Research Assistant

Do you get excited about diving deep into data, insights, and research?

Do you aspire to conduct research aimed at improving the lives of vulnerable individuals, children, and families?

Do you like working on collaborative teams to drive social change?

The Team

MEF Associates is a well-established social policy research organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals, children, and families through rigorous research and high-quality technical assistance.

For the last decade, we have worked at all levels of government and with various non-profits focused on bettering policy related to child and family well-being, child care and early education, workforce development, and income security. Our team combines diverse work experiences and expertise to deliver meaningful, data-driven solutions.

The Culture

Our staff come to MEF because of our ability to make a difference through research. Each one of us brings a unique perspective, diversity of approach, and uncompromising commitment to research excellence. We believe that what we do impacts the effectiveness and efficiency of public policy and programs. Through this work, we realize our mission to improve the lives of individuals, children, and families served by these policies and programs. We strive to use inclusive research methods that promote collaboration with the programs and communities with whom we work.

We value a diverse workforce and the benefits that come from research being conducted by individuals with varied backgrounds and life experiences.

As a relatively small firm, we value close collaboration and a supportive work culture. We are committed to the growth and professional development of our staff.

The Opportunity

We have room on our team for a Research Assistant in our Alexandria, Virginia office. This role is hybrid with expectation to come into the office on occasion.

We are accepting applications for individuals who plan to graduate this Spring and can start working in the summer of 2026. Please indicate your availability in your cover letter.

In this role you will contribute to our ongoing work on an array of research, evaluation, and technical assistance projects. The work you do will represent a mix of qualitative and quantitative research on projects dealing with issues such as: employment and training, welfare, food assistance, child welfare, child support enforcement, and early care and education. As a Research Assistant you have a unique opportunity to join a growing business and to work on a wide variety of large-scale policy research and evaluation efforts.

This role reports to an Associate or a Senior Associate.

While projects can be vastly different, the work you do could look something like:

• Conducting literature reviews
• Assisting with field research including the development of protocols, organizing meetings and site visits, note taking, and preparing transcripts and/or summaries
• Contributing to reports, proposals, and presentations
• Manipulating data and assisting in conducting data analysis using MS Excel and/or statistical packages (e.g., Stata, R)
• Assisting with the design and implementation of surveys and focus groups
• Contributing to the company website, marketing, and proposal development
• Other duties as assigned

While our team has varied backgrounds filled with valuable experiences, we look for a consistent set of things that we believe contribute to success. They include:

• BA/BS in a social science or a related field with an exemplary academic record
• Demonstrated excellence in writing and verbal communication
• Effective project management skills and experience with ability to multi-task and manage competing priorities in deadline-focused, team-oriented environment
• Commitment to details and accuracy
• Relationship-driven, effective communicator with strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate with others in a respectful way
• Experience in qualitative or quantitative research and documentation, with preference for public or social policy.

While not requirements, we feel the following skills would be beneficial:

• Fluency in Spanish, written and verbal is preferred. More generally, MEF recognizes the value in hiring individuals who are bi/multilingual, including native speakers, especially given the diversity of populations served by the programs we study.
• Familiarity with supporting research in an academic field (such as a professor or senior researcher)
• Working knowledge of statistical or qualitative software package (e.g., Stata, R, SAS, NVivo, Dedoose)

This role includes work to be performed primarily in an office environment, which can consist of prolonged periods of sitting. It typically includes frequent phone/audio communication and/or video conferencing usage; and extensive computer, keyboard, and mouse use. It requires the ability to travel domestically by airplane on occasion. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

If this sounds like the kind of work you long to do and the kind of team you see yourself in, we invite you to reach out to start the conversation.

Please apply here, which includes space to upload the following required materials: resume, cover letter, academic transcript, and writing sample.

MEF is an equal opportunity employer. Legal work authorization is required.

Compensation and benefits: The salary range for this position is $54k to $65k depending on experience. MEF offers comprehensive benefits.

Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.