Description

The Center for Data Collection Services is seeking a Sr. Manager, Data Collection Staffing Strategy & Workforce Planning to lead the development and execution of a unified Staffing Center of Excellence (CoE) supporting RTI’s field, telephone, and vendor-supported data collection workforce. This role is responsible for workforce planning, vendor and partner oversight, analytics driven staffing strategies, and operational excellence across multiple data collection workstreams. The position establishes scalable, data informed staffing practices that ensure effective staffing models, improve operational readiness, and support high quality project delivery.  

Essential Duties:

Staffing Strategy & Workforce Planning

• Lead development of strategic initiatives such as building staffing, forecast, and future demand models
• Lead the development and refinement of staffing models that support large-scale survey data collection, including field interviewing, call center operations, and multi-mode designs.
• Collaborate with project leadership, field operations, and Talent Acquisition to align staffing plans with project requirements, client expectations, and organizational capacity.
• Manage recruiting and retention planning for data collection staff, including interviewers, supervisors, and field support personnel.
• Oversee vendor-supported hiring, ensuring performance alignment, shared metrics, and coordinated workforce strategies.

 Operational Management & Documentation

• Prepare and review project staffing budgets, including labor, training, travel, equipment, and related operational needs.
• Produce internal reports summarizing staff performance, productions trends, risks, and operational issues.
• Maintain historical production and staffing data to support institutional knowledge, forecasting, and strategic planning.
• Develop, document, and enhance operational best practices, including Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that address both current needs and emerging data collection challenges.
• Ensure staffing processes meet quality, productivity, and compliance standards across all modes of data collection.  

Team Leadership & Mentoring

• Provide, coaching, mentoring, and performance support to professional and temporary project staff.
• Model RTI’s values and Lead Forward behaviors, fostering accountability, collaboration, and inclusion.
• Support the professional development of team members through training, cross-functional exposure, and knowledge-sharing

 Continuous Improvement & Innovation

• Identify process inefficiencies and implement improvements that enhance candidate pipelines, speed to hire, retention, and workforce quality.
• Use analytics to refine staffing models, forecast workload, and inform operational decision-making.
• Maintain current knowledge of survey methods, field operations, staffing technologies, and industry trends; participate in internal learning sessions and professional conferences.

Requirements

Education & Experience Requirements:

• Minimum bachelor’s degree and 15 years of staffing, data collection, or survey research experience or equivalent combination.  This includes a master’s degree and 12 years of experience or a PhD and 8 years of experience.
• Minimum 3 years of experience working in or with organizations conducting large-scale field and telephone data collection is strongly preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of experience analyzing workforce capacity, forecasting talent needs, and aligning staffing strategies with organizational objectives.
• Ability to build strong working relationships with internal partners and external vendors.
• Ability to innovate, streamline processes, and enhance customer service and team productivity.
• Strong decision-making skills, including resource allocation and performance management.
• Understanding key HR processes (recruiting, onboarding, employment status, and personnel management).
• Experience with budget management, cost estimating, and evaluating cost drivers.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for engaging stakeholders across all levels.
• Demonstrated leadership, team building, and supervisory skills supporting diverse staffing teams.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, and data/reporting tools.
• Strong attention to detail, organization, and ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• 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 (e.g., H-1B visa status, etc).