About Us

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is authorized by Congress to conduct research to provide information about the best available evidence to help patients and their health care providers make more informed decisions. PCORI's research is intended to give patients a better understanding of the prevention, treatment and care options available, and the science that supports those options.

Position Summary

The primary objectives of the Program Officer position on the Evaluation & Analysis (E&A) team are to:

• Contribute to the design and implementation of approaches to describe and answer key learning and evaluation questions about PCORI's progress toward achievement of PCORI's organizational goals and mission; and support the study of unique and/or central aspects of PCORI's approach (e.g., major initiatives, processes, or organizational policies) to understand their contributions to PCORI's progress.
• Facilitate PCORI's use of data and evidence to inform strategic decisions about programs and processes.
• Coordinate high-profile projects that provide information of interest to key audiences, such as the PCORI Board of Governors (Board), the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), PCORI leaders, and external stakeholders.

• Describing and analyzing PCORI's award portfolio,
• Supporting PCORI's ability to operate as a learning organization, by building culture and capacity for organizational learning, evaluation, and analysis in units across PCORI, and
• Contributing to assessing and describing the impact of PCORI's research and policies.

• Supports the development and maintenance of PCORI's portfolio coding and reporting framework and a new coding taxonomy to characterize the funded portfolio within the parameters laid out in the portfolio coding and reporting framework.
• Leads and collaborates on the establishment and maintenance of baseline systems of portfolio coding for use in portfolio analyses and reporting.
• Uses subject matter and methodologic expertise to consult with PCORI staff on recommendations for coding and describing complex aspects of PCORI's funded portfolio.
• Plans and leads ad hoc, deep-dive analyses on the funded portfolio.
• Supports the organizational capacity for portfolio reporting and analysis by co-leading the development of guidance, products, and processes that support portfolio reporting and analytic needs laid out in the portfolio coding and reporting framework.
• Manages vendors conducting work in support of portfolio coding and reporting activities including providing guidance on vendor direction for work, tracking and reviewing milestones and deliverables, and working with the Procurement department to execute, modify, and troubleshoot issues with vendor agreements.
• Provide counsel to the Associate Director and other leaders across PCORI on approaches to enterprise-wide portfolio reporting and analysis needs and current and alternate approaches for ongoing and emerging lines of work.
• May lead matrixed teams or oversee the work of Program Associates performing coding or analytic activities.

• Expertise in a range of evaluation concepts to support portfolio analysis such as research design, data management, quantitative, qualitative, and/or mixed methods analysis techniques.
• Experience or leadership potential related to evaluation and analysis
• Expertise in communicating about data, such as through data visualization or performance metrics.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to tailor communications to a variety of internal and external audiences, across all levels including the executive level.
• Strong project management skills; Ability to handle and manage multiple priorities effectively; must be adept at organizing time efficiently; high tolerance for ambiguity;
• Able to synthesize material and focus quickly on the essence of an issue; to identify major opportunities in a specific area; to see the big picture
• Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills; ability to understand and work effectively with PCORI staff members from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds and to develop productive relationships with colleagues, awardees, consultants, external funders, and others who contribute to program development and management
• Sound judgment and maturity, exemplified by consistent professionalism in dealing with individuals at all levels, both internally and externally.
• Ability to link organizational goals to individual unit mission and activities.
• Commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion through our work.
• Facility with PowerPoint, Excel and Microsoft Office Products required; knowledge of statistical and/or qualitative analysis software desirable.

• Applicants with advanced academic or professional credentials, extensive years of relevant health research experience and experience working in a funding organization/agency may be considered for Senior Program Officer roles. A combination of education and experience may be substituted for the education for both the Program Officer and the Senior Program Officer
• Doctoral degree plus minimum of two (2) years of experience in a research discipline relevant to patient-centered outcomes research (e.g., evaluation, epidemiology, health services research, sociology, psychology, health policy, biostatistics, economics, health education. OR Master's degree in relevant field (e.g., MPH, MSc) plus minimum of seven (7) years of experience preferred.
• Project management, including managing the work of matrixed, multidisciplinary, or cross-functional teams.