Research Interns, Phila. Youth Network

Posted by Philadelphia Youth Network on August 30, 2022

Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) is recruiting for Research Interns to join the Education and Workforce Policy & Strategy (EWPS) team in Fall 2022. The position is available concurrent with the fall semester and is designed to fulfill research or practicum requirements for a degree or specific course. A typical internship will be from September through December for 15 hours per week, though time frame and hours are negotiable based on school schedule and course requirements.

In this role, you will assist the EWPS team in carrying out its research agenda to better understand and improve program quality, equity, and efficacy. The results of these projects will have a direct impact on PYN’s work in improving the lives of young people in Philadelphia through relevant, high-quality early work experiences. Here are some examples of research projects that we have planned for the fall semester:

1. “Placed-Not-Paid Project:” In this project, we are surveying and conducting follow-up interviews with young people who signed up to participate in a WorkReady program but did not complete the program to better understand how we can continue to make WorkReady more equitable and accessible.
2. “Opportunity Youth Focus Groups:” In this project, we are convening focus groups to talk to young adults, aged 16-24, to learn about their experience in the E3 program. Their input will help us to design a more effective program.
3. “E3 Procurement Project:” This project involves collecting and integrating data from a variety of sources in order to supply an evidence base for program design.

Research activities will depend on your experience, learning goals, and needs of the department. Some examples of the activities that these projects involve will include:

• Research design: Contributing to project design; editing protocols; developing and refining plan for data collection.
• Data collection: Administering phone interviews; participating in focus groups; collecting survey data; literature reviews.
• Data collation and management: Transcription of interviews; inputting data into Excel or other relevant software to prepare for quantitative and qualitative analysis.
• Data analysis: Performing statistical test; coding data; identifying trends among comparison groups.
• Data reporting: Contributing to the written record of findings for use by internal and external stakeholders.

Position requirements:

• Ability to work effectively individually and as part of a team
• Ability to handle multiple simultaneous tasks or projects
• Organized and detail oriented
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Solid working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook
• Successful completion of background checks (PA State Criminal, PA Department of Public Welfare Child Abuse, U.S. Department of Justice National Sex Offender Registry, and F.B.I. Fingerprinting)

Interested candidates should email a cover letter and resume to jobopps@pyninc.org. Please use the subject “EWPS Intern” as the subject line.

Please note, this role will be hybrid. Depending on the days/hours worked, applicants may be asked to come into the office for some of their hours to work on collaborative tasks.