Bilingual (Spanish) Field Interviewer - YASS
RTI International

Job Info

Field Interviewers are responsible for

• Making phone and in-person contact with selected respondents to discuss the study, answer questions and obtain participation
• Collecting confidential information and administering standardized questionnaires
• Independently managing administrative duties, including participating in conference calls and completing online trainings
• When working in the field, must be willing to agree to any COVID-19-related protocols put in place by RTI.  These could include, among others, wearing face coverings or respiratory protection, gloves, taking temperatures daily, social distancing with survey respondents, getting vaccinated, and/or completing a health pledge. All safety supplies required for use on the project will be provided by RTI.
• Contacting sampled youth and young adults.
• Avoiding and converting refusals.
• Conducting phone and field tracing to locate respondents.
• Conducting tracking calls between waves of data collection to maintain contact and update information.
• Using project laptop to document progress, conduct computer-assisted interviews.
• Following all study protocols as described in manuals and at trainings.
• Collecting accurate, complete, valid data through interviews.
• Committing to working a flexible schedule, centered on evening and weekend hours, when respondents are available.
• Attending weekly conference calls with supervisor.
• Adhering to agreed-upon work schedule to ensure respondents are contacted in a timely manner.

Young Adults Services Study (YASS) is a longitudinal study of approximately 600 youths and young adults in the foster care or supervised living arrangement in New Jersey. Youths are interviewed, using computer-assisted telephone and in-person interviews, as they transition out of care and at two points in the future. Incentives are offered in consideration of the young adult's time.

Minimum Required Qualifications

• Must be at least 21 years old at time of employment
• Possess effective communication skills through speech and listening, and fluency in English and Spanish through reading, writing, and speaking
• Available for entire training and data collection period
• Able to successfully complete training
• Must have a valid driver's license and reliable personal automobile available for business use, including valid automobile insurance
• Must possess high school diploma, GED, or equivalent
• Commit to at least 15-20 hours per week. Please note the number of hours in each work week will fluctuate depending on caseload
• Have regular access to an in-home internet connection for data transmissions
• Available for travel by car, as required for data collection
• To qualify, applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States and should not require now, or in the future, sponsorship for employment visa status

Preferred Qualifications for Ideal Candidates

• Positive, self-motivated, curious, and enjoy interacting with people from culturally diverse backgrounds
• Effective interpersonal and verbal communication skills
• Effective time, schedule, and workload management skills to meet set deadlines
• Computer skills, namely email and internet proficiency
• Organized to meet deadlines and keep appointments
• At least one year experience directly or indirectly related to interviewing respondents by telephone and/or in-person
• Experience working with teenagers or young adults in the child welfare system
• Experience gaining respondent cooperation, converting refusals, and working a schedule that meets respondent needs
• Experience working on a longitudinal study with fluctuating hours dependent on caseload
• Experience conducting on-the-ground tracing to locate selected respondents
• Conduct valid, high-quality computer-assisted telephone and in-person interviews that involve
  • reading interview questions verbatim
  • entering accurate data and,
  • adhering to all project protocols covered at training and documented in the training manual.
• Must be physically able to go up and down stairs, carrying laptop to conduct field tracing and interviewing activities (when in-person activities are approved).
• Must be comfortable working in all types of weather.

• The data collection period is expected to be May 2022 through March 2025.
• On average, you will be needed approximately 15 hours per week when work is available.
• On average, you should be available to work in the field 4 days each week.
• The majority of this work is anticipated to be during evenings and weekends.
• Each of your trips to the field are expected to be at least 4 hours long when work is available

An online virtual training session is scheduled for May 2022. Attendance at virtual training is mandatory. Prior to virtual training, a series of online courses must be completed successfully. Completion of training marked by a passing certification.

RTI International is an independent, nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition. Clients rely on us to answer questions that demand an objective and multidisciplinary approach--one that integrates expertise across the social and laboratory sciences, engineering, and international development. We believe in the promise of science, and we are inspired every day to deliver on that promise for the good of people, communities, and businesses around the world. For more information, visit www.rti.org.

Physical and mental demands of this role include those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job, as outlined above. Examples include: operating a computer, a phone, and other office machinery, driving to selected locations; walking from car to household; thinking, learning, and concentrating effectively and frequently communicating with other people, both within RTI and outside of RTI; frequently moving about inside and travel between households; ability to handle the stress associated in meeting frequent, multiple and tight deadlines;, ability to work a varied schedule, including evening and weekend hours based on project needs; consistent demonstration of mental stability and ability to have regular, reliable and predictable attendance.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job, per RTI procedure 4.2.1.

For USA Job Postings Only: RTI participates in the US Government E-Verify program. Further information regarding the E-Verify program and laws that are designed to protect you against discrimination relating to your legal right to work in the US can be found at https://www.rti.org/careers.

For San Francisco, CA USA Job Postings Only: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Further information is available here.