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Community Development Project, Urban Justice Center
Research and Policy Associate
Job Description
The Urban Justice Center is made up of ten independent projects serving thousands of low-income individuals and
families in New York City. The Community Development Project (CDP) at the Urban Justice Center provides legal,
technical, research and policy assistance to grassroots community groups engaged in a wide range of organizing efforts
throughout New York City.
CDP’s Research and Policy Initiative partners with and provides strategic support to grassroots community organizations
to build the power of their organizing and advocacy work. We utilize a “participatory action research” model in which
low-income and excluded communities are central to the design and development of research and policy. Our work is
guided by the priorities and needs of the community partners with which we work. The Research and Policy Associate
would report to the Director of Research and Policy and join a team of three full time staff (including the Associate) and
several graduate school interns. You can find more information about our recent work here.
Our work consists of the following:
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Participatory Action Research Reports: From start to finish, we work with our community partners to design,
administer, analyze and write participatory action research reports. These reports are used by our partners to
educate community members, engage elected officials, garner media attention and advocate for socially just
policies. Read our reports here.
Grassroots Policymaking: With community organizations, we research and develop ground-up policy solutions
to problems they identify and document.
Popular-Education Curriculum Design and Research Training: Our trainings and tools assist communities in
designing and conducting their own research. We also conduct trainings on a variety of research topics to build
the capacity of our partner organizations. View CDP’s Research for Organizing toolkit here.
Strategic Campaign Research: We conduct background research and develop fact sheets to provide strategic
data in support of organizing campaigns. Our partners use these materials in leadership development and basebuilding and to educate elected and government officials about specific issues and campaigns.
The Research and Policy Associate will do the following type of work:
 Design and planning of participatory action research projects;
 Development of research tools (surveys, focus group guides, interviews, etc.);
 Analysis of quantitative and qualitative data;
 Development of databases and data entry;
 Support of community-based organizations (community partners) in collection of data;
 Research and policy training and education for community partner groups;
 Conducting background research and policy analysis related to partner’s campaigns;
 Coordination and communication with community groups to carry out participatory research projects;
 Support for advocacy efforts of partner groups;
 Support in developing and implementing strategic communications related to research and policy work;
 Writing of policy-related documents and research reports;
 Writing of public education materials to support the efforts of community partners.
Qualifications:
 Bachelor’s degree and at least 2 years of experience preferred;
 Experience with research design and project management;
 Experience and knowledge of policy analysis and NYC and NYS political landscape;
 Strong writing skills;
 Experience and demonstrated skill in working with diverse populations;
 Experience with group facilitation and public speaking;
 Ability to cultivate relationships with potential partners;
 Demonstrated ability to work independently as well as in a team;
 Experience with data analysis and statistical programs such as SPSS, GIS, Survey monkey as excel is preferred;
 Detail oriented;
 Demonstrated commitment to community organizing and social justice;
 Knowledge of issues affecting low-income communities of color and related to social justice;
 Spanish and/or Chinese language ability is a plus.
Salary and compensation:
Salary is commensurate with experience ($40,000 to $50,000 starting range) and excellent benefits package is
available, including generous vacation, personal, and sick time, along with industry leading medical and dental
coverage.
The Community Development Project is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from people
with diverse backgrounds, including women, people of color, immigrants, persons with disabilities, and lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.
Application Instructions:
Please send a cover letter, resume and 2 writing samples (each writing sample should be no longer than 3 pages).
The writing samples should exhibit your ability to write about public policy and/or summarize research findings.
Please send the complete application to Alexa Kasdan, Director of Research and Policy at [email protected].
Please write “R&P Associate application” in the subject line.
Applications will be accepted until June 19th, 2015