Associate Director of Impact Evaluation, Stanford Initiative for Financial Decision-Making (IFDM)

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB) has built a global reputation based on its immersive and innovative management programs. We provide students a transformative leadership experience, pushing the boundaries of knowledge with faculty research, and offering a portfolio of entrepreneurial and non-degree programs that deliver global impact. We invite you to be part of our mission of developing innovative, principled, and insightful leaders who change lives, change organizations, and change the world.

IFDM is spearheading the effort to improve people's financial well-being through financial literacy. IFDM's mission is to equip people, especially the young and underprivileged, with the skills to make informed financial decisions based on sound academic research. Despite the growth of personal finance education, challenges persist, including insufficient training for instructors and limited retention of knowledge among students. IFDM supports high schools, universities, and employers by providing tools, programs, and research-based evidence to promote financial literacy on a large scale.

The Stanford Initiative for Financial Decision-Making (IFDM), a collaboration among the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB), the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), and the Economics Department, is recruiting an inaugural Associate Director of Impact Evaluation based at the GSB in Stanford, CA, to help shape evaluation projects and strategic research efforts. This is 2 year fixed-term role that reports administratively to the Director, Research Operations within the GSB's Research Hub, and operationally to the Faculty Director and the Director of Research at IFDM, the Associate Director of Impact Evaluation will design, implement, and execute projects aimed at assessing the impact of personal finance education.

This position will lead the design and execution of large-scale studies to evaluate the impact of innovative financial literacy interventions. The work involves managing the entire research process, from developing measurement frameworks and overseeing multi-source data collection to conducting rigorous qualitative and quantitative analysis. Ultimately, these findings will be synthesized into reports, academic papers, and dashboards to inform program refinement and guide future strategy.

Your primary responsibilities include:

• Lead and own organization-wide data initiatives (e.g., models, frameworks, platforms, dashboards).
• Supervise, coach, and mentor a high-performing team of analysts.
• Identify, leverage, and partner with external firms.
• Prioritize and extract data from various sources, including notes, survey results, medical reports, and laboratory data, to ensure accuracy and completeness.
• Determine additional data collection and reporting requirements.
• Design and customize reports based on database data.
• Oversee and monitor regulatory compliance for the utilization of the data.
• Use system reports and analyses to identify potentially problematic data, make corrections, and eliminate root causes for data problems or justify solutions to be implemented by others.
• Create complex charts and databases, perform statistical analyses, and develop graphs and tables for publication and presentation.
• Serve as a resource for non-routine inquiries, such as requests for statistics or surveys.
• Test prototype software and participate in the approval and release process for new software.
• Provide documentation in accordance with audit and reporting criteria to investigators and research staff.

Additional Responsibilities

• Lead the design, implementation, and execution of large-scale randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies to evaluate program impact.
• Oversee the development of experimental protocols, survey instruments, and data collection strategies across multiple study waves.
• Manage all aspects of IRB approval, including submission, renewals, and compliance monitoring.
• Develop innovative financial literacy interventions (e.g., descriptive vs. AI-enhanced curricula, online vs. in-person delivery).
• Develop and implement frameworks to measure outcomes, including financial knowledge, financial behaviors, credit outcomes, and academic performance.
• Manage integration of multi-source datasets (surveys, administrative records, credit bureau data).
• Lead both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, including surveys, interviews, focus groups, and administrative data.
• Supervise quality assurance of data collection, cleaning, and management processes.
• Prepare academic papers, reports, briefs, and presentations for internal and external stakeholders.
• Collaborate closely with the Faculty Director and Research Director, external partners, and cross-unit teams to co-design research instruments and define evaluation indicators.
• Develop dashboards or data visualizations that synthesize evaluation findings.
• Mentor junior staff or research assistants, guiding research protocols and methodological rigor.
• Ensure that evaluation findings inform ongoing program refinement and future strategic planning.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Education and Experience

Applicants require a Bachelor's degree and 5 years of relevant experience, or a combination of education and experience, with expertise in a quantitative discipline such as economics, finance, statistics, or engineering. Applicants with a PhD in Economics, Finance, or a related discipline, and at least 3 years of experience in research and program evaluation are preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Proven track record in designing and leading randomized controlled trials and/or quasi-experimental studies.
• Prior work in impact evaluations of educational or financial decision-making programs.
• Demonstrated expertise in financial literacy, financial decision-making, or household finance is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated expertise in quantitative methods (e.g., survey design, econometrics, experimental impact studies).
• Proficiency in qualitative methodologies (interviews, case studies, thematic analysis).
• Advanced data analysis skills (such as R, Stata, and Python) and familiarity with survey platforms such as Qualtrics.
• Experience analyzing survey, administrative, and third-party datasets (e.g., credit bureau data).
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to coordinate multiple moving parts on tight timelines.
• Robust communication and writing skills, tailored for academic, policy, and practitioner audiences.
• Proven ability to manage collaborative projects and timelines with multiple stakeholders.

The expected pay range for this position is $132,498 to $157,989 per annum. This position is open to a hybrid work arrangement, which requires selected applicants to work on campus 8 days a month. However, due to the nature of the position, applicants must be on-site during events.

The Cardinal at Work website provides detailed information on Stanford's extensive range of benefits and rewards offered to employees.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Frequently stand/walk, sit, grasp lightly/fine manipulate, perform desk-based computer tasks.
• Occasionally use a telephone, write by hand, lift/carry/push/pull objects that weigh up to 40 pounds.
• Rarely sort/file paperwork or parts, lift/carry/push/pull objects that weigh >40 pounds.
• Ability to use voice to present information/communicate with others.
• On-campus mobility.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

• May work extended hours, evenings, or weekends.
• May travel locally.
• Occasional overnight travel.

How to Apply

We invite you to apply for this position by clicking on the "Apply for Job" button. To be considered, please submit a cover letter and resume along with your online application.