Senior Research Scientist

Senior Research Scientist

Position Information

Position Title: Senior Research Scientist

Position Type: Classified Full Time

Percentage Employee: 100 %

Number of Months Assignment: 12

Starting Date: As soon as possible

Current Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. or 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Days and hours of employment may change depending on District needs. This is a Categorically Funded position. Continuation of this position is contingent upon continued funding.

Salary Range: Range 53

Salary: $9,920.00 – $12,657.64 monthly – Successful candidate will start at step 1 except in cases where District deems appropriate.

FLSA: Non-Exempt

Location: Main Campus

Department: Institutional Effectiveness

Open Date: 11/04/2026

Closing Date: 11/25/2026

About Rio Hondo College: Río Hondo College welcomes and embraces all students in their educational and career pathways. As a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), our College has a student population of 22,000, of which 18,000 are Latinx students. We were the first college in Los Angeles County to provide two years of free tuition to first-time, full-time college students through our Río Promise program. We are proud to acknowledge that many of our students have transferred to high ranked institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, USC and UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, Cal State LA, Cal State Long Beach, and Whittier College to name a few.

Strengths: Our caring and dedicated student-centered staff, faculty, and administrators are devoted to the advancement of educational justice, equity, and opportunity for all our students. Our College's 900 employees, with close to 600 faculty, hold themselves accountable for the academic success of disproportionately impacted student populations. Our entire staff, with unwavering team collaboration, work hard to ensure our students reach their full potential by eliminating gaps in academic outcomes that traditionally hinder students of color.

Río Hondo College is committed to the recruitment of qualified and diverse employees who are dedicated to our students' success. We recognize that diversity in an academic environment fosters cultural awareness, promotes mutual understanding and respect, and provides suitable role models for our students. We are steadfast in our hiring practices and staff development processes which reinforce the goals of equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion. Our practices and processes also support the importance of a workforce that reflects the community and the diverse student population we serve.

Río Hondo College employs approximately 55% tenured track faculty of color; 60% part-time faculty of color; 85% classified staff of color; and 50% administrators of color.

Río Hondo College offers 30 associate degrees that guarantee transfer (ADTs) to Cal State Universities, a bachelor's degree in Automotive Technology, more than 60 certificates, a Pathway to Law School, dual enrollment with K-12 districts, state championship speech & debate team, top-notch athletic teams, student leadership opportunities, travel abroad experiences and more.

In collaboration with the communities in Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, El Monte, South El Monte, Whittier, portions of Norwalk, La Mirada, Downey, La Puente, the City of Industry, Los Nietos and Avocado Heights, Río Hondo College provides an exceptional academic curriculum to meet the unique needs of our region and strengthen our communities.

Basic Function: Under the general direction of an administrator or manager, designs and conducts program evaluations and institutional research projects of considerable scope and complexity; establishes and maintains research procedures meeting the needs of the college consistent with professional standards; organizes and oversees the implementation of research, and data management; collaborates with Information Technology Services (IS) to support the expansion and maintenance of research data warehouse activities; provides expertise in data sources and quality.

Representative Duties:

• Independently leads, plans, designs, coordinates, implements, and disseminates complex research and evaluation studies in support of District's decision making, institutional planning, outcomes assessment, continuous quality improvement, and other activities of institutional effectiveness.
• Designs, develops, and maintains data visualizations; conducts advanced quantitative/qualitative analysis and reporting of data to support ongoing improvement, decision-making, annual planning, and external reporting.
• Leads, plans, designs, implements, maintains, and trains the work of staff on data warehouse and data visualizations to support the district's decision-making, institutional planning, and other activities of institutional effectiveness.
• Identifies, develops, and implements effective and sound survey instruments and other data collection instruments for both required and investigative data trends analysis; evaluates and recommends appropriate sampling methods and techniques; participates in the collection and processing of data; assists college and District staff in accessing student data and performing data analysis.
• Provides technical support, assistance, and training to faculty, staff, administrators, and others concerning data visualization tools, institutional effectiveness, and related data.
• Develops, implements, and documents procedures and policies on data collection, management, analysis, and reporting; prepares end user documentation related to data warehouse and data visualizations.
• Assists administration in evaluating and responding to requests for data, statistical analysis, surveys, or research support from internal and external District resources; works independently with requestors to clarify research needs and optimizes the utility of research results; makes team project recommendations to administration, as appropriate.
• Communicates and disseminates complex research methodology and results in various formats including but not limited to written and oral reports and presentations.
• Disseminates information to the college community about research activities, results, and implications; assists college staff in the effective use of Institutional Effectiveness resources and information.
• Supports the need, outcome, and evaluation aspects of grant development; designs and writes outcomes and evaluation sections of grant proposals and reports, as applicable.
• Conducts and attends workshops, training sessions, and committee meetings as required; may represent management or department as directed.
• Performs a variety of clerical and administrative responsibilities in support of the department's day-to-day activities and/or operations utilizing a variety of communication modalities including but not limited to answers and responds to phone calls, emails, text messages, and chat platforms; opens, screens, and distributes mail and correspondence; photocopies documents and requests duplication services; ensures maintenance and repairs of assigned work areas, facilities, or equipment; enters various requests for services from IT, Facilities, and Maintenance; contacts vendors for equipment service, when needed; follows-up with vendors to ensure satisfactory completion of requests; may perform simple repairs or maintenance to standard office equipment.
• Performs related duties that support the overall objective of the position.

Knowledge and Abilities:

KNOWLEDGE OF: District and college policies, procedures, rules, and regulations related to the area of assignment. California Education Code and Title V as it relates to the area of assignment. Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Federal, state, and local laws, codes, and regulations and District policies and practices pertinent to the area of responsibility. Best practices and procedures on use of various office equipment. Correct English usage, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and vocabulary. Effective communication techniques and interpersonal skills using tact, patience, and courtesy. Professionally accepted principles and practices applicable to research design, methodology development, data analysis and interpretation, and reporting. Methods of quantitative and qualitative research, including data extraction, analysis, reduction, visual display, and reporting techniques. Advanced research design and statistical analysis methods and procedures as well as data reduction and display techniques and their application to research projects, program evaluation, survey research, statistical inference, and significance. Data reduction and display techniques to present ideas and processes clearly to convey technical concepts and results to college stakeholders and leadership. Principles and practices of survey development, design, and dissemination, including use of online survey research platforms. Models and procedures for program evaluation. Advanced skills in data analysis, queries, and visualization techniques and tools including statistical software such as SPSS, Microsoft Excel, Tableau, online survey research platforms, and online planning and outcomes. Advanced project management, data management, and reporting skills. Principles and practices of statistical and administrative report preparation. Principles and practices of lead responsibilities, training, and providing work guidance. Techniques for project planning, design, and management. Issues and current trends in higher education, particularly as they apply to California community colleges. Record-keeping, filing, file sharing, and filing system methods and techniques. Effective communication skills both verbally and in writing. California community college initiatives (e.g., AB705, Guided Pathways, Student Equity, Student Success and Support Program(s), and Student Success Metrics).