Careers in Quality

Mental Health America (MHA) is looking for a Research Associate for MHA’s Center for Research and Innovation (CRI). The CRI is a division of MHA that includes MHA’s signature programs: MHA Screening, Screening-to-Supports, Workplace Mental Health and Wellness, and other programs that deliver online services, conduct research or analyze data. The Program Associate will provide research support for programs in the CRI including MHA Screening, Screening to Supports, and Workplace Mental Health.  The Program Associate will report to the VP of Research and Innovation.

Here’s who we’re looking for:

Above all else, you love being organized and keeping lists. You are comfortable with repetitive data-related tasks. You are thorough and have great attention to detail. You follow up on assigned tasks promptly and communicate well with different people who have different needs. And you’re really good at communicating by email. You like helping people set up tasks to help them get started with new projects. When people ask you the same question in five different ways, you don’t get impatient with this experience and empathize with their challenge. You like numbers, math, statistics, and data management. While you like numbers, you also might like writing and thinking about how you can turn your personal experiences and life challenges into meaningful supports for the community or helping a team with research, which includes summarizing findings from focus groups, other data analysis, or managing meetings of stakeholders.

A note: Although MHA staff are mostly working remotely due to COVID, this position is eligible for full-time remote employment. However, because many events take place in the Washington, DC area, non-local candidates will be expected to travel to DC-area events and to any required planning meetings at their own cost. Local candidates are strongly encouraged. MHA adheres to all state and federal recommendations for maintaining or exceeding social distancing guidelines – if local, you would be one of 2-3 people in the office on any given day for the immediate future, and PPE (masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer) is available.

Mental Health America (MHA) understands that racism undermines mental health. Therefore, we are committed to anti-racism and embrace diversity and inclusion in all that we do, including informing our hiring practices. We pledge to work against individual racism, interpersonal racism, and racist policies in all their forms. MHA is looking for candidates who are aware of the necessity of emotional intelligence in today’s workplace.

To apply for the job send a cover letter and resume to: jobs@mhanational.org.  Please type “Research Associate” in the subject line of the e-mail. The cover letter should share information with the team about your personal interests in mental health and why this position is interesting to you.

No phone calls or direct emails, please. EOE.

The Research Associate will engage in the following activities

Programmatic Support for CRI:

• Manage data from our MHA Screening program. Download large sets of data (300-500k sample). Clean data. Use Excel to process macros. Use Tableau to run analyses that are sent to MHA partners.

• Provide technical assistance and troubleshooting for organizations that work with the CRI

• Manage quality assurance of MHA programs including attention to large data sets, website management, and substantive review of website content for improvements.

• Conduct training and onboardings for affiliates or other organizations that work with CRI programs.
• Support other research activities including for example literature and policy reviews.

Administrative Support for the CRI:

• Coordinating and managing schedules for six members of the CRI team in research projects.
• Setting up meetings with internal and external stakeholders, coordinating schedules, sending out agendas, taking notes, and conducting follow-ups.
• Prepare, organize, and keep a record of CRI research documentation including invoices, outcomes, output, outreach, etc.
• Respond to general email inquiries for the center.
• Prepare quarterly and annual reports.
• Work with MHA’s social media team to promote CRI research projects.
• Copy edit CRI content.

General

• Contribute to Center overall direction, including brainstorming or contributing to content creation and/or research specifically to support high-risk and underserved communities.

• Participate in long-term planning for CRI, brainstorming sessions.
• Transition rapidly to providing significant support for programs where the workload is high.
• Work with other departments at MHA (policy, affiliate services, peer advocacy/supports, and public education) to advance CRI objectives.
• Actively engage in professional development.

The ideal candidate has:

• A Bachelor’s or Masters degree. This is an entry-level research position.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, organization skills, and attention to detail.
• Proficiency with the Microsoft Office Suite – especially Excel, Google Suite tools.
• Knowledge of basics in statistics.
• Comfort with or ability to learn website management tools (WordPress and Drupal).
• Demonstrated ability to work cooperatively with diverse groups and individuals.

• Some travel required—mostly local, but occasionally overnight (less than 10% when safe travel resumes).