Center for Creative Leadership Hiring for Evaluation/Research Associate at Greensboro, NC  Full Time

The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) is a top-ranked global provider of leadership development, training, and solutions servicing a global customer base. From team-builders and problem solvers to creative thinkers and transformational visionaries, our people are the drivers behind our business. At CCL, you’ll have an opportunity to contribute to our mission of building better leaders and a better world. You will feel challenged and inspired while collaborating with a global team of thought leaders, practitioners, researchers, and partners. We share a collective passion for contributing to our clients’ success, helping our teammates and colleagues grow and making a real difference in the lives of people around the globe.

Job Description

Are you a results-oriented, innovative expert in individual behavior change, teams, culture change, or organizational development? Are you driven to spur real-world, global impact through research, data, and evaluation? Are you passionate about furthering our understanding of leadership and leadership development in ways that benefit leaders and researchers across the globe? Are you a results-oriented, innovative, and collaborative professional with expertise in culture change, organizational development, and behavior change related to leadership and leadership development?

If so, consider applying to become a Research Associate, Data Scientist or Evaluation Associate at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). As a nonprofit educational organization or 501c3, CCL has a proud legacy of conducting and applying evidence-based research in the field of leadership development.

For 54 years, hundreds of thousands of people from around the world have come to CCL for transformational experiences, creating a ripple effect of change in their communities and organizations. CCL provides powerful opportunities for leaders, organizations, and communities throughout the world, in part because research and evaluation undergird these solutions to ensure they are effective, and evidence based. This kind of research and evaluation is what we do in CCL’s Leadership Research and Analytics (LRA) team. Join us to help champion our leading-edge research and evaluation work in the leadership development space. You will usher in a new generation of learning and development while helping our world-class instructional designers create solutions to today’s most pressing challenges. This role is intended for early- to mid-career professionals from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds (grade 28 in the CCL HR system – salary around $90,000 excluding benefits). You will join a team of researchers, evaluators, and data scientists passionate about helping leaders and bringing a range of professional experiences and disciplinary lens to their work. You will also have access to a wide-ranging benefits package offered by CCL and professional development opportunities in LRA. We value different perspectives on leadership and leadership development, including a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds. To add to our already diverse range of perspectives, we invite applications from individuals with social science or applied research background (broadly defined) interested in developing in the areas of program evaluation, consultative services, and applied research. For information about the work of LRA, check out and cclinnovation.org.

As an Evaluation Associate, Data Scientist or Research Associate you will apply your skills as a researcher/evaluator with analytic capabilities and subject-matter expertise while working with a broad range of clients across the globe who are investing in creating change through leadership. You will be responsible for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating data and evidence-based research to inform decisions about leadership development initiatives. You will help clients conduct thorough needs assessments to pinpoint development needs, and you will design research evaluation strategies to understand the underlying human factors of leader and leadership development and the impact of developmental programs and journeys. You will have the opportunity to work with internal stakeholders, as well, ranging from program development and delivery to marketing and sales.

You Are:

• Collaborative: A thought partner and liaison throughout CCL for evaluation and research inquiries; contributing to cross-functional task forces and teams in marketing, sales, technology, design, and delivery. Partner closely with a multi-disciplinary team of social scientists, data scientists, and business stakeholders to integrate research into the production of leadership development courses, coaching, products, sales, and marketing.
• Experienced: We share below a long list of broad list of potential experiences. Importantly, you may be a good fit for this role if you have some of them. You have organizational/project experience involving research and/or program evaluation from start to finish (e.g., survey/protocol development, qualitative and quantitative data collection, management, analysis, theory of change development, report and paper writing). We are looking for professionals from multiple disciplines (e.g., I/O, social, community, developmental psychology; improvement science; communications; sociology, data science; program evaluation, or related fields). You are called upon to serve as a Subject Matter Experts for client proposals and engagements (e.g., research and evaluation partnerships, client webinars, sales pitches, RFP defenses, general thought leadership). You will need to work effectively with others at different levels of technical and subject matter expertise-both internal and external to CCL. You have record of publication in academic, non-academic, and/or professional outlets. Note: Even if you are unsure about your fit with all these criteria, we encourage you to apply. We value a variety of perspectives and professional experiences.
• Creative: Create and disseminate novel, relevant, and actionable research and evaluation in topics ranging from the immediately applicable to future oriented. You will infuse CCL’s thought leadership and applications with strong theoretical grounding and methodological rigor to provide the best possible solutions for leaders and the field of leadership/leadership development.
• A Translator: Of research and evaluation findings for technical and non-technical audiences (e.g., trade publication outlets, organizational and community leaders, marketing efforts). You help bring rigorous research and evaluation insights to life for leaders of all levels of expertise and experience.
• Systems-thinking: Can identify and initiate steps to improve the quality and efficiency of data collection and management. Coordinate evaluation data management, analysis, and reporting with other departments (e.g., IT and Marketing). Proactively seek out opportunities for improvement and propose novel solutions to increase impact and efficiency. Have an open mind that is eager to learn from and collaborate with others.
• Hands-on: You can design, develop, and distribute evaluation and research data reports using survey platforms (like Qualtrics) and databases for internal and external stakeholders and clients. You work collaboratively with others to optimize learning from your insights.
• An Expert in one or more research methodologies (e.g., qualitative, quantitative, quasi-experimental, experimental, mixed-methods, longitudinal) and proficiency in at least one statistical analysis software package for quantitative (e.g., SPSS, Stata, SAS, MPlus; R and Python preferred, Qualtrics) and/or qualitative data (e.g., NVivo, ATLAS,ti; Dedoose; MAXQDA).
• A Storyteller: You translate numbers into a clearer story, persuade people of the importance of data, and make the data meaningful/relevant through visual communication.
• Curious: you are passionate about continuous improvement and actively seek out opportunities to learn and stay up to date on evaluation, research, data science, software, and research/evaluation relevant to the multidisciplinary field of leadership development.
• Equity-oriented: Aligned with our mission to make the world a better place through more effective leadership, CCL holds a deep (EDI). In addition to our work through their EDI journeys, we are dedicated to recruiting and sponsoring employees with various lived experiences and social identities. You work to promote a culture of integrity, mutual respect, excellence, collaboration, and innovation.
• Culturally competent: You have demonstrated ability to work with individuals, institutions, and staff who represent diverse social identities. You are comfortable with and committed to interact and collaborate with a wide range of people from various sectors and geographies.

Education & Other Experience:

• M.A. or Ph.D. (preferred) in education, psychology (I/O, social, community, developmental), sociology, statistics, communications, improvement science, developmental systems, strategic management, evaluation, assessment and measurement, or other related fields with coursework in learning and development, evaluation, research methods, and data analysis.

You Will:

• Note: Leadership Research and Analytics (LRA) have two broad teams (Insights and Impact which focuses primarily on program evaluation and evaluation research and Leadership Analytics and Strategic Research). We intend to hire in both groups. The bullet points below reflect the activities of both groups. If you are selected as a finalist, we will work with you on where best you might be situated in LRA.
• Serve with a team of evaluators and researchers responsible for understanding the effectiveness of a portfolio of leadership development programs and/or for generating new research insights among leaders and leadership collectives.
• Work with other research and evaluation teams across CCL on called out strategic and programmatic priorities.
• Independently oversee research studies on topics related to leadership and leadership development or evaluations of CCL’s leadership development programs.
• Take an innovative and collaborative approach to research and evaluation in program design, working with multiple stakeholders, identifying opportunities to use new methods and tools.
• Share findings from your work with internal stakeholders, clients, other practitioners, and academic communities across the globe.
• Serve as a Subject Matter Expert for internal and external stakeholders.
• Disseminate your findings through academic and non-academic channels, ranging from journal articles and popular press pieces to webinars and blogs. You can see examples of our team’s current work at

You’ll Love:

• A multidisciplinary, passionate community of researchers, data scientists, and evaluators
• Opportunities to see your research and evaluation integrated into thought leadership, leadership development programs, and client engagements.
• Excellent medical, dental, vision coverage
• A rewarding 403(b) program
• Flexible paid time off
• Inclusive Employee Resource Groups
• Access to CCL’s award-winning learning and development programs, including opportunities to attend leadership development programs.
• Ability to work from home or at one of our numerous global locations (see www.ccl.org).

Pay and Benefits

• The hiring range for this role starts at $90,000 annually. Offer will be commensurate with relevant qualifications and professional experience
• 403(b) Savings Plan with employer contribution
• Medical insurance
• Telemedicine
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Health savings and flexible spending accounts
• Paid time off and paid holidays
• Employer-paid short-term and long-term disability
• Employer-paid life insurance
• Employee and family assistance program
• Various voluntary options for additional plans or coverage levels