Job Opportunities
Title of the Position: Postgraduate Associate
Department and School: The Broad Center at the Yale School of Management
Anticipated Appointment Dates: July 1, 2025-June 30, 2026
Email/Website: broadcenter@yale.edu; https://som.yale.edu/centers/the-broad-center
Pre-Doctoral Research Assistant
Professor Jayanti Owens, Yale University
Introduction of School/Department:
The Broad Center at Yale SOM fosters the ideas, policies, and leadership to help all students in K-12 public schools – particularly those from underserved communities – to learn and thrive.
We work in three core ways to cultivate U.S. public school systems that drive excellence and equity:
• Preparing and supporting transformational leaders from diverse backgrounds;
• Developing essential research on effective public education systems and school system leadership, focusing on the dynamics of school systems as complex organizations; and
• Informing education policy conversations to advance decisions that support great leaders and the students, families, and communities they serve.
Our work is bolstered and enriched by the Broad network, a nationwide community of more than 900 dedicated and diverse leaders who are alumni of Broad programs.
Overview of the Position:
Jayanti Owens and colleagues at The Broad Center at Yale SOM are seeking to recruit full-time postgraduate associates (research assistants), starting summer 2025. The research assistant will work and receive mentorship from faculty on topics in education research and policy. They will be engaged in a variety of stages of the research process, ranging from conceptual development, data collection and data analysis to writing.
Education:
Pre-doctoral research assistants work for one to two years as full-time research assistants and engage in additional education and training activities, including participating in regular professional development, attending department research seminars, and the option of taking for credit or auditing one course per semester.
Postgraduate associates will receive mentorship from Yale SOM faculty on preparing for their educational goals, including applying to graduate and doctoral programs in the social sciences.
Training:
This is a full-time postgraduate associate position at the predoctoral/post bachelor’s level that also includes the opportunity to receive continued education and on the job training to prepare individuals to apply to PhD programs in the social sciences.
They will be engaged in a variety of stages of the research process, ranging from conceptual development, data collection, and data analysis to writing. Research collaboration with faculty, graduate students, and policymakers at Yale and other institutions will be an important component of the job.
Mentoring:
The postgraduate associate will work and receive mentorship from faculty on topics in the social sciences and education policy.
Location:
All positions are based on-campus, in New Haven, CT and most postgraduate associates work in common workspaces to foster camaraderie and peer learning. The postgraduate associate will have access to desk/workspace in one of the Yale School of Management buildings on Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT.
Our program is strengthened when a diversity of backgrounds, identities, and viewpoints are represented. We encourage women and members of other underrepresented groups in sociology, management, and public policy, to apply.
Start Date & Term:
The position begins in July 2025, although other start dates may be negotiable. The position lasts for one year with an option to renew for a second year by mutual agreement by the faculty supervisor(s) and the fellow. Salary will be competitive with similar programs at other institutions, and the position includes standard benefits such as health insurance. The University will sponsor visas for accepted international candidates.
Qualifications:
The ideal candidate will have:
• A strong quantitative background,
• Strong programming skills
• Strong writing skills
• The ability to work independently and solve problems
• Strong communication and organization skills
• Attention to detail
• A long-term interest in pursuing research in sociology, management, or public policy.
A background in education or the quantitative social sciences is a plus but not required; candidates with strong technical, writing, and communications skills who are interested in learning more are encouraged to apply. Successful applicants typically have Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees with substantial coursework in sociology, psychology, public policy, political science, education, economics, statistics, math, and/or computer science. Familiarity with education research is a plus but not required; candidates with strong technical, writing, and communication skills who are interested in learning more are encouraged to apply. Past postgraduate associates have gone on to enroll in top PhD programs. The minimum qualification for a postgraduate position at Yale is a bachelor’s degree. Candidates for this role should have a maximum of 1-2 years of full-time work experience post-graduation.
Process to Apply:
To apply, please email broadcenter@yale.edu a PDF document titled with your “lastname_firstname” and containing the following material:
• Subject line: ‘Predoc Application – Jayanti Owens’
• A cover letter describing your interest, dates available, your familiarity with programing languages, your prior research experience, and the names, email addresses, and phone numbers for 2-3 references;
• A current CV (optional: include a link to a code repository);
• A transcript;
• A writing sample;
• A code sample (preferably Stata, R, or Python)
Application review will begin immediately and continue on a rolling basis thereafter until the position is filled. Short-listed applicants will be asked to complete a data or technical exercise and may be invited to interview.
Yale University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer. Yale values diversity among its students, staff, and faculty and strongly welcomes applications from women, persons with disabilities, protected veterans, and underrepresented minorities.