Associate, Research

Location: Flexible within the U.S. but requires access to a major U.S. airport for travel.

Position Type: Full-time

About Us

At Partners for Public Good (PPG), we believe that when government works, communities thrive. Launched in March 2025, we are a fast-growing nonprofit dedicated to helping state and local governments harness core operational functions – procurement, staffing, digital infrastructure, and budgeting – to drive public impact.

Our journey began in 2011 at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Government Performance Lab, where we set out to transform public procurement. Since then, we’ve worked with hundreds of governments across the country to make their procurement systems more efficient, fair, results-driven, and strategic. For example, in 2022, we launched the Procurement Excellence Network, putting our tools and strategies in the hands of over two thousand public servants.

Today, our team of doers, coaches, and advisors partner with governments to create lasting, impactful change. Our vision is simple: every resident has a government they can count on, every day.

Role & Organizational Impact

We are seeking an Associate, Research to support a new research initiative to develop a deeper understanding of the challenges state and local governments face in their back-office operations, focusing on the field of public procurement, which is a critical but under-researched area of government.

Reporting to the Project Leader of Research, the Associate will conduct research to help answer core questions about procurement practices, including how procurement operations impact vendors and residents. The Associate’s research will include interviewing stakeholders, providing qualitative and quantitative research support, and preparing draft reports, slide decks, and memos sharing research findings.

At PPG, Associates drive the day-to-day delivery of programmatic projects, working closely with Project Leaders and Assistant Directors to turn strategy into action. This can include multiple and fractional projects across teams. They facilitate meetings with government partners, design and produce project materials, deliver trainings and coaching, and draft key deliverables and reports. Associates may work on one in-depth project or contribute across several shorter-term or fractional engagements, depending on portfolio needs.

Responsibilities

Research Design and Strategy

• Understand the challenges that state and local governments face in collecting procurement, financial, and operations data.
• In collaboration with manager, help to design research approaches that could produce answers to core research questions.
• Support the creation of structured project plans, scopes, study designs, analysis plans, and timelines for internal feedback.

Research Execution

• Assist with foundational steps ahead of data analysis, including data collection, extracting and merging data sets, and preparing and cleaning data correctly.
• Analyze qualitative and/or quantitative data. This may include literature reviews, field work (interviews, focus groups, and site visits), and data analysis in Microsoft Excel or statistical computing programs (e.g., R, SPSS, Stata, or Python). Help create data visualizations.
• Draft and contribute to white papers, blogs, presentations, reports, and infographics that share insights from research with external audiences.

Project and Stakeholder Management

• Complete logistical and administrative tasks to support research projects, including tracking project timelines and deliverables, drafting work plans, and coordinating meetings.
• Foster clear communication across PPG and research collaborators, resulting in continued successful relationships with nonprofit partners, researchers/SMEs, government technology companies, and jurisdictions.

Organizational Growth & Strategy

• Provide input to internal operational improvement initiatives.
• Support efforts to expand and refine PPG’s offerings and impact.

Who You Are

We’re looking for candidates who are a:

• Goal-oriented, mission-driven junior researcher. You have an intrinsic drive to seek out answers to big questions. You are eager to conduct a rigorous analysis, but you also care about the “so what?” of a research question.
• Entrepreneurial builder and innovator. You will help PPG test new approaches to research and data storytelling. This calling requires an effective person who knows how to get things done and adapt to new conditions and feedback quickly.
• Strong communication. You excel in verbal, written, and visual communication. You make technical or complex concepts accessible and engaging.
• Change manager. You recognize that true change in government requires culture shifts, capacity-building, and empowerment, in addition to better processes. You build trust and momentum, bringing stakeholders along with you while moving with urgency. You know how to lead groups through change effectively.
• Adaptable. You thrive in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment where every project is unique, and we often must dive in and learn quickly.
• Collaborative. You care for your colleagues and are quick to pitch in when someone needs help. You are comfortable giving and receiving direct feedback.
• Mission aligned. You are motivated by the opportunity to help state and local governments harness core operational functions so that every resident has a government they can count on, every day.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required. Equivalent years of professional experience and/or certifications will be considered in lieu of formal education.
• Three or more years of related work experience in qualitative and quantitative analysis (in an academic setting, research-based organization, or within a research unit of a public agency, private or consulting firm) or related work experience.
• Excellent writing and editing skills, including the ability to produce compelling, well-written, and error-free work products.
• Strong project management and stakeholder engagement skills, with track record of independently managing projects and multiple simultaneous deadlines.
• Familiarity with one or more analysis tools or statistical computing programs, such as R, SPSS, STATA, or Python, or strong ability to conduct analysis and develop data visualizations in Microsoft Excel or Power Bi.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, Visio) and other outreach or virtual collaboration tools (Zoom, Miro).
• Willingness and ability to travel as needed at least six times per year.

Additional Information

Deadline to Apply: PPG will review applications on a rolling basis. All applications received by the deadline of February 27, 2026 will be considered.

Compensation: The salary for this role is $100,000 plus benefits. We offer a comprehensive, people-first benefits package to support the well-being of our team and their families. We offer medical, dental, and vision insurance, with multiple plan options to fit individual needs as well as access to health and flexible savings accounts. Paid time off includes: 15 vacation days, 12 sick days, 3 personal days, 2 floating holidays, 12 paid holidays, and a winter recess. We also provide an employer match for retirement savings, paid parental leave, and access to backup care for caregiving needs. To support remote work, we offer work-from-home stipends or shared office space options.

Start date: The desired start date for this role is April 2026.

This position is grant-funded. Employment is contingent on continuation of funds and organizational needs, at PPG’s sole discretion.

Physical Demands: This position requires sitting, talking, listening, reading, and writing for up to 8 hours per day. Certain situations may require lifting items up to 20 pounds. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job duties.

Commitment to Equal Employment Opportunity

Partners for Public Good is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Partners for Public Good is committed to the inclusion of all qualified individuals in the hiring process, including but not limited to those with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodation(s) to participate in the application or interview process, please contact info(at)partnersforpublicgood.org.