Research Analyst

Work on Climate (WoCl) is a leading non-profit focused on mobilizing humanity’s talent to build a regenerative, climate-positive economy.

You probably know us for our online community – the world’s largest climate career and action community which has helped thousands of people find climate jobs, start companies, and build impactful networks. We’ve been featured in Fast Company, the New York Times, Wired, and more.

Our work is entering a new chapter beyond helping individuals find climate jobs.

We’re now supporting professionals to engage in climate leadership – organizing, mobilizing, and transforming whole sectors and regions toward regenerative futures using the skills they have invested in throughout their careers. (Read more about this transition in our latest learning blog!).

It’s important work, and we’re looking for a Research Analyst on our Impact Research Team to help us do it!

About the team

The Impact Research team studies the impact of Work on Climate’s community through data on the usage of our programs. We gather data from mixed-methods research, including light surveying, targeted interviews, case studies, and usage metrics. Our team’s findings guide program design and prove impact to our allies and funders.

Our research helps support data-driven deliverables for our Work on Climate leadership team, including:

• Funding Narratives: stories of how change actually happens through our members’ and chapters’ climate leadership
• Leadership Readiness Frameworks: which members or chapters are ready for climate leadership
• Leader Transition Maps: ****key moments, blockers, and interventions in climate leadership
• Chapter Design Principles: ****how to structure chapters for real-world feasibility

Role summary

In order to truly address climate change at scale, Work on Climate’s Impact Research Team needs to consistently produce high-quality findings that enable our volunteers to make the most impact possible. As a Research Analyst, you will play a critical role in uncovering key insights and helping us communicate them effectively to maximize impact.

We are looking for an experienced Research Analyst to help us gather data and sift through our research findings (e.g., from surveys, interviews, case studies, datasets) — answering questions, investigating hypotheses, and uncovering trends that help us drive the most impact in supporting our climate leaders and teams. You’ll have support and oversight in this role, but we’re looking for someone who can take the first pass and conduct individual work confidently, with minimal support and oversight after provided direction and training.

The role will be include both individual and collaborative work with teammates and leads on the Impact Research Team. Our team is based globally, and we welcome candidates from diverse backgrounds.

Time commitment

This role is highly impactful and rewarding, but we want to be upfront that our most successful volunteers dedicate:

• 5 hours/week consistently and consider this a long-term volunteer position*
• Regular availability for team meetings, including the weekly team meetings

(Note: we kindly request a commitment of 6 months to ensure we’re able to onboard you onto our work and so you can get the most out of your time here. We love it when volunteers stay on longer, and we want you to get the best experience possible!)

Why volunteer with Work on Climate?

Our most impactful volunteers are internally motivated, and contribute to this work because they believe in our mission and see how their work makes a difference. However, if you are choosing between several impactful opportunities, consider that you’ll get to:

• Improve your ability to gather data and conduct qualitative interviews.
• Deepen your skills in mixed-methods research and data analysis.
• Become experienced in evaluating data across an organization (vs. a single department or function).
• Collaborate with top-notch teammates passionate about research and working in climate.
• Build a strong network of climate professionals in your area of interest.
• Get a great line on your resume and addition to your portfolio, as the results of your work will be public!

What will I do?

If someone has a question about the data, you’ll be helping answer it. You’ll collaborate across Work on Climate teams to help gather the data we need and/or evaluate the data we have so that we can generate data-driven deliverables for Work on Climate. You will be in charge of uncovering key insights in the data using analytical tools, and helping to communicate those insights to maximize impact for our programs.

This will look like:

• Gathering data using qualitative interviewing and surveying methods.
• Helping craft, administer, and distribute surveys.
• Analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, using statistical and/or coding software (e.g., Hex, Excel).
• Creating basic data visualizations and graphs for communications and reports.
• Drafting insights and takeaways from the data based on your findings and analyses.
• Communicating your findings using established tools and workflows (e.g., reporting templates, dashboards, presentation formats).
• Collaborating with other teams and team members at Work on Climate, to understand their goals, target members, KPIs, and questions.
• Working closely with other team members to refine research questions, test hypotheses, and develop research plans, using data from our surveys and internal datasets.

What skills and commitment do I need?

The most effective candidates will have:

• 2-4+ years of experience collecting and analyzing data using quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods research, ideally with analytical tools and/or coding software (e.g., Excel, Stata, R, Hex, PowerBI, AtlasTI). Experience drafting qualitative surveys, logic models, and independent analysis plans a plus.
• Experience collaborating with team members & project stakeholders, gathering project needs, and communicating findings to diverse audiences.
• Excellent individual and group communication skills, with the ability to work with people of different work and communication styles from around the world.
• Fluency in the English language.

The most effective candidates will also be:

• Trustworthy and dependable. We value autonomy and allowing people to get their work done at their own pace, so follow-through is big for us. We depend on you to do what you say you’ll do!
• Proactive and action-oriented. You think ahead and don’t hesitate to take the first step or roll up your sleeves to make things happen.
• Communicative. You flag risks and communicate them early. Not sure about a dataset? Need help working through a research question? Know you’ll be on vacation next month? Have an exam in a few weeks? No problem. Just let us know!
• Impactful. You think about the big picture and you stay focused on the impact.
• Curious and growth-minded. You have a natural curiosity and a desire to further your skills and knowledge.

Common Challenges

• At times, research questions or hypotheses will need refinement as the work evolves. As a team, we regularly review and adjust our focus, and you will contribute your perspective to these discussions to help ensure we’re asking questions that meaningfully support our goals.
• There will be moments when existing data doesn’t fully answer the questions we are exploring. In those cases, you will work with the team to improve or shape evaluations, surveys, or data collection approaches so future analyses better support the questions we want to answer.