Accreditation Research Associate

Note: APA operates on a 37.5-hour work week with one-hour lunch breaks each day. APA sets salaries based on several considerations, including years of relevant experience, level of education, and previous staff and/or governance experience at APA.

The Accreditation Research Associate act as primary resource and point of contact for all accredited programs seeking assistance in completing research database tasks that are required to maintain accreditation. This position supports the Assistant Director for Research to complete the research functions of the Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation (OPCA).

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in psychology or related areas with 3-4 years of experience in quantitative analysis, research design and database management.
• Customer service orientation is required and experience of providing customer service is strongly preferred.
• Experience in data entry and database management is also preferred.
• Experience in higher education or accreditation is highly desirable.

Computer Skills Required (including level of expertise):

• Microsoft Word (basic/intermediate level of expertise)
• Microsoft Excel (intermediate/advanced level of expertise)
• Microsoft PowerPoint (basic/intermediate level of expertise)
• SPSS (basic/intermediate level of expertise)
• Adobe Acrobat (basic/intermediate level of expertise)

Responsibilities:

• Acts as primary resource and point of contact for the 1270+ accredited programs seeking assistance in completing the Annual Report Online and other elements of the database. This position will answer questions raised by programs related to the content of the information that accredited programs are required to submit and will track and analyze all requests from programs and will communicate with the vendor of the portal to troubleshoot issues in the database to respond to program's requests.
• Assists the Assistant Director for Research with evaluation activities. One primary task is the annual review of accredited program compliance with public information disclosure requirements. This activity requires the research associate to perform visual checks to verify that all program's publicly presented program information is accurate. This activity is crucial for the APA CoA's compliance with the national (i.e., ED and CHEA) recognition standards.
• Assists the Assistant Director for Research with conducting ongoing research projects through the collection of data from accredited programs as appropriate for analysis and review by the CoA. This task includes assistance with the preparation of reports and preparation of tables containing needed information; these tasks are completed using standard software packages. It may include the examination of external websites for public data, analysis and interpretation of located data and reporting of results to the commission.
• Works with the operations unit in the OPCA and with 3rd party vendor(s) to maintain and improve the database that holds all data collected from accredited programs. For example, this position works with Operations to manage program director, university officials and program profile changes (pending edits, etc.)
• Serves as a content expert in the development, implementation and evaluation of training programs for users of the Accreditation Data Portal. In addition, the incumbent will lead instructional webinars on data entry and will create and edit instructional tutorials to post on website.
• Assists with pre-meeting preparations; attends the CoA meetings (3-4 weekends per year) in a staff support role which includes taking notes and recording accreditation decisions.
• This position requires the accomplishment of multiple tasks in a short period of time with great attention to detail. The incumbent must maintain an awareness of the confidential nature of accreditation information and program data to avoid putting the office at legal risk.
• Other duties as assigned

About APA:

The American Psychological Association (APA) represents 146,000 psychologists, students, and affiliates, primarily in the U.S. and Canada but also in other countries around the world. APA is a scientific and professional organization with about 500 employees and is categorized as a 501(c)(3) along with its 501(c)(6) companion organization, APA Services, Inc.

Job Location: Remote: APA jobs may be considered for remote work eligibility as defined in APA's Flexible Work Policy and are subject to approval. Remote work employees may not work from the following states or U.S. territories: Alaska, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, U.S. Virgin Islands, Washington, Wyoming.

Application Instructions:

Qualified candidates must apply online through APA's applicant system and attach a resume and cover letter specifying your salary expectations. Applications that are submitted without both documents are considered incomplete and will not be reviewed for consideration. Once your application is submitted, you will receive a confirmation email. Please make sure to check your Spam folder if you do not receive an email from us.

The American Psychological Association is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected categories covered under local law.