Director
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Date: October 21, 2024
Send materials to: [email protected]
Public Agenda is a research-to-action organization. We seek to strengthen democracy by amplifying public voice and expanding opportunities for all Americans. We work to improve democratic processes and the systems and institutions that determine whether the promise of American democracy will be realized in the lives of everyday people. Because of the special role of education as a public good and foundation of both economic opportunity and civic engagement, much of our work is focused on education systems and institutions. We build knowledge through rigorous research using a range of methodological approaches including in-depth case studies, interviews, focus groups, public opinion surveys, and quantitative analyses of administrative data. Public Agenda also supports academic researchers addressing pressing, practical questions; we frame those questions and synthesize, translate, and communicate results. We discover pathways and tools for change, and we connect what we are learning to individuals and organizations who can put it to use.
We are seeking a Director to join a small and highly collaborative team to manage and grow a body of work encompassing democracy, education, and their intersections.
The Director will lead a portfolio of research-to-action projects, contributing to the organization’s mission, strategic direction, funder relations, partnership and project development, and efforts to translate research into practical implementation and impact for the American people. The Director’s portfolio will build on their areas of expertise, experience, and network of relationships.
The Director plays a key role in supporting continuous improvement in the research-to-action team, developing project concepts, securing funding, executing projects, ensuring high quality products, and communicating about projects with internal and external audiences to advance Public Agenda’s mission.
Directors work collaboratively, bringing relevant expertise or capacities to projects led by other Directors and shaping their own portfolios in dialogue with colleagues throughout the organization. Individual Directors may have specific organization-wide responsibilities in addition to project leadership.
The ideal candidate possesses strong social science research skills, is passionate about data-informed approaches to challenges facing our democracy, brings an asset-based and equity-centered orientation to project and partnership development, has experience building systems and executing projects or initiatives, and is comfortable working with a wide variety of stakeholders. We are interested in candidates who bring professional networks in their areas of interest and expertise that will catalyze new projects and expand opportunities for funding and impact.
We are particularly interested in candidates with substantive expertise and/or practical experience in one or more of the following areas: (1) democracy reform or renewal, including structural and cultural approaches; (2) civic education in any context; (3) educational access and opportunity; (4) other intersections between democratic values and institutions and education systems, practices, and outcomes.
At Public Agenda, we believe that American democracy would work better if people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives were more able to work together to meet public challenges. We endeavor to create and support a work environment that reflects our values, so we are especially interested in hearing from candidates who share our commitment to democracy and whose experiences and perspectives are underrepresented in the field.
We can envision several different candidate profiles that could be a good fit for the Director position. The successful candidate might be a researcher with significant experience partnering with practitioners, an experienced practitioner in the nonprofit or public sector with expertise implementing evidence-informed strategy, or a professional with some other background that demonstrates their capacity to lead projects connecting research and practice in service of democratic values.
Public Agenda’s staff is geographically distributed, and this is a work-from-anywhere position within the United States. Staff members must be available to work during standard Eastern Time business hours.
The successful candidate must be available to travel for quarterly organization-wide meetings, occasional conferences, and project-related work such as site visits for qualitative research and convenings of stakeholders.
The expected salary range for this position is $95,000 – $125,000. We offer a competitive benefits package including dental and medical insurance, 401(k) retirement contribution, 4 weeks of paid vacation plus an additional week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, paid holidays, sick and personal time, in addition to other benefits. The position reports to the Chief Strategy and Impact Officer.
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the individual(s) assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and skills required. Management reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties and to assign other duties as necessary. In addition, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.
Our organization is committed to equal employment opportunity and diversity in the workplace. We do not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally-recognized basis [“protected class”] including, but not limited to: veteran status, uniform service member status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information or any other protected class under federal, state, or local law.
Public Agenda is a qualifying employer under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF).
Interested candidates should submit a resume or CV and a cover letter describing your interest in and qualifications for the position to [email protected].
Applications will be considered as they are received until the position is filled.