Consultant (Education)
A little bit about us
The Decision Lab is an applied research and innovation firm. We use behavioral science & AI to help ambitious organizations create a better future. We do this by working with some of the largest organizations in the world, carrying out research in priority areas, and running one of the largest publications in applied behavioral science. In the past, we have helped organizations such as the Gates Foundation, Capital One, the World Bank, and many Fortune 500s solve some of their thorniest problems using scientific thinking.
Everything we do at TDL is guided by SPICE: Socially conscious, Pragmatic, Inventive, Catalytic, and Evidence-based.
Why this role is important for TDL
We started The Decision Lab because we saw a fundamental gap between behavioral science theory and application. The Consultant role is at the front line of bridging this gap. This means that we look for bright, capable and curious candidates with a strong grasp of behavioral science concepts (from the point of view of behavioral economics, psychology, neuroscience, sociology, etc.) who have a thirst for translating evidence (be it desk research, experiments or analytics) into practical and valuable solutions and content for private clients or public consumption.
Why this role is great for you
The Decision Lab is a place where you can learn to use evidence-based approaches to solve diverse & complex challenges. You will work alongside intelligent & freethinking colleagues who lead with optimism, pragmatism and empathy. Rather than reusing the same behavior change frameworks, TDL develops custom solutions – this means that in addition to being evidence-based, your role will be fundamentally creative and you will have the opportunity to evolve and express your thinking in the work you do.
Our team members help and empower each other and we have a rich set of tools and frameworks that you will be exposed to, but you will ultimately be responsible for your work – past hires tell us they are surprised to what extent they are able to take intellectual ownership of the projects they work on.
What you'll be working on
Performing desk research, data analysis, and stakeholder interviews to understand and document the project context
Perform research and capacity-building activities focused on improving understanding of the K-12 market (and beyond) for products and services
Finding and synthesizing relevant research
Working with a diversity of stakeholders to situate the project context and identify stakeholder needs
Adapting proprietary and third-party data-gathering instruments to uncover systemic and behavioral challenges in education
Generating hypotheses and validating them through targeted fieldwork
Analyzing and synthesizing qualitative and quantitative findings to answer core questions
Prioritizing findings and distilling key insights by collaborating with other consultants and directors to produce client-facing deliverables
Producing reports that highlight key insights in user-friendly ways
Guiding junior team members, including associates, to support the above activities
What are we looking for
We are looking for a candidate with professional experience in and knowledge of the education sector in addition to experience working as a consultant or researcher. Key attributes of the ideal candidate include:
Experience: 2+ years experience in a role in either the for-profit or nonprofit sector working on issues related to education and equity, preferably in the U.S. K-12 education sector. The ideal candidate will have worked on any or all of the above: system-level education issues, K12 market dynamics, and capacity building with actors in the education system.
Analytic Rigor: You are committed to using rigorous testing to decide what the right course of action is rather than relying on intuition; a good grasp of qualitative and quantitative methods, experimental design, and statistics is a plus, including awareness of the considerations of scaling interventions in education contexts.
Business Sense: You are a holistic, strategic thinker who constantly connects the dots between ideas, problems, organizations, and how ethical & sustained impact can be achieved; strong verbal & written skills are a must
Culture: You are an independent thinker comfortable working in an often ambiguous and dynamic environment
About the Role
Type: 6-month contract, with the possibility of extension
Timezone: Eastern Time (ET). You’ll need to be available between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET.
Location: Primarily on-site at our Montreal office, with the option to work remotely on some days
About The Decision Lab
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
The Decision Lab is an equal opportunity employer; applicants are considered for all roles without regard to race, color, religious creed, sex, national origin, citizenship status, age, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, marital, parental, veteran or military status, unfavorable military discharge, or any other status protected by applicable law.
OUR VALUES
As a social enterprise, we have a deep-rooted belief that better decisions make a better world. However, improving decisions is a messy and difficult thing. For this reason, we have laid out a clear set of criteria for what constitutes good work. Our approach is inspired by many of the organizations and individuals we use as role models.
We believe that a good approach to creating social impact is SPICE: Socially conscious, Pragmatic, Inventive, Catalytic and Evidence-based. We use these criteria to evaluate ourselves, our work, the clients we choose to take on and the people we make part of our team. Read more about SPICE below:
Socially conscious
We create positive and fair outcomes for individuals, organizations and societies.
The outcomes that societies want to achieve are constantly being discussed and revised, always a work in progress. They are not defined from the outset or from the outside. For these outcomes to be sustainable, they must integrate societal, environmental and economic dimensions.
Pragmatic
We develop solutions that are practical, effective and attainable.
We are deeply committed to bringing our ideals to life. To do so, we let the problem be the guide for our attention. We are agnostic regarding approaches and dispassionate in our assessment of candidate solutions. This unwavering focus on the problem allows us to employ the full range of tools at our disposal, deploying the right ones for each context.
Inventive
We develop solutions that are not constrained by the current reality.
When no existing solution is adequate to the problem at hand, we must move from curation to creation. Success in these contexts requires a commitment to exploration and an openness to inspiration.
Catalytic
We develop solutions that spark rapid transition to a new paradigm.
When we reach a tipping point, a small nudge sparks a change from one equilibrium state to another. By starting small and iterating quickly, we manage the change in a deliberate and responsible manner, ensuring that the catalytic reaction is positive when unleashed at scale. We can also help manage the journey to the tipping point, creating pre-conditions for catalytic projects to take off.
Evidence-based
We develop solutions that use evidence as a compass.
We are deeply committed to using evidence to guide our actions. We build evidence in-house through robust experimentation, and integrate our findings into a wider body of knowledge, coming from many people and many places. This cohesive landscape of insights allows us to triangulate the best course of action.