Project Leader, 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. 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 partners 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 a Project Leader of Research to help advance 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 Assistant Director, Research, and working closely with PPG’s Vice President, the Project Leader will scope and execute a research strategy that answers core questions about procurement practices, including how procurement operations impact vendors and residents. The Project Leader will engage stakeholders, such as state and local governments, peer organizations, and software vendors, to develop a nationally representative dataset of core metrics around topics such as efficiency, staffing, performance, competition, and customer satisfaction. Additionally, the Project Leader and their team will help jurisdictions grow their ability to track these core metrics.

At PPG, Project Leaders manage the core delivery of projects including scoping, implementation, staff management, reporting, and resourcing. Project Leaders manage individuals or small teams responsible for the delivery of projects, stepping in to coach and support execution as needed. Project Leaders may represent PPG externally at in-person/virtual conferences and events, cultivating partner and government relationships, and contributing to public-facing tools and publications that share lessons from the field.

Responsibilities

Research Design and Strategy

• Understand the challenges that state and local governments face in collecting procurement, financial, and operations data.
• In collaboration with PPG team members, strategize around what research approaches could produce answers; develop innovative data sourcing methods.
• Identify subject matter experts (SMEs) from academic and research backgrounds and engage them in designing and refining research agenda and approach.
• Translate research ideas into scopes, study designs, analysis plans, and timelines for internal and funder feedback.

Research Execution

• Take foundational steps ahead of data analysis, including drafting data-sharing agreements, gathering, extracting and merging data sets, and preparing and cleaning data correctly.
• Conduct rigorous qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method research in accordance with pre-analysis plans, which may include surveys, literature reviews, and statistical and econometric analysis of government datasets (using STATA, R, or SPSS), working in direct collaboration with government agencies and other stakeholders.
• Present and visualize results in compelling formats, tables, and charts. Synthesize research findings into white papers, blogs, webinars, reports, and infographics that present insights from research to external audiences.

Project Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement

• Oversee day-to-day execution of research projects, maintaining high quality deliverables, and clear communication across PPG and research collaborators.
• Monitor resources, budget, time, external relationships, and risks throughout a project’s lifetime.
• Track progress across workstreams and elevate timely risks or challenges to leadership.
• Establish and continue ongoing relationships with nonprofit partners, researchers/SMEs, government technology companies, and jurisdictions.

People Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of high-performing Associate(s), fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and professional growth.
• Train team in core PPG capabilities, including analytical thinking, project management, stakeholder management, and communications.
• Support staff in growing their procurement, data/research, and government operations expertise by designing learning opportunities and staying abreast of new research, partnerships, and broader trends in the fields of public procurement and state capacity.
• Positively shape organizational culture, promoting equity, transparency, and accountability across PPG operations.

Who You Are

We’re looking for candidates who are a:

• Goal-oriented, mission-driven researcher. You have an intrinsic drive to seek out answers to big questions. You are eager to become immersed in a rigorous statistical analysis, but you also care about the “so what?” of a research question. You are ready to bring your research background to tackle government datasets.
• Entrepreneurial builder and innovator. You will help PPG prototype new approaches to research and data storytelling, and ways of engaging governments and nonprofits. 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 will be considered in lieu of formal education.
• Three or more years of experience in rigorous 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.
• Familiarity with or experience working in local, state, or federal government, and/or knowledge of data infrastructure common to government.
• At least two years of people management 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.
• Proficiency in one or more analysis tools or statistical computing programs, such as R, SPSS, STATA, or Python.
• 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 13, 2026 will be considered.

Compensation: The salary for this role is $120,000 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 March or 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.