Lead Research Scientist

Job Title: Lead Research Scientist

Department: Research and Evaluation

Reports to: Assistant Vice President, Research and Evaluation/Human Protections Administrator   

Location: Remote

Schedule: Full-time, 8am - 4pm EST Monday - Friday

Salary Range: $92,800.00 - $138,350.00

Formerly the Mental Health Association of New York City (MHA-NYC), Vibrant Emotional Health’s groundbreaking solutions have delivered high quality services and support, when, where and how people need it for over 50 years. Through our state-of-the-art technology-enabled services, community wellness programs, and advocacy and education work, we are building a society in which emotional wellness can be a reality for everyone.

Position Overview

Under the supervision of the AVP of Research and Evaluation, the Lead Research Scientist provides scientific leadership and methodological guidance for a high-impact research and evaluation portfolio supporting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and other Vibrant research and evaluation activities as applicable. This role leads analytic planning and interpretation of 988 Lifeline data for the Research and Evaluation Department, oversees literature review activities, provides methodological guidance for evaluation and survey work, and serves as the scientific lead for SAMHSA cross-site evaluation participation. The Lead Research Scientist supervises research scientists, mentors Research and Evaluation staff interested in growing their research and evaluation expertise and collaborates with Research and Evaluation and Vibrant colleagues on research products, conference abstracts, presentations, and dissemination materials. This role also partners with the Director of Research Operations and Compliance to ensure scientific findings are supported by appropriate operational coordination, research governance processes, and quarterly Research Translation Meetings that help translate research and evaluation findings into actionable insights, emerging or refined best practices, and continuous quality improvement opportunities across the 988 Lifeline network.

Duties/Responsibilities

• Lead analytic planning, interpretation, and synthesis of 988 Lifeline data to support research, evaluation, and research to practice translation as appropriate.
• Provide methodological guidance for evaluation studies, survey design, analytic plans, sampling approaches, measurement strategies, and interpretation of findings.
• Oversee evidence synthesis, literature review activities, research summaries, and related products that inform 988 Lifeline research and evaluation priorities.
• Serve as the scientific lead for SAMHSA cross-site evaluation participation, including coordination of analytic interpretation, scientific input, and internal review of cross-site evaluation materials.
• Supervise and mentor Research Scientists and provide research and evaluation guidance to R&E operations and compliance staff seeking to strengthen analytic, evaluation, or dissemination expertise.
• Collaborate on and review research products, including analytic outputs, conference abstracts, presentations, manuscripts, reports, briefs, and other dissemination materials, to ensure clarity, methodological soundness, transparent limitations, and accurate interpretation.
• Partner with the Director of Research Operations and Compliance to ensure quarterly Research Translation Meetings are supported by appropriate scientific content, evidence materials, operational coordination, and follow-up documentation.
• Support continuous improvement in research transparency, analytic documentation, reproducibility, and ethical scientific practice across assigned research and evaluation activities.

Required Skills/Abilities

• Strong expertise in research design, evaluation methods, analytic planning, statistical interpretation, and scientific communication.
• Experience working with complex datasets, including datasets with high levels of missingness, data quality limitations, or operational constraints.
• Proficiency in RStudio and applied quantitative analysis; ability to support or guide analytic workflows, documentation, and interpretation.
• Ability to critically evaluate theories, methods, analytic assumptions, and evidence quality, and contribute to theoretical or conceptual development.
• Familiarity with philosophical foundations of research methods, open science practices, research transparency, and questionable research practices.
• Strong written communication skills, including the ability to prepare clear reports, manuscripts, abstracts, presentations, analytic summaries, and interpretation memos.
• Ability to convey complex research findings to diverse audiences through remote communication tools, data storytelling, and practical recommendations.
• Strong supervisory, mentoring, organizational, and time-management skills, including the ability to manage multiple projects in a fully remote environment with minimal supervision.
• Ability to work effectively in a remote environment using asynchronous communication and collaboration tools.

Decision Making

• Identifies methodological, analytic, measurement, data quality, interpretation, or dissemination issues that may affect assigned research and evaluation activities.
• Determines appropriate analytic approaches, evidence synthesis strategies, interpretation frameworks, and documentation needs for assigned projects, subject to AVP guidance.
• Reviews analytic plans, survey approaches, literature review methods, and dissemination materials to identify strengths, limitations, risks, and recommended refinements.
• Recommends analytic, methodological, or interpretive changes to improve rigor, transparency, validity, reliability, and usefulness of research and evaluation products.
• Determines when data limitations, missingness, measurement concerns, or operational context require additional caveats, sensitivity analyses, revised interpretation, or escalation.
• Provides scientific recommendations to the AVP of Research and Evaluation, research scientists, and cross-functional partners regarding analytic findings and evaluation implications.
• Escalates complex, high-risk, unclear, or precedent-setting scientific, methodological, analytic, or interpretation issues to the AVP of Research and Evaluation.

Scope of Responsibility/Accountability

• Responsible for scientific leadership, analytic interpretation, and methodological guidance across the broader Research and Evaluation portfolio, including assigned 988 Lifeline research and evaluation activities.
• Accountable for the quality, clarity, rigor, and appropriate interpretation of assigned analytic plans, literature reviews, psychometric evaluations of survey instruments, and research products.
• Supervises two Research Scientists and supports their development in analytic planning, research design, interpretation, dissemination, and scientific communication.
• Serves as the scientific lead for SAMHSA cross-site evaluation participation and supports alignment between cross-site evaluation work and internal research and evaluation priorities.
• Accountable for the scientific content contributed to quarterly Research Translation Meetings, in coordination with the Director of Research Operations and Compliance.
• Supports consistent use of transparent, ethical, and methodologically sound research practices that align with SAMHSA expectations, cross-site evaluation activities, and internal research and evaluation priorities.
• Performance is reviewed by the AVP of Research and Evaluation and other leaders as applicable.

Managing/Directing Work

• Manages assigned scientific, analytic, literature review, survey, and dissemination tasks with significant independence.
• Supervises, coaches, and mentors Research Scientists, including support for work planning, analytic interpretation, project execution, and professional development.
• Organizes analytic priorities, review timelines, literature review activities, dissemination tasks, and assigned deliverables to support timely completion of research and evaluation work.
• Reviews staff-prepared analytic outputs, literature review materials, abstracts, presentations, reports, and research products for accuracy, clarity, rigor, and appropriate interpretation.
• Coordinates with R&E leadership and staff, Data Governance, and other internal partners to support aligned research and evaluation work.
• Provides constructive feedback to staff and collaborators on analytic plans, interpretation of results, methods sections, limitations, and dissemination materials.
• Participates in planning and implementing improvements to analytic documentation, literature review processes, research translation workflows, and research transparency practices.
• Maintains work plans and communicates status updates, risks, limitations, and potential roadblocks to the AVP of Research and Evaluation.

Job Knowledge

• Advanced knowledge of research design, evaluation methods, quantitative analysis, survey methods, evidence synthesis, literature review methods, and scientific interpretation.
• Knowledge of statistical analysis, psychometric assessment, missing data considerations, data quality issues, and methodological limitations in applied research settings.
• Understanding of 988 Lifeline operations and how network-level quality improvement data, center-level evaluation pilots, and research translation processes can inform emerging or refined best practices.
• Knowledge of ethical research practices, research transparency, open science principles, questionable research practices, and responsible interpretation of findings.
• Familiarity with IRB processes, 45 CFR 46, the Belmont Report, and the Declaration of Helsinki as they relate to research design, implementation, and dissemination.
• Ability to translate complex analytic, methodological, and theoretical concepts into clear findings, limitations, recommendations, and dissemination products.
• Ability to guide staff and collaborators in strengthening research rigor, analytic reasoning, scientific writing, and interpretation of findings.
• Understanding of how network-level quality improvement data, evaluation pilots, and research translation processes can inform emerging or refined best practices.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral-level research qualifications in Psychology, Sociology, Public Health, Health Services Research, or a related field required.
• Minimum of five years of relevant experience designing, conducting, analyzing, interpreting, or disseminating research or evaluation studies.
• Experience supervising, mentoring, or providing scientific guidance to research staff, analysts, students, or project teams.
• Experience participating in grant-funded research projects as a Principal Investigator, Co-Investigator, consultant, senior researcher, evaluator, or comparable scientific contributor.
• Experience submitting research materials to an IRB, navigating IRB processes, and applying research ethics standards to study design and dissemination.
• Strong understanding of 45 CFR 46, the Belmont Report, and the Declaration of Helsinki.
• Minimum of two first-authored peer-reviewed publications or equivalent scholarly work demonstrating research skills and contributions to a field.
• Proficiency in RStudio required; experience or comfort with Tableau, SQL, or similar data tools preferred where applicable to assigned work.
• Proficient use of Microsoft Office Suite and remote collaboration tools needed to manage research, analysis, writing, and dissemination activities.

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position 50% of the time.
• Will constantly operate a computer and other office productivity machinery, such as a calculator, copy machine, and computer printer.
• Will frequently communicate over video calls with internal and external stakeholders to provide status updates, identify potential roadblocks, and sup

We determine base pay through a comprehensive review of skills, experience, education, certifications, geographic location, and other relevant factors. The range listed reflects the compensation parameters for the role and does not represent the full compensation package. A complete overview of compensation and benefits will be provided by the Talent Acquisition team during the hiring process.

Full time employees will be eligible for excellent comprehensive benefits, including medical, dental, vision, supplemental income insurance, employer paid disability insurance, employer paid life insurance, pre-tax FSA for medical and dependent care, and 401K available.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they are able to perform every task in the job description. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may be one who comes from a less traditional background. Vibrant will consider any equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education and experience to meet minimum qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.

Vibrant Emotional Health is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants are considered for positions without regard to veteran status, uniformed service member status, race, creed, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, citizenship status, national origin, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, caregiver status or any other category protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

Please be aware that fictitious job openings, consulting engagements, solicitations, or employment offers may be circulated on the Internet in an attempt to obtain privileged information, or to induce you to pay a fee for services related to recruitment or training. Vibrant does NOT charge any application, processing, or training fee at any stage of the recruitment or hiring process. All genuine job openings will be posted on our careers page and all communications from the Vibrant recruiting team and/or hiring managers will be from an @vibrant.org email address.