Research Assistant

Research Assistant

Position: Full-time, Salaried
Location: Hybrid role in Jacksonville, FL, with local travel to program sites
Department: Advocacy

Why You Will Love This Role

Are you energized by making sure every student’s experience is counted? As a member of CAP’s Advocacy & Community Engagement Team, you’ll have the opportunity to gather the data that proves the power of free, high-quality arts education for thousands of Northeast Florida students. Through site visits to collect feedback, your eye for accuracy and your support of teaching artists and fellows, you’ll make sure CAP’s impact is captured completely, correctly and on time.

In this pivotal role, reporting to the Vice President of Advocacy & Community Engagement, you’ll travel to CAP program sites, administer and troubleshoot surveys, maintain CAP’s student database and help program staff, teaching artists and fellows follow CAP’s data collection standards. You’ll work hand in hand with the Data Analyst, who designs the evaluation framework you put into practice, so that together you cover CAP’s full data pipeline. This is not just a data-entry position, it’s an opportunity to advance CAP’s research agenda from the ground up and color outside the lines in how CAP gathers the evidence behind its story.

The position has an anticipated start date of no later than October 30, 2026.

Your Impact

·         Bring Every Voice In: Travel to CAP program sites to administer and collect surveys from students, families, teachers, teaching artists, fellows and partners, coordinating timelines with program staff so surveys go out and come back on schedule. Embrace CAP’s core value to sing out loud by making sure every voice in CAP’s classrooms is heard and recorded.

·         Close the Gaps: Drive survey completion rates across all CAP programs, serving as the on-the-ground point of contact for teaching artists and fellows who administer surveys and working directly with schools, families and program staff to close data gaps as they arise. Embody CAP’s core value to color outside the lines by finding creative, practical solutions when collection doesn’t go as planned.

·         Keep the System Strong: Own day-to-day management of CAP’s student database and its integration with the student enrollment platform, entering and maintaining survey and program data accurately and on schedule, and applying CAP’s data architecture standards so new programs and grants join the existing system rather than creating parallel one-off databases, always championing CAP’s core value to inspire every creative spirit by ensuring every student’s participation and growth is accounted for.

·         Champion Data Quality: Conduct quality control checks on incoming field data, train and support program staff, teaching artists and fellows on data collection protocols tied to CAP’s shared evaluation framework, and flag and resolve inconsistencies in partnership with the Data Analyst, maintaining your creative spark while giving CAP’s research a reliable foundation it can build on.

What You Will Bring

·         Accuracy & Attention to Detail: A dependable, detail-oriented approach to data entry and database management, with a high level of accuracy.

·         Technical Comfort: Experience with databases or data platforms and online survey tools, and proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel.

·         Field Experience: Experience working in schools, youth programs or community-based settings.

·         Training & Support: Experience training or supporting others in following data collection procedures.

·         Ethics & Integrity: A demonstrated commitment to ethics and integrity, especially as it relates to confidential student and family information.

·         Communication Skills: Strong verbal, listening and written communication skills, with the ability to work with students, families, school staff and teaching artists.

·         Organization & Initiative: Superb organizational and time management skills and a positive ‘can-do’ attitude — proactive, flexible and ready to problem-solve both independently and as part of a team.

 
A Day in the Life

·         Collection Check-In: Start the day by checking survey completion rates and collection timelines across CAP programs.

·         Site Visits: Travel to a school or program site to administer surveys or help a teaching artist or fellow troubleshoot collection.

·         Data Entry & Quality Control: Block dedicated time to enter, clean and verify incoming data in CAP’s student database.

·         Cross-Team Collaboration: Connect with the Data Analyst and program staff to resolve data gaps and plan upcoming collection windows.

Core Qualifications & Requirements

·         Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.

·         One or more years of experience in data entry, database management or survey administration, with a high level of accuracy.

·         Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint), particularly Excel, and experience with online survey tools.

·         Ability to travel to program sites throughout Northeast Florida, with a valid driver’s license and reliable transportation.

·         Must pass official Level 2 background screening as outlined by Florida state law.

Perks & Benefits