Research Scientist 3

Position Summary

The Center for Applied Research and Analysis (CARA), part of the University of New Mexico's Institute for Social Research, seeks a Research Scientist 3 to plan, lead, and conduct applied research and evaluation in criminal justice, behavioral health, and related areas of public policy.

The Research Scientist 3 is a project lead. The successful candidate will design studies with partner agencies, carry them from scope of work through final report, direct the day-to-day work of junior staff, and present findings to the people who act on them. Much of our work uses administrative records from jails, courts, corrections, law enforcement, and behavioral health providers. The position calls for strong methodological judgment, the ability to learn new subject areas quickly, and a commitment to getting the numbers right.

We routinely partner with local and state government entities. Current projects include:

Bernalillo County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council

• Ongoing tracking of the county jail population: bookings, releases, length of stay, and recidivism, with focused work on people with serious mental illness and on the people booked most often

• Studies of pretrial detention and release, including preventive detention motions, the Public Safety Assessment, and a survey of how judges, prosecutors, and public defenders interpret its risk scores

• Linked jail and court data studies of case processing: violent felony cases, how charges change between booking and disposition, and disparities in outcomes by race, ethnicity, and gender

• A data linkage project joining jail, court, and state prison records to study sentencing, time served, and returns to custody
  Spatial analyses of whether Albuquerque's zero-fare bus policy, property blight, and business closures affect crime and police calls for service

New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts

• A mixed-methods evaluation of the Competency Diversion pilot program, which connects people who cycle through competency proceedings on low-level charges to treatment, drawing on program and court records, staff surveys, and interviews

• Validation of the Pretrial Support Navigator (PSN) screening tool, a brief instrument used at pretrial services intake to identify people who would benefit from a support navigator

• An outcome evaluation of assisted outpatient treatment, examining emergency department visits and hospitalizations among participants statewide

New Mexico Corrections Department

• Monitoring and validation of the department's custody classification tool, including how classification and mental health scores relate to institutional misconduct

• Return-to-prison analysis that separates new convictions from technical parole and probation violations, and studies of who participates in prison programming and with what outcomes

Other research partnerships

• A National Institutes of Health-funded study, with New York University and Rutgers University, that treats New Mexico's 2024 elimination of court fees (House Bill 139) as a natural experiment and examines its effects on recidivism, legal debt, drug court participation, and overdose

• A longitudinal randomized controlled trial of the CommonSpirit St. Joseph's Children home visiting program, following families through interviews and health care records

What You Will Do

• Design studies and analysis plans, including experimental and quasi-experimental evaluations, in collaboration with partner agencies and center leadership

• Lead projects from scope of work through final report, managing timelines, deliverables, and the day-to-day work of project staff

• Serve as a primary point of contact for partner agencies and present findings to agency leadership, boards and commissions, and legislative audiences

• Conduct and oversee analysis of administrative, survey, and qualitative data, using scripted and reproducible workflows

• Write and review reports, policy briefs, and peer-reviewed manuscripts

• Contribute to proposals, scopes of work, and budgets for new and continuing contracts and grants

• Prepare and maintain Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocols and data use agreements, and ensure that projects meet data security requirements for confidential records

• Supervise, mentor, and review the work of junior researchers and students

About the Center for Applied Research and Analysis

Our mission: To provide data-driven insights and solutions for positive program and policy change.

CARA provides research, evaluation, and technical assistance to local, state, and federal agencies, the courts, and nonprofit organizations. By combining current academic knowledge, rigorous social science methods, and best practices in evaluation, CARA helps policymakers understand how their decisions and programs affect the populations they serve.

Our staff has expertise in crime and the criminal justice system, pretrial and jail populations, corrections, the courts, behavioral health, substance use treatment, home visiting, homelessness, and public health. We are a small, collaborative team. Staff work directly with agency partners, see their findings used in real decisions, and have opportunities to present, publish, and grow into more senior roles.

Funding and Appointment

CARA is a soft-money research center, meaning that our positions are funded through external contracts and grants rather than recurring university funds. Most of our contracts with state and local agencies follow the state fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) and are renewed annually, so continuation of this position beyond the current fiscal year is contingent on continued funding.

See the Position Description for additional information.

• Successful candidate must submit to a post-offer, pre-employment physical examination and medical history check. Additional health screenings may be required, dependent on the nature of the research conducted, as determined by Employee Occupational Health Services.

Bachelor's degree; at least 3 years of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified.

Completed degree(s) from an accredited institution that are above the minimum education requirement may be substituted for experience on a year for year basis.

• Knowledge of and interest in criminal justice or behavioral health policy

• Demonstrated experience designing and carrying out applied social science research, including experimental, quasi-experimental, or other causal inference methods

• Advanced proficiency with statistical software (SPSS and R preferred; Stata, SAS, or Python also welcome), including data management, modeling, and data visualization

• Experience with large administrative datasets, including linking records across systems and working under data use agreements and IRB protocols

• Experience with primary data collection, such as survey design, interviews, or focus groups

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with a record of reports or publications and the ability to tailor briefings for multiple audiences

Only applications submitted through the official UNMJobs site will be accepted. If you are viewing this job advertisement on a 3rd party site, please visit UNMJobs to submit an application.

Positions posted with a Staff Type of Regular or Term are eligible for the Veteran Preference Program. See the Veteran Preference Program webpage for additional details.

The University of New Mexico is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class.

The University of New Mexico requires all regular staff positions successfully pass a pre-employment background check. This may include, but is not limited to, a criminal history background check, New Mexico Department of Health fingerprint screening, New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department fingerprint screening, verification of education credentials, and/or verification of prior employment. For more information about background checks, visit https://policy.unm.edu/university-policies/3000/3280.html. Refer to https://policy.unm.edu/university-policies/3000/3200.html for a definition of Regular Staff.