Senior Impact Researcher
Constructive Dialogue Institute
For the full description, please visit the official website.
About CDI
The Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI) is a non-partisan, non-profit dedicated to equipping the next generation of Americans with the skills to communicate and collaborate across lines of difference. We work with U.S. colleges and universities by providing co-curricular programming for students, professional development for faculty and staff, and strategic guidance to leadership. Our goal is to foster constructive dialogue at every level of the institution and to create the conditions for lasting organizational change. CDI was co-founded by psychologist Jonathan Haidt, the bestselling author of The Righteous Mind and The Anxious Generation.
About the Role
CDI is looking for a Senior Impact Researcher to own our evaluation agenda end-to-end — designing and executing impact and efficacy studies, building the measurement systems and analytical workflows behind them, and translating findings into insight that reaches academic, practitioner, funder, and public audiences.
This is a role for someone who cares as much about how research lands as how it's designed — combining deep methodological expertise with a genuine commitment to public-facing communication. You'll work at the intersection of rigorous social science and real-world organizational impact, contributing to both CDI's mission and the broader field of constructive dialogue.
This role reports to the Senior Director of Research and Evaluation and works in close collaboration with three key peers on the Research and Evaluation team: the Research Scientist, who brings subject-matter expertise in moral psychology, dialogue, and bridge-building; the Senior Research Associate, who owns research operations, survey administration, and UX research; and the Senior Data Scientist, who owns the data infrastructure and reporting systems that evaluation workflows depend on.
Responsibilities
Program Evaluation & Impact Research (50%)
Own CDI's impact and efficacy research portfolio, including pre-post evaluations, quasi-experimental studies, and randomized controlled trials conducted in partnership with university collaborators.
Lead all phases of evaluation work: research design, measurement development, data collection planning, analysis, interpretation, and reporting.
Develop, revise, test, and validate assessment measures, including self-report surveys, behavioral indicators, and emerging measurement approaches.
Build and maintain reproducible analytical workflows and documentation standards that support rigorous, auditable research.
External Communication & Field Contribution (30%)
Through various written and oral formats, communicate research findings to diverse external audiences, including university partners, funders, academic and practitioner communities, and the general public.
Represent CDI's research with accuracy, clarity, and appropriate nuance, in a manner consistent with CDI's values and nonpartisan commitments.
Contribute to CDI's external credibility and thought leadership in the fields of evaluation, dialogue education, and bridge-building.
Collaborate with Growth, Education, and Product teams to translate findings into program improvements and partner-facing materials.
Research Systems & Collaboration (20%)
Partner with the Senior Data Scientist to ensure measurement and data collection workflows are well-integrated into reporting infrastructure and stakeholder-facing outputs.
Collaborate with the Senior Research Associate on qualitative data collection, coding, and synthesis, and on the operational systems that support study execution.
Build evaluation fluency across the team by helping colleagues develop shared language around measurement concepts, study findings, and their implications.
Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Education, and Growth teams to align evaluation priorities with organizational needs.
Job requirements
About You
Required
5+ years of experience leading applied social science research, including program evaluation or impact studies outside of purely academic settings.
Strong command of quantitative research design and advanced statistical methods (e.g., multilevel modeling, mediation/moderation, longitudinal analysis, experimental and quasi-experimental designs).
Experience designing and executing evaluations of interventions or programs, including in field (non-lab) settings.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including demonstrated ability to write for non-academic audiences.
Experience presenting or publishing research findings for practitioner, funder, or public audiences.
Preferred
Experience with mixed-methods research, including qualitative data collection and synthesis.
PhD in psychology, education, or a related quantitative social science field
Familiarity with higher education, civic learning, or dialogue/bridge-building contexts.
Experience programming in R; proficiency with reproducible research workflows.
Knowledge of implementation science or improvement science frameworks.
Experience collaborating with or advising product or education teams on measurement and evaluation.
Benefits
Compensation— $130,000-$140,000
A Mission-Driven Culture — we practice what we preach, so our work culture is characterized by intellectual humility, continuous improvement, and open-mindedness
Remote-First — CDI was founded as a remote-first organization, and we work hard to maintain a strong team culture across vast distances
Unlimited PTO — as well as 13 company holidays
Remote Work Support — up to $500 reimbursed for home office equipment (like desks, chairs, or webcams) and up to $50/month reimbursed for home internet or cell phone expenses
Other Benefits — employer-supported health, vision and dental plans, subsidized parental leave, 3% 401k match, short- and long-term disability insurance, life and AD&D insurance, $1,000 annual professional development budget
Role Specs
Reports to: Senior Director of Research and Evaluation
Schedule: Full-time, flexible within U.S. time zones
Target start date: ASAP
Location: Remote, must be based in the U.S.
Travel: twice a year for CDI's in-person gatherings, and approximately once a quarter to represent CDI at conferences or funder events.
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How would you describe CDI’s mission in your own words? How does this mission align with your personal and professional values? (250 words max) *
Tell us about a program evaluation or impact study you led. What was the research question, what design did you choose and why, and what did you find? What would you do differently if you ran it again? (400 words max)*
Please upload one program evaluation or impact study report that you led. The report should reflect work you led, not a team product you contributed to, and should be recent enough to represent your current practice. A published or formally distributed report is ideal, but an internal report is acceptable if it demonstrates the full arc of evaluation work: research question, design rationale, data collection, analysis, and findings. If the report is confidential, you may redact identifying information before uploading. PDFs only, 50MB max.*
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How many years of professional experience do you have leading applied social science research outside of a purely academic setting?*
Which best describes your experience leading program evaluations or impact studies?*
I have been the primary lead on multiple studies end-to-end
I have led one study end-to-end
I have contributed substantially but was not the primary lead
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Which best describes your professional experience building dashboards or recurring reports used by nontechnical stakeholders?*
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