Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Volunteer Research Consultant

🎯 Role Definition

The Volunteer Research Consultant is a mission-focused research professional who partners with program teams and stakeholders to design and implement rigorous research and evaluation activities. This role is responsible for developing study protocols, conducting literature reviews, executing quantitative and qualitative analyses, ensuring ethical compliance, and translating results into clear, actionable recommendations, policy briefs, and stakeholder presentations. The consultant will work on a volunteer basis, providing specialist expertise to strengthen evidence generation, support grant proposals, and help organizations make data-driven decisions.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Research Assistant or Research Intern with hands-on methodological exposure
Graduate student (Master’s or PhD candidate) in public policy, social sciences, public health, economics, or related fields
Data analyst or monitoring & evaluation (M&E) practitioner transitioning to research-focused work

Advancement To:

Senior Research Consultant or Research Manager within nonprofit, academic, or consultancy settings
Program Evaluation Lead or Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Director
Policy Analyst, Research Director, or Academic Researcher (Adjunct/Faculty roles)

Lateral Moves:

Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist
Data Scientist or Data Visualization Specialist
Research Communications / Knowledge Translation Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Design, plan, and lead mixed-methods research studies and program evaluations that align with organizational goals, including defining research questions, selecting appropriate methodologies, and developing robust sampling strategies.
Conduct comprehensive literature reviews and systematic evidence syntheses to inform study design, identify gaps in knowledge, and contextualize findings for stakeholders and funders.
Draft detailed research protocols, study instruments, consent forms, and standard operating procedures that ensure scientific rigor and reproducibility.
Develop survey instruments, interview guides, and focus group protocols; pilot test and refine tools to maximize validity, reliability, and cultural relevance.
Implement quantitative analyses using statistical software (e.g., R, Stata, SPSS, Python), including descriptive statistics, regression modeling, causal inference techniques, and longitudinal analysis as required by study designs.
Conduct qualitative data collection and rigorous analysis using thematic analysis, grounded theory, framework analysis, or narrative methods with support from tools like NVivo or Atlas.ti.
Prepare and submit ethical review applications and supporting documents to Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) or ethics committees; manage amendments and reporting requirements to maintain compliance.
Clean, manage, and document datasets using reproducible workflows, version control (e.g., Git), and data dictionaries to ensure data integrity and facilitate collaborative analysis.
Design and produce high-quality visualizations and interactive dashboards (Tableau, Power BI, ggplot2) that translate complex results into intuitive insights for program teams and external audiences.
Synthesize findings into clear, evidence-based reports, executive summaries, and policy briefs tailored to funders, government partners, and community stakeholders.
Present research findings to diverse audiences through webinars, workshops, conferences, and stakeholder meetings, adapting messaging for technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Provide technical input to grant proposals and funding applications, including designing evaluation components, specifying indicators, and drafting methods and budget narratives.
Support program teams in developing logic models, theory of change frameworks, and indicator frameworks that link program activities to intended outcomes and impact.
Conduct data quality assessments and implement quality assurance procedures, including validation checks, inter-coder reliability assessments in qualitative coding, and missing data strategies.
Mentor and train staff, interns, or community-based data collectors in data collection protocols, ethical research conduct, and basic analytical methods to build local capacity.
Coordinate and manage fieldwork operations, including participant recruitment strategies, informed consent procedures, scheduling, and logistics for interviews and surveys.
Collaborate across cross-functional teams (programs, policy, communications, IT) to translate research needs into technical requirements and actionable deliverables.
Translate research evidence into practical recommendations and implementation guidance to inform program adaptations, policy development, and continuous improvement.
Contribute to peer-reviewed manuscripts, organizational white papers, and public-facing content, supporting drafting, editing, and submission processes.
Develop dissemination strategies to maximize research uptake, including stakeholder engagement plans, media briefs, policy dialogues, and open-access data sharing when appropriate.
Provide ad-hoc analytic support for monitoring dashboards, rapid evaluations, and short-turnaround analyses to inform decision-making during program cycles.
Ensure data governance and confidentiality best practices, including secure storage, anonymization/pseudonymization protocols, and compliance with data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR).
Support budget tracking and resource allocation for research activities, assisting project leads in making fiscally responsible methodological choices.
Facilitate partnerships with external research institutions, academic collaborators, and community organizations to enhance study design, recruitment, and knowledge exchange.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Assist in developing templates, SOPs, and knowledge management artifacts to streamline future research efforts.
Help coordinate stakeholder advisory groups or community consultative processes to ensure research is contextually grounded and ethically conducted.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Advanced quantitative analysis (regression, multilevel modeling, causal inference techniques).
Qualitative research skills (interviewing, focus groups, coding, thematic framework development).
Proficiency in statistical and data tools: R, Python (pandas, statsmodels), Stata, or SPSS.
Experience with qualitative analysis software: NVivo, Atlas.ti, or Dedoose.
Survey design and sampling methodologies (probability and non-probability sampling, stratification).
Data management best practices: cleaning, merging, creating data dictionaries, and reproducible analysis workflows.
Data visualization and dashboarding: Tableau, Power BI, ggplot2, or equivalent.
Research ethics and IRB submission experience; familiarity with consent processes and participant protection.
Program evaluation frameworks: theory of change, logic models, outcome mapping, and indicator measurement.
Grant writing and proposal development experience with measurable evaluation components.
Experience with mixed-methods integration and triangulation strategies.
Familiarity with data protection and privacy regulations (GDPR, HIPAA basics where relevant).
Ability to produce publication-ready documents: technical reports, policy briefs, and peer-reviewed manuscripts.
Basic project management tools and methodologies: MS Project, Jira, Asana, or equivalent.

Soft Skills

Strong written communication and scientific writing tailored to technical and non-technical audiences.
Effective verbal presentation and facilitation skills for stakeholder workshops and dissemination events.
Critical thinking and problem-solving with attention to methodological rigor and bias mitigation.
Collaborative mindset and ability to work across multidisciplinary teams and remote contributors.
Time management and the capability to prioritize multiple deliverables in volunteer or hybrid schedules.
Cultural sensitivity and community engagement skills to conduct inclusive and respectful research.
Adaptability to changing project needs and constraints, especially within resource-limited environments.
Mentoring and capacity-building skills to transfer knowledge to staff and local partners.
High ethical standards, integrity, and respect for participant confidentiality and data stewardship.
Detail-oriented with a focus on data quality, documentation, and reproducibility.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, public health, statistics, economics, public policy, international development, or related field.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree or PhD in a relevant discipline (e.g., epidemiology, social science research methods, public policy, biostatistics, economics).

Relevant Fields of Study:

Public Health
Social Sciences (Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science)
Economics
Statistics, Data Science, or Biostatistics
Public Policy, International Development, Monitoring & Evaluation

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

1–5 years of relevant research, evaluation, or data analysis experience (volunteer or paid), with demonstrable examples of study design, data analysis, or published outputs.

Preferred:

3–7+ years of progressively responsible experience in applied research, program evaluation, or consulting for nonprofit, academic, or government contexts, including IRB submissions and grant-supported projects.