Senior Research Manager

About TalkingPoints

TalkingPoints is an award-winning education technology nonprofit on a mission to unlock every student’s potential by activating one of the most underutilized forces in education - families. We believe that when families and schools work together, students thrive - and we’re building the tools to make that partnership possible for every family.

Our platform helps schools reach and engage every family - including those historically underserved - through accessible, two-way communication in 150+ languages, along with data, insights, and supports that strengthen relationships and drive student success.

Today, millions of educators and families are using TalkingPoints in their classrooms, schools, and districts across the U.S. to build stronger partnerships and improve outcomes for students. Our work is grounded in research and has been shown to meaningfully impact attendance, learning, and more.

We partner with leading school districts nationwide and are supported by a strong community of philanthropic and strategic partners, including major foundations, technology leaders, and education organizations.

TalkingPoints is at an exciting stage of growth and impact. As we continue to expand our reach and deepen our impact, we’re looking for passionate, mission-driven team members who want to help schools and families succeed - together. Learn more at www.talkingpts.org.

The Opportunity

The Senior Research Manager (SRM) is a "player/coach" who both leads and does the research. Reporting to the Director of Research, the SRM is a key thought partner in shaping research priorities and an important bridge between the research team and the broader organization — managing team systems and operations, providing project leadership across initiatives, and ensuring the research function runs efficiently and strategically.

Under the direction of the Research Director, the SRM manages relationships with external district and research partners, serving as the day-to-day point of contact and ensuring smooth execution of joint initiatives. Internally, they keep work on track, coordinate across teams, and ensure research insights inform key stakeholders across philanthropy, sales, product, marketing, and partner success.

At the same time, this is not a purely managerial role. The SRM is expected to own complex research projects and produce rigorous, high-quality work themselves. They bring a strong command of mixed methods research design and the judgment to match the method to the moment — knowing when a rapid, iterative study is the right call and when a question warrants a more rigorous causal design. They are equally comfortable crafting a compelling impact story for a philanthropic funder or district partner and diving into the technical details of a quasi-experimental study. They bring strong data management, analysis, and synthesis skills, working with complex, varied datasets to produce accessible summaries, visualizations, and reports. And they understand how to situate findings within the broader research literature to communicate a complete, credible story of impact to both researcher and non-researcher audiences.

Your Responsibilities

Project, Program, & Resource Management

• Own and execute complex research projects end-to-end — designing studies, analyzing data, synthesizing findings, and driving deliverables to completion.
• Manage the work of team members on shared projects, providing direction, feedback, and support to ensure quality and on-time delivery.
• Build and manage research team operations, implementing processes that enhance efficiency, predictability, and alignment with strategic priorities.
• Lead external research partnerships with district and research partners — serving as the day-to-day point of contact, managing expectations, and ensuring smooth execution of joint initiatives.

Research Strategy & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Serve as a thought partner to the Director of Research, contributing to research strategy, roadmap, and key initiatives.
• Collaborate across philanthropy, sales, product, marketing, and partner success to ensure research insights inform funding priorities, product development, and organizational decision-making.
• Support grant efforts by contributing to LOIs, concept papers, proposals, and reports.
• Foster a collaborative research culture that values rigor, feedback, and continuous improvement.

Data Management & Analysis

• Manage and analyze complex qualitative and quantitative datasets to produce rigorous, actionable insights — ensuring accuracy, relevance, and compliance with data security and confidentiality standards.
• Conduct rigorous data analysis across projects and interpret results accurately for diverse audiences.
• Use the latest AI-based technologies to conduct efficient, high-quality analyses.

Research Translation & Communication

• Translate findings into clear, compelling impact stories — written and visual — tailored to diverse audiences including district partners, funders, and internal teams.
• Lead the development of presentations, reports, and publications — including data visualizations — that make complex findings legible and compelling without sacrificing accuracy or nuance.
• Collaborate with internal teams and external partners to disseminate research findings effectively.

Who you are

Required

• PhD with a strong quantitative or mixed methods focus.
• 8+ years experience conducting applied research in nonprofit, edtech, and/or mission-driven research organizations — candidates whose experience is solely in academic or school/district settings are unlikely to be a strong fit for this role.
• Familiarity with how ed tech products and interventions are studied, evaluated, and improved. 
• Experience working with K-12 school districts.
• Strong command of mixed methods research design, including the judgment to know when pragmatic measurement is the right call and when a question warrants a more rigorous causal design.
• Proven ability to manage complex research projects, timelines, and resources — including directing the work of others — and follow through on commitments without needing to be pushed.
• Strong analytical skills, including the ability to conduct and interpret intermediate to advanced statistical analyses and communicate findings accurately to non-technical audiences.
• Excellent communicator, able to synthesize original findings alongside the broader literature into a complete, evidence-grounded story of impact — and present that story clearly to both researcher and non-researcher audiences.
• Strong relationship-builder with internal and external stakeholders; comfort and experience managing high-stakes external research and district partnerships including Randomized Controlled Trials and quasi-experimental studies.
• Openness to and experience using AI tools to support research workflows.
• Detail-oriented, organized, and deadline-driven.
• Self-motivated and able to take initiative and work independently.

Nice to Haves

• Expertise in family engagement, attendance, early literacy, and/or early numeracy.
• Familiarity with impact valuation frameworks and the ability to contextualize findings in terms of organizational and societal value.

The base range for this role is $115,000 - $130,000. The actual base compensation may vary depending on factors such as experience, location, market conditions, education/training, and skill level, and does not include bonuses, other forms of compensation, or benefits.

Overall fit with our org culture - we look for team members who are:

• User and mission-oriented: we are devoted to our mission with empathy towards the communities we serve.
• All-in together: we go above and beyond the job description, working together as a team.

• Agile & action-oriented: we get things done, knowing that our progress is urgent to our communities.
• Always learning: we are always learning, with a growth mindset, to reach our full potential.
• Boldly courageous: we take risks in order to achieve big things.
• Resourceful: We are creative, solution-oriented, and scrappy.

What We Offer

• An incredible opportunity to build a mission-driven, rapidly growing startup tech nonprofit
• Competitive salary, health insurance, benefits, and flexible time off 
• 401K match
• Annual professional development benefit
• Flexibility to work remotely
• Fun, smart, dynamic, motivated team focused on working together to transform family engagement to serve the families who need it most

How to Apply

Please submit your resume, a brief paragraph describing your interest, and a link to your LinkedIn profile

TalkingPoints is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where all qualified individuals have an equal opportunity to contribute and succeed. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal laws, rules or regulations.