Intern

Child Trends is seeking a graduate level research intern to support the Marriage Strengthening Research and Dissemination Center (MAST Center) in research and evaluation on marriage, relationships, and families in the United States to help inform marriage and relationship education (MRE) programs.  
 

Specific duties will include:   

• Creating an Initial Work Plan with the assigned mentor and present that work plan to the MAST Center Steering Committee. Submitting a Progress Report at the mid-point of the program and a Final Report at the end, summarizing the experience and documenting the completion of any specific reports, briefs, or other products proposed in the work plan. Participating in the biweekly Steering Committee calls of the MAST Center as appropriate.   

Possible duties may include:   

• Writing research briefs (e.g. culturally-responsive research and evaluation in the MRE field, reviews on current MRE evaluation evidence, and/or synthesize current federally-funded Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) programs that serve youth).  
• Contributing to the development of webinars, presentations, mentoring/networking activities, etc.  
• Developing content for the MAST Center’s online networking forum (e.g., design discussion prompts on research and evaluation for practitioners and/or emerging scholars).  
• Identifying and reviewing resources to be included in the online resource library for MRE practitioners, evaluators, and researchers.  
• Generating a tool for reviewing MRE resources and MAST Center products for cultural responsiveness.   

Qualifications:   

• Currently enrolled and in good standing in a graduate program as a master’s or PhD student, or a recent graduate of a master’s program (within one year).   
• Interest in the following populations: youth, youth in or aging out of the child welfare system, families who are economically disadvantaged, rural families, and families from underrepresented minority populations.  
• Strong interest in further developing research expertise in one of the Center’s Priority Areas: relationship patterns and trends, MRE program design and implementation, and MRE program effectiveness and evaluation.   
• Quantitative and/or qualitative analytic experience, writing skills, and other relevant experience aligned with the Center’s priority areas.  
• Interest in enhancing cultural responsiveness in research and evaluation.   
• Ability to work independently and the flexibility to handle multiple tasks.  
• Able to report physically or remotely to one of Child Trends’ offices (Bethesda, MD, Waltham, MA, Minneapolis, MN, or Chapel Hill, NC). We are also able to provide a remote internship experience for candidates in some areas (AZ, CA, CT, CO, GA, IL, MI, MT, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OK, PA, TX, or WI).   

Compensation:  

· The selected intern will be paid an hourly rate of $25 (receive up to $4,875 total) for the internship period. We estimate that the average time commitment for program related activities will be approximately one day per week for six months (January through July 2020 with flexible start/end dates). This position does not include benefits.  

· Intern will have opportunity to attend the Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency (RECS) scheduled for May 27-29, 2020 in Washington, DC with members of the MAST Center team. Travel costs will be paid for by the MAST Center.  
 

How to Apply:
Interested applicants are required to submit their applications with the following components by 5:00 PM Eastern on Monday, November 18, 2019. 

1. Letter of interest (four, double-spaced pages max)  

2. Current resume or CV  

3. A letter of recommendation  
Further instructions on what to include within each of these components, as well as FAQs about the program, can be found below:
https://www.childtrends.org/the-marriage-strengthening-research-and-dissemination-center-graduate-internship-program

All components must be combined into one document in order to be uploaded. If you have any issues with the submission process, please email a combined PDF to (recruitment (at) childtrends.org), referencing the “MAST Center Graduate Internship Program” in the subject line. No phone calls please!   

The MAST Center was established in 2018 by a five-year cooperative agreement from the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) within the Administration of Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The MAST Center’s activities are guided by our Steering Committee, a team of national experts in marriage and relationship research and evaluation from Child Trends, Public Strategies, the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University, and OPREO.   

Child Trends is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. Protected veterans and individuals with disability are encouraged to apply.  

Company Description:

Child Trends, founded in 1979, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to improving the lives of children by conducting research and providing science-based information to improve the decisions, programs, and policies that affect children. With annual revenue of $23 million and 192 employees, our clients include federal, state and local government agencies, foundations, and service providers. Our headquarters is located in Bethesda, Maryland, with offices in Minneapolis and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In 2018, we were recognized as a Great Place to Work for Women,Best Workplace in Consulting & Professional Services and Best Small & Medium Workplace.