Director, Applied Behavior Research

Summary:

For more than 150 years, the ASPCA has been on the frontlines to save, transform and protect the lives of millions of animals. The Behavioral Sciences Team (BST) team plays an integral role in the ASPCA's commitment to champion good animal welfare and protect animals from cruelty. We are looking for a Director, Applied Animal Research to work on innovative internal companion animal applied behavior and welfare research projects.

The application for this position will be open until 5pm EST on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.

Who We Are

This role is part of the ASPCA’s Animal Behavior vertical, which includes the Behavioral Sciences Team (BST), the Learning Lab (LL), and the behavior teams at all Shelter and Rehabilitation Operations (SRO) facilities. Working within and across teams, behavior professionals in the vertical share expertise, implement aligned behavior program standards and practices, and help advance the ASPCA’s strategic priorities. In this role, you will have the opportunity to work on innovative internal projects and capacity-build external research efforts that inform best practices for companion animals in shelters across the nation.

What You’ll Do

Working under the supervision of the Senior Director of Applied Behavior Research, the Director of Applied Behavior Research leads the design and development of internal applied behavior and welfare research projects focused on both the ASPCA’s unique cruelty case populations and generalizable behavior interventions and welfare assessments for shelter-housed dogs and cats. In addition to strong research and analytical skills, this position requires an individual with a collaborative work style, project management experience, and the ability to lead committees and project teams in a matrix structure. 

Passion for translating research findings into practical applications is essential, requiring strong data visualization and science communication skills. The Director of Applied Behavior Research supports behavior colleagues across multiple teams as a subject matter expert in applied behavior science and its methodology. The Director oversees the creation and delivery of new learning opportunities to elevate subject matter literacy across behavior teams and broader audiences within the ASPCA.

The ideal candidate will be an experienced research professional with high standards for project quality and critical thinking skills balanced by a collaborative approach, a respect for diverse perspectives and areas of expertise, and an appetite for working in cross-functional project teams. Collaborative committee work to support internal initiatives will be required, as will travel for conferences, research studies, and to support forensic behavior and field operations. 

The Director, Applied Behavior Research reports to the Senior Director, Applied Behavior Research and has no direct reports.

When and Where You’ll Work

• This remote-based position (which requires travel, as described below) is open to all candidates based within the United States.

• The regular schedule for this position is Monday through Friday. Ability to work a flexible schedule, including weekends, evenings and holidays based on program needs is required. Schedules are subject to change as needed by the ASPCA.

• Ability and willingness to travel up to 15% of the time, sometimes with short notice, required

What You’ll Get

Compensation

The target hiring range is based on where the employee works, which for remote roles is the employee’s primary location of residence, and its respective cost of labor.  You can view which zone applies to you based on your location (aspca.app.box.com/v/aspcazonetable). For questions regarding locations not on the list, please send an email to Careers@aspca.orgmailto:Careers@aspca.org for more information.

Starting pay for the successful applicant will depend on a variety of factors, including but not limited to education, training, experience, location, business needs, internal equity, market demands or budgeted amount for the role. The target hiring range is for new hire offers only, and compensation may increase beyond the maximum hiring range based on performance over time. The maximum of the hiring range is reserved for candidates with the highest qualifications and relevant experience. The expected hiring salary ranges for this role are set forth below and may be modified in the future.  

• Zone 1: $ 105,000 - $ 112,000 annually 

• Zone 2: $ 116,000 - $ 123,000 annually 

• Zone 3: $ 128,000 - $ 136,000 annually 

Benefits

At the ASPCA, you don’t have to choose between your passion and making a living. Our comprehensive benefits package helps ensure you can live a rewarding life at work and at home. Our benefits include, but are not limited to:

• Affordable health coverage, including medical, employer-paid dental and optional vision coverage.

• Flexible time off that includes vacation time, paid personal time, sick time, bereavement time, paid parental leave, and 10 company paid holidays that allows you even more flexibility to observe the days that mean the most to you.

• Competitive financial incentives and retirement savings, including a 401(k) plan with generous employer contributions — we match dollar-for-dollar up to 4% and provide an additional 4% contribution toward your future each year.

• Robust professional development opportunities, including classes, on-the-job training, coaching and mentorship with industry-leading peers, internal mobility, opportunities to support in the field and so much more.

Check our website for more information on our benefits offerings.

Responsibilities:

Responsibility buckets are listed in general order of importance. They include, but are not limited to:

Design and Conduct Collaborative Research

• Creatively use data sources and interdisciplinary approaches

• Strategically identify and prioritize research questions with the greatest potential impact on organizational priorities and the animal welfare field

• Effectively lead research projects with minimal supervision to answer priority research questions that drive the ASPCA’s and animal welfare field’s work forward

• Scope projects appropriately, help define roles and responsibilities, and outline timelines, communicating effectively across multiple stakeholder groups

• Complete specific components of individual research projects by applying individual expertise

• Recognize when the work needs to change in scope or if the overarching goal of the work needs to be revisited, and generate appropriate solutions

• Identify key audiences for uptake of the research

• Support the development of an internal and external communication plan for the completed work

• Lead or participate in efforts to advance internal and external research: e.g., ASPCA-sponsored research grant programs, annual ASPCA Research Forum

• Manage consultants and temporary employees as needed

• Mentor interns and junior colleagues in research

• Communicate research to diverse audiences through journal articles, reports and presentations

Provide Expertise and Share Knowledge

• Maintain and develop subject matter expertise relevant to the work of the ASPCA to provide input on area of expertise across the organization

• Translate subject matter expertise into meaningful insights to help inform the ASPCA’s strategic and programmatic work

• Stay abreast of the animal welfare field in programmatic focus areas to share new research and drive change 
• Build and maintain partnerships with organizations, universities, and other institutions working at the nexus of animal welfare and behavioral biology

Strategic Thought Partnership

• Quickly and creatively develop effective relationships with colleagues across the organization

• Assist with identifying and prioritizing the most impactful work using subject matter expertise

• Help teams across the ASPCA identify research that would drive programmatic focus areas’ goals

• Collaborate across the organization by elevating data-driven insights that support the creation and successful execution of the ASPCA’s strategy

Education and Work Experience

• PhD in animal behavior field (such as applied ethology, behavioral ecology, animal welfare science) required 

• Minimum of 6 years of professional research experience (post-PhD) required

• Experience writing peer-reviewed scientific publications required

• Leadership experience required, such as managing, mentoring, coaching and/or training others

• Applied companion animal behavior experience preferred

• Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB) or ability to become certified within one year of hire

• Dr. Sophia Yin’s Low Stress Handling ™ certification required or obtained within 6 months of hire

Qualifications:

• Ability to apply discipline-specific tools and knowledge to novel questions in animal welfare required

• Ability to translate research to applied audiences, e.g. shelter staff, executive leadership, required, formal experience with science communication strongly preferred.

• Ability to guide teams, without direct reporting authority, to drive outcomes and achieve shared objectives.

• Knowledge of various forms of research required

• Knowledge of various experimental designs and threats to validity (internal and external) addressed by each required

• Demonstrated ability to identify data sources for research and to assess the quality of these data sources required

• Strong statistical analysis skills, including generalized linear mixed models, required

• Proficiency with statistical software (R, Python, SPSS, Stata, etc.) and Excel required;  Data summary and visualization skills required

• Strong project oversight and management abilities required, including excellent organizational, interpersonal, and communication (verbal, written, and typing) skills 

• Must be a self-guided, creative, highly organized, and motivated individual requiring minimal supervision

• Must have strong ability to rapidly assimilate new information

• Must be able to quickly, calmly, and efficiently adjust to changes in programmatic, strategic, and/or research direction

• Must be nimble and able to rapidly re-prioritize own work

• Must be able to work confidently and independently in a remote office 

• Ability to adhere strictly to protocols and maintain confidentiality of sensitive information is required

• Capable of standing for 8 or more hours on concrete floors and bending, crouching, kneeling and moving freely to perform responsibilities that include handling animals, and/or carrying and lifting research equipment.

• Ability to exemplify ASPCA’s core values and behavioral competencies.

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