Salary : $79,016.07 - $107,556.19 Annually
Location : Riverside
Job Type: Regular
Job Number: 26-79838-03
Department: Child Support Services
Division: Child Support Services
Opening Date: 05/14/2026
Closing Date: 6/9/2026 11:59 PM Pacific

ABOUT THE POSITION
The County of Riverside's Department of Child Support Services (DCSS), Business Intelligence Team (BIT), seeks to fill a single vacancy for a Research Specialist II who will be assigned to Riverside, CA.
*This position requires some travel to attend meetings.

The incumbent will be responsible for planning organizing and coordinating research, including the development of research models to measure the effectiveness of departmental programs designed for health, social, human behavioral or other problems inherent in the functions and objectives of the department, Develop data collection procedures and reporting formats necessary for implementing research and evaluation projects, confer with personnel from other departments, divisions, and outside agencies in obtaining needed data, use traditional results of research and present conclusions and recommendations to involved management and supervisory personnel and conduct evaluation studies of programs to determine the cost and effectiveness. The selected candidate may also write proposals for the purpose of obtaining grants from the state, federal and/or other private agencies.

The most competitive candidate will possess experience in writing and developing proposals, using software and software language such as Tableau, SQL, R-Software, and SAS. Candidates will also have knowledge of Social Services programs and experience with research studies and/or program evaluations. A Masters degree is preferred.
EXAMPLES OF ESSENTIAL DUTIES
• Initiate research and statistical investigations and plan, design, and conduct the activities of such investigations; recognize the need for research and statistical investigations in the delivery of services and program planning and evaluation.
• Coordinate with staff and outside agencies to obtain data; design, organize and develop research evaluation plans; develop regulatory waiver requests, prepare budgets and submit grant proposals.
• Define sample populations and selection criteria; design, develop and maintain databases; write queries to extract data for ongoing and unexpected management reports; create, test and administer surveys and questionnaires; conduct focus and personal interviews; develop forms, procedures, schedules and sampling criteria for field data collection; perform random assignments.
• Advise research specialists and administrators of research findings and/or procedures; prepare narrative reports of findings with valid conclusions and statistical significance; project program impacts and provide trend analysis.
• Identify problems in inter-organizational operations and procedures with implications for plan development and implementation and recommend alternative solutions for use in management decision-making.
• Conduct research to identify community needs for new and changes to existing programs; identify appropriate sources of funding to support new programs and prepare funding applications.
• Assist the supervisor in developing and coordinating planning activities and in directing assigned project staff; prepare annual budgets for research projects
• Participate in clinical trials or multi-institutional studies that require staff education and interaction with other agencies and partners.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

OPTION IEducation: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a master's degree in social science, statistics, mathematics, economics, business/public administration, public health, data processing, or any of the natural sciences, which included graduate level courses in research design, data collection methods, and advanced statistical analysis. (Additional qualifying experience may be substituted for up to two years of the required education, on the basis of 10 semester or 15-quarter units of graduate level course work equaling 6 months.)

Experience: Two years of progressively responsible experience in administrative, professional, investigative, technical, or other responsible work, which included statistical analysis, research or program design and data collection, and electronic data storage and report generation or grant writing.

OPTION IIEducation: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a master's degree in social science, statistics, mathematics, economics, business/public administration, public health, data processing, or any of the natural sciences, which included graduate level courses in research design, data collection methods, and advanced statistical analysis. (Additional qualifying experience may substitute for up to two years of the required education, on the basis of 10 semester or 15-quarter units of graduate level course work equaling six months.)

Experience: Two years as a Research Specialist I in Riverside County in a Department of Public Social Services, Public Health, Behavioral Health, Emergency Management, Probation, hospital, or clinical research center.

OPTION IIIEducation: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Ph.D. in social science, statistics, mathematics, economics, business/public administration, public health, data processing, or any of the natural sciences, which included graduate level courses in research design, data collection methods, and advanced statistical analysis.

ALL OPTIONSKnowledge of: policies, procedures, practices and legislation governing the provision of social service delivery systems; policies, procedures, practices, and legislation governing clinical trials; advanced research methods including data collection, sampling and analysis; computer programming and processing methods; principles of management including planning, organizing and evaluating programs; social service concepts and issues; principles of planning, organizing and evaluating ongoing studies.

Ability to: Develop and prepare concise and coherent oral and written reports and recommendations; analyze, perform data queries and write executable computer programs; interpret and evaluate statistical data and research findings; use statistical software packages on personal computers; maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work; design and carry out research topics related to social service.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
For questions regarding this recruitment
Contact Joshua Roberts at (951) 955-2548 or jorobertsPlease allow 1-2 business days for a response to general inquiries.
APPLICATION INFORMATION

Veteran's Preference
The County has a Veterans Preference Policy applicable to new hires. To qualify, attach the required documents to your job application. Documents include a copy of your (or your spouse's) Member-4 Form DD-214 indicating dates of service. For spousal preference, and as applicable, the following documents: a copy of your marriage certificate, spouse's death certificate, a letter of spouse's disability and/or letter of service-related death (if available) from the U.S. Veteran's Administration. For privacy reasons, it is recommended that you remove your social security information from the document(s). A Human Resources Representative will review the materials and determine if you qualify for veterans' preference. For complete details and documentation requirements, please review the Veterans Preference Policy, C-3 here:
Proof of Education
If using education to qualify or when requested by the recruiter, upload a copy of any license(s), official/unofficial transcript(s), degrees, and/or related employment documents to your NeoGov account at the time of application and before the closing date. Official or unofficial transcripts will be accepted.

If your education was completed outside of the United States, you will need to provide a copy of your Foreign Education Equivalency evaluation from a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services () or Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. ().
Work Authorization Requirement
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of application. The County of Riverside does not participate in visa sponsorship programs, including H1-B visas, and will not provide sponsorship for any employment-based visas.
MEDICAL/DENTAL/VISION INSURANCE: A choice of different medical, dental and visions plan are available to elect. The County provides a Flexible Benefit Credit contribution as governed by the applicable SEIU Memorandum of Understanding to contribute towards the cost of these plans.

Note: Employees on assignment through the Temporary Assignment Program (TAP) receive different benefits. See the list
MISCELLANEOUS RETIREMENT: County of Riverside has three retirement Tiers through the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS).

• Tier I (Classic Member - Formula 3% @ 60): Applicable to current and former County of Riverside local miscellaneous employees hired prior to 08/24/2012 and did not withdraw CalPERS contributions. The employee contribution is eight (8%) percent.
• Tier II (Classic Member - Formula 2% @ 60): Applicable to local miscellaneous employees 1) hired after 08/23/2012 through 12/31/2012; 2) Previously employed with another CalPERS contracting public agency or a reciprocal retirement system, with a break in service of less than six months between the separation date with the previous employer and the appointment date with the County of Riverside. The employee contribution is seven (7%) percent.
• Tier III (PEPRA New Member - Formula 2% @ 62): Applicable to CalPERS local miscellaneous new members hired on or after the implementation of the Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) which took effect January 1, 2013. Effective July 1, 2023 employee contributions are 7.25% and will increase to 7.75% effective July 1, 2024.

A new member is defined as any of the following:

1. A new hire who enters CalPERS membership for the first time on or after January 1, 2013, and who has no prior membership in any California Public Retirement System.
2. A new hire who enters CalPERS membership for the first time on or after January 1, 2013, and who was a member with another California Public Retirement System prior to that date, but who is not subject to reciprocity upon joining CalPERS.
3. A member who first established CalPERS membership prior to January 1, 2013, an