Position Summary

The program assistantship is a full-time, entry-level professional position at the Foundation and is intended to introduce a diverse group of people early in their careers to the Foundation’s major work to improve outcomes for vulnerable children, families and communities. Program assistants have opportunities to develop skills, deepen their formal knowledge, expand their networks and challenge their thinking about disadvantaged children and distressed neighborhoods while learning about innovative programs, policies and strategies that are strengthening communities and families.

Program assistants are appointed for one year, renewable for up to an additional two years on the basis of satisfactory performance. The program assistantship is not a permanent position and will not be extended beyond three years. Program assistants are precluded from applying for any other positions at the Foundation for a period of at least two years.

Responsibilities

The Center for Systems Innovation (CSI) is dedicated to reforming systems that care for children who have been abused or neglected or involved with juvenile justice authorities. CSI invests in strategies to improve agency practices to reduce the number of children who must be removed from their parents’ care and to ensure timely permanency for those that are. The CSI Policy and Influence unit within External Affairs addresses this problem by promoting changes in policy (federal and state legislation, agency regulations, agency guidance, judicial determinations and administrative rules) that support agency practices necessary for permanency. In addition, the unit seeks to more broadly achieve consensus among key stakeholders on how to best meet the needs of system-involved children and families – ensuring that policy reforms are implemented as intended and lead to needed practice changes. The program assistant will support the CSI Policy and Influence unit, working on both child welfare and juvenile justice issues and responsible for the following:

• Policy Research: analyzing state-level policies; mapping and assessing key external stakeholders (both site-specific and national); summarizing federal policy developments; summarizing new reports related to our work; conducting literature reviews on emerging issues related to our work
• Grants management assistance: coordinating with units working with the same grantee; tracking and providing an initial review of grantee reports; collecting and analyzing grantee data needed to assess outcomes; reviewing consultant reports and tracking usage
• Meeting support: assisting with the planning and conducting of conferences, trainings, meetings and other convenings of agency representatives, grantees, consultants and other partners; assisting senior staff in developing meeting presentations; taking and synthesizing meeting notes and following up with meeting participants as necessary
• Other unit support:  participating and reporting on conference calls, webinars or meetings related to our work that senior associates are unable to attend; collecting data and qualitative information needed to evaluate the impact of our policy strategies; maintaining and updating content for the Foundation’s website; serving as liaison to other units within the Foundation to better integrate work

The duties listed above are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Qualifications
The ideal candidate will bring a demonstrated interest and working knowledge and experience in programs related to human services, policy, child welfare and/or juvenile justice. In addition, the personal and professional qualifications for this position include the following:

• Master’s degree in public or urban policy, criminal or social justice, human service, social work or a related field is preferred. Consideration will be given to candidates with a bachelor’s degree and equivalent professional experience of five years or more.
• Candidates must have a minimum of two years of experience with a public, nonprofit or private sector organization focused on human services, policy or juvenile justice.

Essential Skills and Abilities

• Strong interest in building better futures for vulnerable children and families
• Demonstrated academic experience, strong research and analytic skills and ability to prepare meeting notes, reports, analyses and literature reviews
• Excellent written and oral communications skills and strong interpersonal skills
• Ability to conceptualize and present information to a variety of audiences
• Capacity to work well with competing priorities and tight deadlines; requires high degree of energy, independent action, flexibility and multi-tasking
• Attention to detail and proficiency with word processing, databases, Internet and presentation software
• Strong skills in creating website content and in data research
• Ability to travel overnight and attend some evening and weekend meetings

Physical Demands/Workplace Environment

Must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. The work is performed primarily in an office setting with some overnight travel required.

Compensation

This is an exempt position, meaning pay is on a salaried rather than hourly or daily basis. Starting salary is commensurate with experience and earnings history. A strong benefits package will be provided.

Unit: External Affairs/CSI Policy
This is a full time position