Director of Research

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At the North Carolina Budget & Tax Center, we envision a state where every person can reach their full potential and achieve well-being through the support of trustworthy, anti-racist institutions and systems that we all participate in building.

The NC Budget & Tax Center is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that works to document fiscal and economic conditions in communities to support the work of people, organizations, and government to advance solutions to poverty and pursue racial equity.

The Director of Research Role

The Director of Research ensures research at the Budget & Tax Center is groundtruthed with community, leverages the latest literature in the field and connects the dots to the organization’s policy and engagement goals.  The Director of Research leads quality control efforts, supports the design of effective research questions and methods, identifies data sources and contributes to the effective presentation of research findings.

The Director of Research works collaboratively with other strategy directors and staff to set the annual research agenda and identify and prioritize research projects and policy analysis.

The Director of Research supervises Public Policy Analysts and the organization’s Internship Program and supports the Executive Director and leadership in aligning organizational systems and processes to fulfill the organization’s unique role in the ecosystem for supporting public education, partner relationships and policy design.

The Director of Research is a member of the management team and has responsibility for the stewardship of organizational processes and strategic direction. The Director of Research works independently with general supervision by the Executive Director on goals set collaboratively with the Budget and Tax Center team annually, the Research team and fellow strategy directors monthly.

Core Responsibilities:

• Manage the research process to ensure products reflect sound methods, data checks and products are released on time to inform the policy process and partner work;
• Coordinate development of BTC’s research agenda and capacity to deploy new methods and data sources to answer core questions about the impact of policies and systems on people’s well-being;
• Develop and maintain systems consistently to support research coordination within the team and with partner organizations to deepen connections across fiscal, economic and anti-poverty issues;
• Supervise the work of public policy analysts and support their professional development and work to document conditions in communities and promising policy solutions
• Author and publish analysis related to budget, tax and economy issues to augment the resources available to our stakeholders

What we’re looking for

To be considered for this role, candidates will have a demonstrated foundation in applied research or policy analysis and supervisory experience with either:

• a Bachelor’s degree with 10 years of experience
• a Master’s degree with 7 years of experience
• 12 years of experience conducting research in an applied setting.

To be successful in this role, you are:

• Passionate about making North Carolina a place where public policy advances the well-being of all people and communities, as well as trustworthy, anti-racist institutions.
• Interested in the policy areas that our organization works on, including state taxes and public policies that support people with low and moderate incomes.
• Flexible and can adjust your plans to meet emerging needs.
• Committed to supervision and leadership that supports strategic focus and growth

Key Skills: We recognize that candidates may not be equally strong in all skill areas and may have additional qualifications that aren’t listed here. If you are excited about this position, we encourage you to apply and to tell us in your cover letter why you think you’re a great candidate. 

• You draw on multiple people’s talents to collaborate successfully on projects that advance the mission.
• You show initiative in building systems and communicating progress toward goals.
• You have a track record of managing complex processes and building trusting partnerships with people who bring diverse perspectives to the work.
• You have specific experience working with administrative and survey data, analyzing complex policy proposals and creating accessible research products that can inform the general public and policymakers and experts and using research and policy analysis to inspire action.
• You are trained in quantitative and qualitative research methods, the use of statistical software packages and data visualization.
• You have a proven track record of supervising others in cultivating talents and skill development, identifying difficulties on the job, prioritizing tasks, defining goals and producing positive results;
• You are passionate about making North Carolina a place where public policy advances the well-being of all people and communities and trustworthy, anti-racist institutions.

Please let us know if you have:

• Experience working on community-informed or driven research projects or policy analysis to inform organizing or advocacy campaigns

What Else You Should Know

We value the expertise, diverse perspective, and commitment to policy and systems change of our team members and align our benefits and compensation to be competitive. The organization provides 240 hours of paid time off annually, 100 percent coverage of employee health care, 14 paid holidays annually, and a $3,000 employer contribution to retirement along with an additional match to employee contributions up to $1,000, in addition to paid family leave and annual allocations for professional development. 

 

We strive to create a work environment that encourages collaboration and experimentation, and supports professional growth. We are building practices in transparent decision-making and collaborative work planning and recognize that debating big ideas leads to better results and positively impacts our mission.  We want our team to enjoy this work. 

 

The NC Budget & Tax Center is a remote workplace of NC-based staff who are able to attend in-person meetings in the Triangle approximately monthly.  Staff must provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or complete documentation seeking an exemption.

Apply Now

Please submit the following materials via email to hiring@ncbudget.org with the subject line: Director of Research.

• Resume
• Cover letter explaining why you’re interested in this position and why your experience makes you a great candidate

You can reach out to that same email with any questions.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Priority will be given to applications received by Sept. 8, but applications will be accepted until the position is filled. 

We anticipate reaching out to candidates for interviews by the end of September. We will update candidates about the status of their application as quickly as is reasonably possible and will notify all remaining candidates after the position is filled.  You can reach out to hiring@ncbudget.org with any questions about the position or hiring timeline.

The NC Budget & Tax Center is an equal opportunity employer, and as such takes affirmative action to ensure that discrimination does not occur on the basis of race, creed, color, age, sex, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious or political affiliation, disability, or any other classification considered discriminatory under applicable law.

Individuals with disabilities requiring disability-related accommodations in the application and interview process are welcome to contact 919-578-9972.

Starting salary for this position is $92,000-102,000 depending on experience and skill sets.

The Director of Research is an exempt position at the organization.