The Frederick S. Pardee Institute for International Futures seeks to improve the ways in which we analyze and plan for the future. The Pardee Institute’s research focuses on long-term strategic policy analysis (years or even decades out) and policy trade-offs by using data, academic research, and analytical tools to enhance our understanding of what drives global change. Our flagship analytical tool, International Futures (IFs), is a large-scale, long-term, integrated global modeling system that represents demographic, economic, health, energy, agriculture, education, infrastructure, socio-political, environmental, and international politics subsystems for 188 countries interacting in the global system. Often by leveraging IFs, the Pardee Institute primarily carries out sponsored research projects with various government institutions, international organizations, NGOs, and to a lesser extent, private sector clients. The Pardee Institute is based at the Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs at the University of Denver. The Pardee Institute is committed to building a culturally diverse faculty and staff committed to working in a pluralistic environment.

Position Summary

The Senior Research Associate demonstrates advanced skills and leadership in research, analysis, and model development, with expertise in using, interpreting, and training others in the IFs model. They are expected to conduct research projects independently and as part of a team, producing sophisticated analytical outputs, identifying and implementing new approaches, and contributing to academic publications. This role requires critical thinking to assess research and initiative to proactively drive projects forward and communicate and resolve challenges. The Senior Research Associate will help to shape projects and at times be responsible for leading a research project from start to finish. They play a lead role in client interaction, which includes organizing and moderating client-focused meetings, understanding and translating client needs for Pardee Institute colleagues, and managing client expectations with regards to project timelines and deliverables. The Senior Research Associate will also be able to independently perform speaking engagements and lead capacity building efforts with IFs while balancing competing priorities and adapting to changing needs.

This is a soft-money-funded position, contingent on ongoing external funding and strong performance.

Essential Functions

Leadership in Pardee Institute research and analysis, tool building, training, outreach, model development, and speaking engagements, including the following core responsibilities:

Research and Analysis

• Lead and otherwise significantly contribute to research products and publications for policy-making and academic audiences. This involves driving the timely delivery of works that answer research questions and/or address collaborator/sponsor needs and meet quality expectations and ensuring the responsible stewardship of resources to that end.
• Use the International Futures (IFs) model to conduct research and explore scenario development frameworks. This involves understanding the strengths, limitations, and potential applications of IFs and applying this understanding to guide appropriate deliverable scoping and task plans, validate approaches and findings, identify usefulness of and meaning from findings, and troubleshoot unexpected model behavior.
• Evaluate in-house and external partner research products using best practices.
• Guide and oversee the work of research associates and student researchers. This involves developing the capacity of direct and indirect reports to proactively seek clarity on assignments, connect their assignments to overall project goals and objectives, proactively access resources and support to complete their assignments, volunteer progress updates and other pertinent developments related to assignments, validate their work, apply past learnings to future assignments, and other related activities.
• Plan and execute data gathering and data assessment tasks; lead and otherwise significantly contribute to the validation and synthesis of key findings and recommendations; connect key findings to project goals and objectives.
• Plan and execute writing projects, consistent with Institute and industry best practices, that showcase Pardee Institute work and raise its profile (i.e., op-ed articles, etc.).

Engagement and Capacity Building

• Lead, support, and develop content for multi-day, in-person and remote trainings and workshops for Pardee staff and constituents. This involves serving as a primary point of contact for project scoping, coordination, delivery, and closeout.
• Maintain and expand relationships with clients and other key constituents. This involves making active efforts to: seek and build understanding of client needs; translate these needs for Pardee Institute colleagues; and effectively meet these needs with Pardee Institute resources, proactively identifying areas where gaps between those needs and resources may exist, also offering suggestions on how to close those gaps.
• Showcase research findings and products through presenting at speaking engagements; engaging media representatives through giving interviews, etc. This involves an ability to calibrate delivery to the needs and interests of the audience. It also involves demonstrating mastery in understanding of the research methods applied, ability to both summarize key elements from findings and to elaborate on them, as appropriate, and connecting findings to research questions and potential impact.

Other Functions

• Support outreach and training needs of the Pardee Institute.
• Domestic and international travel.

Supervisory Duties

• Will supervise and develop student researchers.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Must have a demonstrated commitment to fostering an environment in which all faculty, staff, students, and community partners from welcome and valued.
• Advanced understanding of the structure and dynamics of the International Future (IFs) global modeling system and high-level competence in its use for analysis.
• Excellent technical writing and presentation skills for communicating complex research concepts.
• Ability to organize and efficiently manipulate data in Microsoft Excel and other programs.
• Ability to proactively and independently seek and build understanding for self and supervisees.
• Demonstrated understanding of research methods and applications appropriate to the work of the Institute.
• Ability to drive deliverables, including meeting time, budget, and resource requirements, along with anticipating challenges and making plans to address them.
• Ability to train professionals from diverse disciplines on the application of the IFs model to their respective fields.
• Participation in devising concrete methods for measuring or estimating abstract phenomena.
• Demonstrated skills in project management, including (but not limited to): tracking and communicating progress toward milestones/deliverables, coordinating multiple tasks toward completion, communicating and managing expectations between stakeholders, and budgeting.
• Ability to create professional quality research presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint.

Required Qualifications

• Masters degree in Development Economics, Environmental Policy, International Relations, Political Science, Demography, Economics, Public Policy, or related field.
• 2+ years of experience in high-quality, professional research and writing in a related field.
• 3-4 years of experience as a Research Associate

Preferred Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in high-quality, professional research and writing in policy issues relevant to the Global South.
• Experience in effectively managing projects.
• Experience using the International Futures model for analysis, understanding, and usefulness.
• Experience in collaborative research in a multicultural setting.
• Participation in producing successful proposals for external funding.
• Experience supervising individuals to successfully complete analytical or research tasks.

Working Environment

• Standard office environment.
• Unexpected interruptions occur often and stress level is moderate to high.
• Noise level is quiet to moderate.

Physical Activities

• Ability to work in front of a computer for extended periods of time.
• Occasionally required to move about the office/campus.

Work Schedule

Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Application Deadline

For consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) September 5, 2025.

Special Instructions

Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.

Salary Grade Number

The salary grade for the position is 12.

Salary Range

The salary range for this position is $80,000-$90,000.

The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status.

Benefits

The University of Denver offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver.

Please include the following documents with your application:

1. Resume
2. Cover Letter

The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital, family, or parental status, pregnancy or related conditions, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. The University of Denver does not discriminate and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital family, and parental status, pregnancy, genetic information, military enlistment, or veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University’s educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; the Equal Pay Act; the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; the Colorado Protecting Opportunities and Worker's Rights ("POWR") Act; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For more information, please see the University of Denver's Non‑Discrimination‑Statement.

All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.