Senior Research Scientist

Senior Research Scientist - Get in on the ground floor as we build our research program!

Are you an expert in research methods, innovative, and self-motivated?  If yes, you should consider the Research and Analytics Team at Community Transit.

Community Transit is a fast-paced and expanding agency excited about new technologies, new methods, and making data-driven decisions. The agency is looking for a senior research scientist who can drive agency confidence in research, develop and implement a short-term and long-term research strategy, and inspire teams and leaders to transform research and analytic insights into action.  This is a senior level position that creates and manages the agency research portfolio to ensure alignment of resources, priorities, and initiatives.

This position coordinates interdepartmentally to proactively:

• identify, develop and administer agency research needs,
• determine sequence and priority of research projects to avoid customer fatigue and satisfy business planning requirements,
• manage consultants,
• present research results and reports,
• provide for consistency in methods,
• promote innovation and improvement of public transit products and services based on meaningful insights,
• encourage use of data and analysis in support of decision-making by utilizing data visualization techniques.

This position is part of the Research and Analytics Division, reports to the Manager of Research and Analytics and works closely with other Community Transit

leaders to formulate research strategies and programs to inform agency priorities.

1. Market Research: Oversees and contributes to market research projects. Including development of research objectives, project design and methodology, administration, analysis, reporting, presentation and interpretation of quantitative and qualitative data.
2. Project Management: Oversees concurrent research and survey efforts. Manages external consultants to achieve stakeholder requirements such as project deliverables, scope of work, budget, and time-line.
3. Communication: Collaborates across departments to determine agency research needs. Utilizes the art of storytelling to effectively communicate findings with a variety of internal stakeholders. Provides business insights pertaining to service, marketing, planning, operations, and customer experience. Creates reports, visualizations and presentations to help drive business decisions. Utilizes compelling and persuasive oral and written communication skills.
4. Data: Ensures data integrity, suitability for purpose, and accurate interpretation of analyses.
5. Engagement: Enables, supports, and encourages use of data in decision-making. Seeks opportunities to increase the use of data through improved access. Engages internal and external partners in the development, use and integration of data. Serves as a subject matter expert to internal and external partners. Regularly provides presentations and guidance to internal and external groups.
6. Organization: Monitors work processes and reports progress toward goals. Manages competing priorities and interests. Supports organizational change.

Minimum Qualifications

1. Bachelor’s degree.
2. Five years of experience with market research methodology.
3. Five years of experience designing or interpreting surveys such as customer satisfaction and product development surveys.
4. Five years’ experience in applying quantitative methods of analysis and research in support of decision-making.
5. Experience in leading teams, managing consultants, and applying project management methods and techniques.

OR an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job.

 Preferred Qualifications

1. A master’s degree in psychology, sociology, marketing, planning, statistics, mathematics, engineering.or relevant field
2. Experience in quantitative analysis in the transportation industry.
3. Experience utilizing analytical tools such as Tableau.

Entry Requirements for: Knowledge and Skills

Qualification to enter this position requires knowledge of the following:

• Software applications including databases, spreadsheets, word processing.
• Data processing, tabulation and data management.
• Fundamentals of qualitative methods.
• Basic descriptive statistics.
• Fundamentals of inferential statistics.
• Communication principles, practices, techniques and tools.
• Sampling theory and methodology.
• Journey mapping.
  

Qualification to enter this position requires skill in:

• Market Research methodology.
• Project management principles and techniques.
• Survey research and questionnaire design.
• Reporting, storytelling and presentation skills.

 Organizational influence and leadership

• Gaining the support of others through persuasiveness, credibility and expertise. Inspiring others to collaborate voluntarily.
• Communicating effectively within interdisciplinary teams; including sharing accurate and pertinent information in a timely manner.
• Consistently building and maintaining positive working relationships internally and externally, even in times of stress and conflict.
• Participating in, facilitating, and supporting conflict resolution; exchanging feedback in an open, constructive, and professional manner.
• Leading efforts to collaboratively make decisions, establish and meet time-lines and deliver results that meet customer needs.
• Improving work processes and efficiency.
• Managing projects, setting clear, reasonable expectations and facilitating delivery and achievement.

 Problem-solving and strategic judgment

• Organizing and prioritizing work despite tight deadlines, multiple customers, and competing priorities; monitoring and reporting progress toward goals.
• Leading teams to generate and implement workable and useful solutions to difficult problems.
• Exhibiting situational awareness and strategic judgment. Recognizing when sources of information and/or partners should be consulted and when to apply past experiences.
• Using intelligence, logical thinking, common sense, hard work and tenacity to solve difficult and complex challenges.
• Identifying opportunities for creative problem solving while staying within the parameters of good practice.

 Proficient Performance Requirements for Knowledge and Skills

Qualification to fulfill the full range of this position’s duties requires the following knowledge, which may be gained or further developed after entering the job:

• Working knowledge of public transit.
• Public transit planning and operation principles.
• Alternative transportation strategies.
• First-Last-Mile solutions.

 Qualification to fulfill the full range of this position’s duties requires the following skills, which may be gained or further developed after entering the job:

• Tableau

Application Process

Complete on-line applications with job history listed, and attach resume and cover letter. Applicants who meet minimum requirements will be scheduled for tests and interviews to demonstrate knowledge, skills for the position. Position closes Monday February15th at 11:59 pm but applications considered as they come in.  If you have a family member, or share the same living quarters of a current Community Transit employee, please let your Employee Engagement Recruiter know as your eligibility for this position may be affected. Community Transit provides a tobacco-free & drug-free work environment. As a recipient of federal funds, Community Transit is an Equal Opportunity Employer & does not unlawfully discriminate on any basis prohibited by Federal, State or Local law. We value and encourage diversity in our workforce. EOE AA M/F/Vet/Disability. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin, sex, protected veteran status or disability.