Bilingual Research Assistant

Who we are:  Harder+Company helps nonprofits, public agencies, and foundations to pursue their missions through high-quality research and consulting services. We provide data-driven analysis to help organizations understand the results of their programs and initiatives—and translate that data into actionable improvements. Our expertise spans a wide range of social impact areas, such as healthcare, social services, community development, educational achievement, arts and culture, and violence prevention. Consulting services provided by our firm include program evaluation, strategic planning, community engagement, and nonprofit capacity-building. For more information about our firm, visit our website: www.harderco.com.

How we do our work: We engage our clients as partners in an ongoing process of programmatic and organizational learning. Whether it is a needs assessment, evaluation, or a planning process, we work closely with our partners to ensure that our approaches meet their needs as well as the needs of their stakeholders. We strive to develop an engaging, dynamic process with our clients to make certain that organizational learning is achieved throughout the project by regular, ongoing, and practical feedback. This allows our clients to make midcourse adjustments and encourages them to be partners in the change process both for their organization and the communities they serve. This transfer of knowledge also encourages clients to begin the critical process of organizational reflection and skill-building. We uphold the highest level of rigor possible within a project and at the same time we make adjustments to research designs, tools, and approaches to ensure that our work is accessible, culturally responsive, and meaningful given real-world resource and timeline constraints. Our clients see our research, evaluation, and planning as an opportunity to improve and leverage new information to strengthen programs and create lasting systems change.

At Harder+Company, we know firsthand that diversity encompasses a broad range of cultures and lived experiences. For the last decade, we have formalized our work on this front through an internal Culturally Based Consulting (CBC) workgroup. CBC draws on the insights and expertise of our own diverse staff, and provides both general guidance for working in diverse communities and targeted support for individual projects. CBC reflects our ongoing learning and awareness of our own cultures, as well as the cultures of the many stakeholders and communities we interact with, to promote genuine and respectful collaboration—in turn producing quality, accessible, and practical products that help our clients advance social change.

Who We Need:  Harder+Company seeks a Bilingual Research Assistant in its San Francisco office to provide support on a diverse array of team-based research projects. The Bilingual Research Assistant will be responsible for literature reviews; planning and assisting with focus groups; conducting interviews; entering, coding, and analyzing data; administering surveys; and assisting with the preparation and editing of reports. Some travel within California is necessary. The ideal candidate will enjoy contributing to the effectiveness of organizations working for social change. 

Specifically, we seek to hire a Bilingual Research Assistant whose roles will include:

• Manage logistics of and assist with quantitative and qualitative primary data collection including interviews, focus groups, case studies, and surveys.
• Conduct literature reviews and internet research.
• Conduct basic quantitative analysis such as frequencies, cross-tabulations, and recording and computing variables.
• Manage large datasets including secondary datasets and perform data cleaning.
• Code qualitative data and prepare summaries.
• Assist with preparation of reports and presentations, including writing, editing, tables, charts, and formatting.
• Maintain clear communication with project teams through emails and team meetings as needed.
• Manage resources and time effectively and adjust to changing demands and priorities.
• Maintain positive and professional interactions with clients and their stakeholders.

Skills you bring:

You draw upon a diverse set of skills and experiences in evaluation design, project management, and client communications, including:

• Bilingual in Spanish required (oral and written), including the ability to translate and conduct interviews and focus groups in Spanish.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in social sciences or related field.
• At least 1 year of research experience, preferably outside the classroom.
• Detail oriented with effective time management skills.
• Experience with basic quantitative and qualitative research methods and analysis. Strong quantitative research experience a plus.
• Applied experience analyzing data using statistical packages including SPSS, Stata or other statistical analysis software.
• Experience managing or working with databases.
• Experience mapping software (ArcGIS), social network analysis, or data visualization techniques a plus.
• Excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent writing and oral communications skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Experience working with diverse populations.
• Ability to be an effective team player and to work independently.

Typical physical demands include:

• Working on a computer for 6 hours, on average, each day
• Lifting and moving documents and supplies
• Bending to file and retrieve documents
• Some travel within California (client meetings and data collection sites)

This position will be based in Harder+Company’s San Diego office and will report to the Site Director. Harder+Company offers a comprehensive and generous benefits package including medical, dental, vacation, holiday, and 401k. This position is full time with an annual starting salary of $45,000 commensurate with experience. Harder+Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE).  Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability or veteran status.

Resumes will be accepted until the position is filled.  No phone calls, faxes, or walk-ins please.