research in partnership with clients from government, public, corporate, and not-for-profit sectors. We use data and rigorous analyses to understand and manage issues, advance reputations, pinpoint shifts in attitude and opinion, enhance communications, and evaluate programs and policies. We provide clients with advice that goes beyond reporting on data and is based on a concrete understanding of issues, their context, and impacts.

We are anticipating an opening in our Washington, DC office for a Health Research Scientist Contractor who will collaborate with clients and colleagues across the US Public Affairs (USPA) practice to deliver research in the domains of patient experience, military health, behavioral health, health communications, and program evaluation. The Health Research Scientist Contractor will help design and deliver complex multidisciplinary research efforts, assimilate findings from diverse streams of evidence, and oversee integration of original research results into high quality insights and deliverables.

We expect this to be a 6-month, 30-40 hour per week commitment with opportunity for renewal.

The Research Scientist (Health) will serve as a core member of the USPA Data Analytics and Applied Sciences (DAAS) group. DAAS is a multidisciplinary team of Ph.D. social and behavioral scientists, statisticians, and data specialists located in Ipsos offices throughout the US. DAAS researchers work collaboratively across disciplines and project teams to develop and deliver custom, high quality research for internal and external USPA clients. DAAS researchers are entrepreneurial and opportunistic, and passionate about research, solving problems, and innovation.

Key Responsibilities

• Analysis and Reporting: Applying or helping oversee application of statistical and interpretative techniques for addressing client questions using data from survey and/or other sources; developing and implementing principled analytic solutions to research challenges; working as a member of interdisciplinary project teams to interpret, write-up, and cross-validate study findings and generate substantive insights and actionable research products for USPA clients.
• Study Design: Translating client policy and operational questions into high-quality data capture and analytic frameworks. Collaborating with team members throughout USPA and Ipsos North America to develop flexible yet rigorous studies consistent with client needs, timelines, and budgets.
• Leadership: Assuming responsibility for complex research streams (such as literature reviews, study design, analysis, and report and manuscript production; as well as technical workflows); serving as scientific and substantive bridge to advisory service-, project-, and client service teams by contextualizing study findings and client needs and their implications for project delivery; directing and fostering more junior researchers and team members.
• Scientific Advisor: Helping to serve as client scientific advisor and advocate by understanding multiple dimensions of client research needs, unpacking complex research questions, and evolving research approaches as appropriate.

The Ideal Candidate has the following Skills, Experience, and Attributes

• Ph.D. in epidemiology, health economics, public health, or a highly-quantitative social or behavioral science discipline with a substantive focus on healthcare services delivery, behavioral health, patient experience, and/or mental health.
• A minimum of 7 years hands-on experience designing, conducting, and reporting on results of primary research.
• In order to comply with US Federal Government requirements, the successful candidate must be a US Citizen.
• Proficient at two or more substantive and methodological domains of research and their application to policy, service delivery, and mission-relevant questions for government, nonprofit, and other clients.
• Must have formal training in, and hands-on experience with, sample surveys (including sampling, weighting, and variance estimation), as well as with using health, demographic, or census data in applied research settings.
• Advanced skill in SAS, as well as R or Python.
• Strong organizational skills, and the ability to support multiple projects or workstreams simultaneously while maintaining a strong client service orientation; must be comfortable working within tight and shifting deadlines.
• Track record of collaboration with peers at different stages of their careers, and who serve very different roles in the research enterprise.
• Willingness to support a dynamic book of business across the US Federal, state, and commercial sectors, via proposal-writing, solutioning with clients, and client- and partner outreach.
• Flexible and comprehensive thinker, with enthusiasm for learning and innovation.
• Strong internal and external client presence; approachable but decisive, with well-developed interpersonal skills.
• Experience in program evaluation, advanced experimental design, and/or counterfactual analysis a plus.

Importantly: while our primary interest for this position is an individual whose substantive background and skills are in the health domain, the Health Research Scientist Contractor may be expected to contribute as a social and behavioral scientist more broadly as needed on other substantive domains throughout our research portfolio.

Rate of Pay

The rate of pay for this position will fall within the range $50 – $70 / hour; however the final rate will depend upon a variety of factors such as skills, experience, ability to work autonomously, and ability to support on multiple research projects.