The Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), the nation’s leading source for transformative, evidence-based ideas about public education, is seeking an experienced, intellectually curious, and dynamic professional to assume the role of Research Professional for a full-time, fiscal-year (12-month), benefits-eligible, 1.0 FTE position.

The Research Professional will be responsible for independently designing and overseeing research projects, providing intellectual and organizational leadership, and contributing transformative ideas to the field of public education. The ideal candidate will have deep knowledge of the education landscape, strong research expertise, including mixed methods research, and a track record of successfully managing complex projects.

CRPE is a strong fit for professionals who possess an entrepreneurial spirit, enjoy working in a fast-paced, high-impact environment, and are committed to creating equitable opportunities for children, families, and educators. The Research Professional will report to the Center Director and play a critical role in advancing CRPE’s mission through research, influence, and strategic leadership.

The anticipated start date for this position is June 9, 2025.

This appointment is dependent for continuation upon funding from a specific source other than general operating funds (see ABOR 6-201-D 6.D) and may terminate prior to the end of the designated appointment period if funding is no longer available.

Essential Functions:

• Design and lead complex and mixed-methods research projects on AI in schools, school system innovation, and state leadership for a new era of public education. This involves defining key problems and questions and designing rigorous, fast-paced studies that generate transformative, timely insights for the field.
• Lead teams that conduct data collection and analysis, including qualitative and quantitative methods, to produce rigorous, high-quality insights that advance CRPE’s mission and are responsive to emerging trends in public education.
• Synthesize and communicate complex research findings into accessible insights that influence policy and practice at local, state, and national levels. Publish and present findings in various formats to drive impact (blogs, briefs, academic articles, conference presentations and panels, briefings, social media, etc.).
• Identify new funding opportunities, cultivate relationships with funders, develop proposals, and manage grants to support research initiatives.
• Leverage and build networks and audiences among local and state education leaders, policymakers, advocates, and researchers to broaden the impact of research and findings.
• Represent CRPE in media interviews, podcasts, webinars, and policy forums to enhance the organization’s thought leadership and public profile.
• Effectively lead, supervise, and grow staff(research staff, graduate students, project managers, etc) in a matrix organization.
• Contribute to the leadership and organizational strategy of the organization, integrating research learnings across projects and aligning with operational, communications, and impact priorities.

Required Qualifications:

• PhD from an accredited university in education, education policy, or a related discipline, by the time of appointment.
• Has experience overseeing research projects
• Has expertise in research, including mixed methods research
• A track record for successfully managing complex projects

Desired Qualifications:

• Prior experience working with and/or studying the priority topics of school systems innovation, AI in education, and state and district reform efforts.
• 10+ years of experience working in the education landscape, including the study of or experience with major issues, systems, political dynamics, and historically marginalized populations.
• 5+ years of experience managing complex, high-profile projects involving multiple stakeholders at all levels, internally and externally.
• 8+ years conducting mixed methods research using equitable research methods, with at least 5 years managing research teams and leading studies. The ideal candidate will demonstrate expertise with data collection and analysis involving administrative data, surveys, interviews, observations, and/or documents, as well as experience using these data to answer both impact and implementation questions with actionable takeaways for policymakers and practitioners.
• Experience successfully and independently fundraising for research and/or education innovation projects, including existing relationships with education policy and research funders.
• Strong writing skills, including the ability to produce concise and compelling research products designed for non-academic audiences, with the flexibility to adapt to CRPE style and openness to writing multiple drafts incorporating feedback from internal and external editors and reviewers.
• Comfort with ambiguity and desire to inform the implementation of a fast-scaling initiative and working as part of a team to provide thought partnership around high-impact research questions.

Application materials must include a curriculum vitae, a letter of interest describing how you meet the above-mentioned qualifications, and contact information for three references. If necessary, additional items (certifications, transcripts, etc.) may be requested. The application deadline is May 2, 2025. Applications will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis for a reserve pool. Applications in the reserve pool may then be reviewed in the order in which they were received until the position is filled.

A background check is required for employment.

About CRPE

The Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) is a nonpartisan research center founded in 1993 and affiliated with Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation. Staff work remotely across the U.S.

CRPE believes inequities are hard-wired into our public education system in both obvious and subtle ways. Our core business is studying efforts to rewire the system for ongoing improvement and excellence for every student—moving from the classroom to the school and policy implications. We envision a public education system that truly prepares every student for the challenges of the future.

We fulfill this mission through:

• Research: We produce world-class research that’s interesting, significant, and trustworthy.
• Thought leadership: Our analysis looks around the corner, comments on relevant issues, and proposes new ideas.
• Engagement with leaders: We prioritize learning from city, state, and nonprofit leaders in their communities, and we inform their work with evidence.

CRPE seeks team members who are passionate about systems change and embrace the idea that public education is a goal, not a set of institutions. The following core values guide our work:

• Curiosity: We ask questions that “look around the corner.”
• Excellence: We do world-class research that’s interesting, significant, and trustworthy
• Teamwork: We’re clear, focused, and productive together
• Ownership: We’re all responsible for CRPE’s success
• Communication: We’re clear and honest with each other
• Camaraderie: We appreciate each other
• Integrity: We’re professional and ethical

CRPE has played a national role in studying the impact of the COVID pandemic on school systems and policy, and we study new methods of schooling that will inform rebuilding efforts post-pandemic, such as innovative teacher preparation approaches, Artificial Intelligence, and novel school governance models. To learn more about our work, visit CRPE’s publications page, which features our most recent thinking on education issues in play today.

CRPE stands at the intersection of enduring challenges (like educational inequity) and emerging ones (like technological disruption). While areas of focus vary over time, we anticipate that the Principal will initially join and lead projects specifically focused on 1) the conditions necessary for school systems to sustain bold innovation, 2) building a national research agenda and conducting responsive research on AI in education, and 3) supporting CRPE’s Phoenix Rising learning series and application to state and district action.

About Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation

ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation creates knowledge, mobilizes people, and takes action to improve education. Nationally recognized as a leader in teacher preparation, leadership development and scholarly research, Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation prepares over 8,000 educators annually. MLFC faculty create knowledge by drawing from a wide range of academic disciplines to gain insight into important questions about the process of learning, the practice of teaching and the effects of education policy. MLFC mobilizes people through bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs, through non-degree professional development programs and through socially embedded, multilateral community engagement. MLFC takes action by bringing people and ideas together to increase the capabilities of individual educators and the performance of education systems.

About Arizona State University

ASU is a large, comprehensive, research university and for nearly two decades, has transformed into the “New American University,” one dedicated to the simultaneous pursuit of excellence, broad access to quality education, and meaningful societal impact. By our Charter and Design Aspirations, we center inclusion and success as values that drive the enterprise; adopt inter- and transdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning as ways to address society’s greatest challenges; and develop innovative partnerships to produce master learners across the lifespan. To learn more about ASU, visit http://www.asu.edu.