The Community and Stakeholder Engagement Core of the Irving Institute at Columbia University Irving Medical Center is dedicated to accelerating the translation of scientific discovery into meaningful health impact. Through partnerships among scientists, clinicians, patients, caregivers, community members, institutional leaders, research participants, and other stakeholders, the Core advances community translational research and community translational science by integrating scientific expertise with lived experience.
The Core promotes sustained, bidirectional engagement with patients and local communities and aligns closely with broader Irving Institute stakeholder engagement strategies.
The Associate Research Scientist will lead and support the evaluation of the Early Childhood and Family Hub of Washington Heights , a place-based community health initiative designed to connect families with young children to resources, support, and environments that help children from birth to age five thrive. This position will play a key role in generating evidence to improve community health, aligning community priorities with research goals, and advancing evidence-based community programming.
Working collaboratively with faculty, community partners, caregivers, and stakeholders, the Associate Research Scientist will design, implement, and disseminate rigorous evaluations of the Hub model. This position offers opportunities to develop expertise in program evaluation, implementation science, mixed-methods research, community-engaged scholarship, and translational research.
Key Responsibilities
Program Evaluation Design
• Develop and refine evaluation frameworks, logic models, and theories of change for the Early Childhood and Family Hub.
• Design formative, process, outcome, and impact evaluations.
• Identify appropriate evaluation measures, indicators, and benchmarks.
• Ensure evaluation approaches are culturally responsive, equity-focused, and community-informed.
Research and Data Collection
• Design and manage qualitative and quantitative data collection activities.
• Develop surveys, interview guides, focus group protocols, and observational tools.
• Coordinate data collection efforts with community organizations and stakeholders.
• Ensure compliance with Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirements and ethical research standards.
Data Analysis
• Conduct statistical analyses using software such as R, SAS, SPSS, or Stata.
• Analyze qualitative data using thematic and content analysis methods, as appropriate.
• Integrate mixed-methods findings to generate actionable insights.
• Develop dashboards, reports, and data visualizations for academic, community, and policy audiences.
Community Partnership and Engagement
• Collaborate with the Community Steering Committee, Caregiver Advisory Group, and other key stakeholders.
• Support co-design and participatory evaluation approaches that center community perspectives.
• Foster strong relationships with community partners to ensure meaningful engagement throughout the evaluation process.
Dissemination and Scholarship
• Prepare manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals.
• Present findings at scientific, professional, and community conferences.
• Develop policy briefs, evaluation reports, and community-facing dissemination materials.
• Contribute to grant applications, funding proposals, and research development activities.
• Support the development, integration, and ongoing evaluation of initiatives and programs within the Hub.
Implementation and Quality Improvement
• Assess program implementation fidelity, reach, and effectiveness.
• Identify barriers and facilitators to implementation.
• Support continuous quality improvement efforts.
• Apply implementation science frameworks to assess scalability and sustainability.
Expected Deliverables
• Evaluation frameworks, plans, and logic models.
• Annual and final program evaluation reports.
• Peer-reviewed publications.
• Scientific and community conference presentations.
• Community dissemination products and stakeholder reports.
• Grant proposals and funding applications.
• Recommendations for program improvement, sustainability, and scale-up.
Why Join Us?
This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to a nationally recognized community health initiative while advancing scholarship in translational science, community engagement, implementation science, and early childhood development. The successful candidate will work alongside interdisciplinary faculty, community leaders, and families to generate evidence that drives meaningful improvements in child and family well-being.
