Director of Research Opportunity at Accelerate: The National Collaborative for Accelerated Learning | Salary up to $130,000

In education reform, one of the most persistent challenges is not a lack of research—but the gap between what is known and what is actually implemented. Many interventions show promise in controlled studies, yet fail to scale effectively in real school systems. Bridging that gap requires professionals who can move comfortably between rigorous academic research and the operational realities of public education.

A role such as Director of Research and Evaluation at Accelerate: The National Collaborative for Accelerated Learning sits directly at that intersection.

Where Research Meets Real-World Education Systems

At its core, this position is not about producing research in isolation. Instead, it is about managing a portfolio of externally funded studies and ensuring that each one produces reliable, usable, and timely evidence.

This means working with multiple research partners at once—each potentially using different methodologies, timelines, and education contexts. Some studies may involve randomized controlled trials in school districts; others may rely on quasi-experimental designs or implementation science frameworks that examine how and why interventions succeed or fail in practice.

The Director’s role is to ensure that all of this work remains methodologically sound while also aligned with the broader mission: improving student outcomes at scale.

The Shift from Scholar to Research Leader

This role reflects a broader trend in the research and policy world: the increasing demand for “scholar-practitioners.”

Traditional academic careers often reward deep specialization and individual publication output. In contrast, this position demands something different—portfolio thinking.

Rather than focusing on a single study, the Director oversees multiple concurrent projects, each at a different stage of development. Success is measured not only by rigor, but also by coordination, timeliness, and the ability to detect risks early.

Key responsibilities include:

• Reviewing and approving research designs and analysis plans
• Monitoring partner progress against milestones
• Providing substantive feedback on interim and final reports
• Managing relationships with research institutions and funders
• Ensuring consistency and quality across a diverse research portfolio

This requires both technical depth and managerial judgment—knowing when to push for methodological improvement and when to prioritize feasibility or timelines in real-world contexts.

Why Implementation Science Matters

A defining feature of this role is its emphasis on implementation science. In education research, it is not enough to ask whether a program works; it is equally important to understand how, why, and under what conditions it works.

This includes examining:

• Fidelity: Was the intervention delivered as intended?
• Adaptation: How did schools modify it in practice?
• Context: What local factors influenced outcomes?

By integrating these questions into research design and evaluation, organizations like Accelerate: The National Collaborative for Accelerated Learning aim to produce findings that are not just academically valid but operationally useful for states and school districts.

A Role Rooted in Collaboration and Accountability

Unlike purely academic roles, this position is deeply collaborative. The Director serves as the primary point of contact for external research teams and must balance two often competing demands: maintaining strong relationships while enforcing high standards.

That includes:

• Holding partners accountable for deadlines and deliverables
• Identifying risks in research execution early
• Providing constructive but rigorous feedback on methodology
• Coordinating across funders, states, and internal teams

The ability to communicate clearly—especially when translating complex statistical or methodological issues into actionable insights—is essential.

The Bigger Picture: Scaling What Works

The broader mission behind this work is ambitious: improving educational outcomes by scaling evidence-based practices across public education systems.

Organizations like Accelerate operate at the intersection of research, policy, and practice. They do not simply generate evidence—they work to ensure that evidence informs decision-making at the state and district levels.

In this sense, the Director of Research and Evaluation plays a critical role in the ecosystem. The position ensures that high-quality studies are not only completed, but also trusted, usable, and aligned with real-world implementation needs.

A Career for Systems Thinkers

This type of role is best suited for professionals who are comfortable operating across boundaries—between academia and policy, between technical rigor and practical constraints, and between multiple simultaneous projects.

It is not a traditional research position, nor is it purely managerial. Instead, it is a hybrid leadership role that demands:

• Deep methodological expertise (PhD-level training)
• Experience managing research partnerships or grantees
• Strong communication and synthesis skills
• A systems-level view of education reform

Final Reflection

The future of education research is not just about producing better studies—it is about building better systems for using evidence. Roles like this one signal a shift toward integrated leadership, where research quality and implementation success are treated as inseparable goals.

For those prepared to operate at that intersection, the opportunity is both demanding and uniquely impactful.

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