Director of Research

Location: Remote with occasional travel required

Position Type: Full-time, Exempt

Salary: $85,000 per year

Reports To: President

About Us

American Families for Vaccines (AFV) is a fast-growing, mission-driven organization mobilizing families, clinicians, and communities to support pro-vaccine policy and defeat anti-vaccine extremism. Our state chapters defend strong vaccine policy, fight misinformation, and advocate for evidence-based public health. As we scale both our 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) entities, we are expanding our national infrastructure and growing the number of state-based Families for Vaccines chapters.

Position Summary

AFV’s Director of Research turns the best available evidence and field learnings into tools and resources that drive winning campaigns and fuel growth. You’ll set the research agenda; synthesize science into decision-ready briefs and message frames; organize and maintain our Vaccine Advocacy Library inside the CMS; and package what works so new states can launch campaigns faster. This is a thought-leadership role with light but accountable CMS ownership focused on structure, quality, and velocity. MPH or PhD strongly preferred.

Key Responsibilities

• Research agenda
  • Prioritize annual questions tied to state campaigns and growth; balance rapid syntheses, policy scans, polling, and evaluations.
  • Translate research into actionable tactics: Produce concise briefs, talking points, and testimony support grounded in ACIP and top studies; support rapid response.
• Vaccine Advocacy Library & CMS
  • Own structure, IA/taxonomy, and publishing standards in the CMS; curate high-performing artifacts (briefs, op-eds, testimony, toolkits); keep summaries, tags, and “when to use” notes current.
• Communications partnership
  • Co-develop message architectures with Communications team
  • Translate polling and evidence into persuasive frames
  • Ensure assets ship with 1-pagers, slide nuggets, and FAQs.
• Polling & insights
  • Scope vendors and instruments
  • Interpret results into audience strategies
  • Track uptake and outcome KPIs (reuse across states, policymaker cites, media placements).
• Evaluation & learning
  • Stand up simple, credible evaluation plans for programs and state chapters
  • Publish learning memos that improve strategy and support renewals and new grants.
• Team leadership
  • Manage Policy Analyst
  • Recruit and oversee fellows and contractors; coach crisp writing, rigorous sourcing, and executive-ready visuals.
• Partnerships & grants
  • Build relationships with universities, think tanks, and vendors
  • Contribute research aims, methods, and evaluation to grants
  • Brief funders on results and learning.
• Ethics & quality
  • Uphold research ethics (IRB when relevant); enforce transparent sourcing, limitations, and reproducibility where appropriate.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in applied public health, health policy, behavioral science, epidemiology or adjacent roles; advocacy or nonprofit context a plus.
• MPH or PhD strongly preferred.
• Track record of translating complex evidence into plain-language strategy used by decision-makers.
• Experience commissioning and interpreting polling; comfortable with basic statistics and uncertainty framing.
• Demonstrated success organizing knowledge at scale (CMS/IA/taxonomy/metadata), ideally with public-facing materials.
• Excellent writing and slide storytelling; collaborative leader able to coach analysts and manage vendors and partners.
• Familiarity with literature databases, citation managers, spreadsheets and basic statistical tools, CRM-aware workflows, and DAM/CMS best practices.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary: $85,000 annually
• Benefits:
  • Comprehensive health insurance for employee, partner and dependents, retirement contribution, generous PTO, paid holidays, and remote work flexibility.
  • Flexible work hours and fully remote work environment with opportunities to travel and engage colleagues in-person a few times per year.

How to Apply

Submit a resume, cover letter, and two writing samples (ideally policy-related) to jobs@familiesforvaccines.org with the subject line: Director of Research Application – [Your Name]. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Equal Employment Opportunity

American Families for Vaccines is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace and welcome applicants from all backgrounds, including but not limited to people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, women, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and people with diverse life experiences.

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under federal, state, or local laws.

Work Authorization

All applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. AFV is not able to sponsor employment visas at this time. AFV participates in the e-Verify system to determine employment eligibility.

Reasonable Accommodation

If you require reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please contact us at jobs@familiesforvaccines.org

Employment Status

All positions are considered at-will unless otherwise stated in a written employment agreement and are subject to background and reference checks where applicable.

Pay Transparency

This position is offered with a salary range of $85,000 per year, depending on experience and location. The position includes comprehensive benefits. This disclosure is in compliance with applicable state laws including those in California, Colorado, New York, and Washington.

• Comprehensive health insurance for employee, partner and dependents, retirement contribution, generous PTO, paid holidays, and remote work flexibility.
• Flexible work hours and fully remote work environment with opportunities to travel and engage colleagues in-person a few times per year.