Action Researcher II

The Public Health Institute (PHI) is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting health, well-being, and quality of life for people throughout California, across the nation and around the world. As one of the largest and most comprehensive public health organizations in the nation, we are at the forefront of research and innovations to improve the efficacy of public health statewide, nationally, and internationally.

PHI was distinguished as one of the top 50 "Best Non-Profit Organizations to Work For" by the Non-Profit Times in a national search.

SUMMARY:

Serving in the role as the Action Researcher II, the Community Researcher II supports action research projects driven by the Youth Action Hub (www.youthactionhub.org), a program fiscally sponsored by the Public Health Institute (PHI). The Youth Action Hub (YAH) is a participatory action research hub and network driven by young people with lived expertise of housing instability, co-led by Dr. Heather Mosher, a senior researcher. YAH conducts rigorous research that has direct implications for policies and practice to transform social systems-advancing health, housing, and wealth equity for young people. YAH works closely with organizational and community partners across the state to translate research into solutions.

This role involves supporting and participating on a team of youth/young adult co-researchers in implementing participatory action research to inform and advocate for change in policies and programs that improve the lives of young people who are living in unstable housing situations.

This is a regular part-time, 35-82% FTE position with a schedule of 14-33 hours/week. The starting FTE is to be determined upon hire.

This position is fully remote.

This is a time-limited position that is expected to end on May 29, 2026. At PHI, a time-limited position is defined as regular employment with an expected end date of no more than one year from the beginning of the position. In rare circumstances, time-limited positions may be extended to a maximum total length of up to eighteen (18) months from the start of the employee's original time-limited position.

Full pay range for this position: $21.60 to $29.86 per hour. The hiring range for this position is from $23.00 to $23.00 per hour.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following:

Complete trainings in:

• Advanced research techniques (e.g., research modeling, methods, analysis).
• Protection of human research participants.

Under guidance of the supervisor, contribute to the following:

Support Community Researcher I Staff:

• Lead basic research trainings for Community Researcher I (e.g., intro to participatory action research, writing a research question, creating research model, interviewing basics, qualitative thematic analysis).
• Organize and facilitate some team meetings.
• Lead team-building efforts.
• Contribute to the development of new projects and research efforts.
• Keep a schedule, take notes, and communicate with the team.
• Participate in a weekly team meeting and one-on-one check-ins with team leader.
• Independently research new tools to increase efficiency or possible solutions to existing challenges and present those tools/solutions to the team for discussion.

Research and Data Management:

• Carry out background research and literature reviews on research questions developed with community and youth/young adult partners.
• Conduct research activities (recruitment, interviews, surveys, data analysis) that supports participatory action research projects.
• Collect and analyze data using various research methodologies and tools.
• Coordinate with research participants and ensure adherence to ethical guidelines.
• Adhere to all research protocols to protect research records and confidentiality.

Community Partners:

• Attend partnership meetings, maintain regular communication, facilitating project meetings/calls and distributing notes and plans.
• Engage partners in translating research to action (communications, dissemination, committee membership).

Dissemination and Action:

• Develop communications materials to share project updates, research methods, and other content with partners and public audiences.
• Co-design novel solutions and prototypes to be tested.
• Assist in the preparation of research reports, articles, and presentations.

Perform other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in relevant field (e.g., social sciences, public health) or three years of experience with participatory research led by impacted community members.
• Lived experience and/or expertise relevant to the research area.
• Experience working with diverse groups of young people.

Other Qualifications

• Technical expertise in one or more research methodology.
• Knowledge of the principles of youth participatory action research.
• Ability to work collaboratively on teams, and independently on tasks to meet project goals.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Access to technology for virtual meetings (for audio, video, and review/editing documents).
• Must be able to pass the background checks required for this position.

The Public Health Institute is committed to a policy that provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and to make all employment decisions so as to further this principle of equal employment opportunity. To this end, the PHI will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are offered employment and employees are treated during employment without regard to these characteristics.

For further information regarding Equal Employment Opportunity, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser: http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf

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We're so pleased the Public Health Institute is an organization you would like to work with. Do you have questions about this opportunity? If so, email our recruitment team at Recruitment@phi.org.

Additional information about PHI's benefits and compensation offerings can be found here.

The Public Health Institute is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities and employment for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Recruitment Team at least 48 hours in advance at Recruitment@phi.org.