Program Analyst (Capacity Building and Leadership Development)

Title:  Program Analyst

Classification:  Full time, Salaried

Salary: $50,000 to $65,000 (3-7 years of experience). Salary for the candidate selected will be within the range listed here, depending on the level of experience.

Location:  Preference to be in the Washington, DC area; remote work possible

Organization Overview

The Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) is a national, nonprofit, public policy, research, and technical assistance organization headquartered in Washington, DC, with a satellite office in Los Angeles. Our staff of approximately fifty people works to achieve a racially, socially, and economically just society in which all children, youth, and families thrive.

CSSP strives to accomplish its mission by developing and advancing effective public policy; helping to transform public systems to be more preventive, results-oriented, accountable, and caring; and supporting local leaders to create the community opportunities, supports, services and environments in which all children and families can thrive. CSSP works in partnership with other national organizations, foundations, and governmental and community leaders to test new ideas and approaches, provide technical assistance, generate new evidence, and support networks of innovators. All of our work reflects a long-standing organizational commitment to being anti-racist and promoting equity and social justice.

Job Description

CSSP seeks a Program Analyst in our DC office (currently working virtually, with preference to be in the Washington, DC area) to support our work to advance racial justice through capacity building and leadership development as part of the Capacity Building and Leadership Team.

The Program Analyst will have a key role in shaping and supporting an anti-racist, anti-oppression approach to advancing capacity building and leadership development efforts, including providing technical assistance, training, and coaching to leaders and staff in state and local government agencies, philanthropy, public systems and community-based organizations. The Program Analyst will also further the internal and external priorities of CSSP’s capacity building and leadership team by developing content related to racial justice/systems of oppression/systemic racism, helping to facilitate meetings, contribute to trainings, conducting research and analysis, contributing to innovative approaches to leadership development and aiding in the design and preparation of technical assistance and related issue briefs and tools. This position will also support efforts to advance CSSP’s internal organizational culture, including supporting a learning and professional development approach for staff and creating learning and engagement opportunities.

This position requires a commitment to undoing systemic racism and oppression in communities, organizations, and public systems. A successful candidate requires both adaptive and technical expertise and the ability to think creatively in developing capacity building and leadership development solutions that advance CSSP’s agenda. We are looking for a highly motivated and collaborative individual to work closely with a cross-disciplinary team and staff throughout the organization. This position requires someone who takes initiative and is eager to contribute, willing to learn and accept feedback. Commitment to an anti-racist, intersectional approach focused on better serving Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander and other people of color, people who identify as LGBTQ+, and immigrant families is a must.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

The Program Analyst will be a key member of CSSP’s Capacity Building and Leadership Team, and responsible for:

• Supporting multiple short- and long-term capacity building projects, providing technical assistance, training and content development
• Helping to design learning and training opportunities to advance racial justice
• Facilitating discussions and being comfortable with difficult conversations on equity and racial justice
• Being a lead point of contact for external partners and supporting coordination with external stakeholders
• Working directly with state/local government agencies and community-based organizations to assess and implement internal and external facing initiatives to advance racial justice
• Developing ideas and recommendations for new strategies and processes to advance project goals
• Assisting in developing a range of high-quality products in various mediums, including written briefs, reports, presentations, memos, and blog posts
• Quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, including the design and implementation of surveys and protocols for interviews and focus groups
• Conducting analysis of relevant research, policy, and practice
• Supporting coordination and management of workplans to ensure projects stay on track
• Representing CSSP externally by attending partner meetings, conferences, and other events
• Additional duties as needed

If you had been working with us, here are some of the things you would have done in the last month:

• Co-designed a meeting with state/local government agency and community-based organizations to develop strategies to advance their internal racial equity work
• Developed a workplan for a project and tracked project outcomes
• Helped to lead a training on key racial justice concepts to an organization committed to advancing racially equitable outcomes
• Contributed to the design and implementation of a leadership development program for communities advancing educational equity
• Supported technical assistance to a county agency working to address racial disparities in their child welfare system by reviewing practices and policies that guide their work
• Led internal project meetings and communication with external project leads
• Analyzed an organizational assessment survey results and provided insights and recommendations on how the organization can improve its practice for designing and implementing programs
• Conducted interviews and focus groups of staff within organizations working to become anti- racist as part of a data collection process
• Attended staff meetings and shared lessons learned from across various projects

Ideal Candidate Profile

The following list contains experience and skills that the ideal candidate will possess. We encourage you to apply if you have most of the experience and skills listed.

• A strong commitment to racial justice and reducing disparities based on race, ethnicity, immigration status, sovereignty, gender, sexual orientation/gender identity, and socioeconomics
• An undergraduate or graduate degree in public administration, public health, public policy, social work, organization development/learning or related fields and 3-7 years of relevant experience
• Experience with racial justice and anti-oppression approaches to improving organizational culture and practice Experience in child and family serving systems; child welfare experience a plus
• Experience with non-profit policy and strategy areas, particularly anti-poverty, health justice, child welfare and other social justice issues
• Experience in strategy development, organizational development, change management, facilitation, coaching and interpersonal and group dynamics
• Strong writing, public speaking, presentation, listening and communication skills
• Strong analytical and research skills Ability to relate well to a variety of people and environments, build effective and respectful relationships, and be politically savvy
• Ability to work well autonomously and as a collaborative member of a highly- collaborative team
• Ability to support multiple projects, meet deadlines within designated time frames, pay attention to detail and be comfortable with ambiguity
• Outstanding judgement, initiative, curiosity, flexibility, maturity and a commitment to learning and innovation
• This position involves travel at times and so applicants must be willing to travel nationally when it is safe to do so
• Knowledge of computers and technology: proficient in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and audio/visual and conference calling technology (e.g., Zoom); experience with data collection and facilitation tools (e.g., Survey Monkey; Google Forms; advanced Excel skills, Mural, Jamboard, Miro,) a plus

Benefits

Excellent benefits provided including health, vision, and dental package with 100% of the employee’s coverage paid by CSSP, an 11% retirement contribution after one full year of employment; a generous vacation and sick leave policy including one full week for winter break during the last week of the year, and hybrid telework/in office options including a CSSP provided laptop.

How to Apply:

Qualified applicants should send a cover letter with salary requirements, a resume and writing sample to jobs-at-cssp.org (subject: Your Name – Program Analyst - Capacity Building and Leadership Development). In your cover letter, please be sure to indicate where you found this position announcement. The interview process may include phone screening, panel style interviews over Zoom video, a writing exercise and final interviews over Zoom video.

Due to the large number of applications, emails and phone calls to CSSP will not be accepted.

Applications accepted until November 30, 2022 or until the position is filled.

CSSP is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender expression, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, citizenship status, current employment status or caregiver status.

Please note: CSSP requires that all staff working in our offices be fully vaccinated as a term and condition of employment. Employees are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after completing primary vaccination with a COVID-19 vaccine, with, if applicable, at least the minimum recommended interval between doses. Employees may request an exception from this vaccination policy if the vaccine is medically contraindicated for them or they have a religious exemption. If an applicant is contacted for an initial interview, they will be required to share their vaccination status and could, if they advance in the interview process, be required to provide proof of vaccination status.