Senior Associate (IN)

Innovation Network; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Innovation Network, a national research and evaluation consulting firm, seeks nominations and applications for the role of Senior Associate.

With an interdisciplinary team of nine staff, Innovation Network is poised to grow and engage a new Senior Associate to partner closely with the leadership team to lead evaluation engagements and support Innovation Network’s strategy to contribute to thought leadership in the field.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated subject matter expertise in philanthropic and nonprofit programs, services, and advocacy initiatives.
• Master’s degree in a social science or related field is required; PhD preferred.
• Minimum of seven years of related research and evaluation experience; knowledge of evaluation concepts, frameworks, theories, and designs.
• Significant experience in a consulting environment and ability to manage multiple client projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and management of client engagements; steward client relationships from early to end stages.
• Coach, train, and support staff in evaluation design, data collection, analysis, and reporting.
• Contribute to Innovation Network’s thought leadership through research, trainings, and public speaking.

Skills

Subject matter expertise in philanthro

Evaluation design & data analysis

Effective communication & writing

Education

Master's degree in social science or related field

PhD preferred

Tools

Data visualization tools

Job description

Innovation Network , a national research and evaluation consulting firm that works to advance the field of evaluation through research, practice, and sharing of learning with the broader evaluation and nonprofit community, seeks nominations and applications for the role of Senior Associate. With an interdisciplinary team of nine staff, Innovation Network is poised to grow and engage a new Senior Associate to partner closely with the leadership team to lead evaluation engagements and support Innovation Network’s strategy to contribute to thought leadership in the field.

The Senior Associate will lead the design and management of client engagements; support the professional growth of the Innovation Network team; and contribute to the organization’s thought leadership to advance evaluation. Ideal candidates will bring demonstrated subject matter expertise in the areas of philanthropic and nonprofit programs, services, and advocacy initiatives, including the issue areas of advocacy and social movements, health/health promotion/health equity, policy change, and democracy; a master’s degree in a social science or related field; deep knowledge of evaluation concepts, frameworks, theories, and designs; and significant experience in a consulting environment. Application instructions can be found at the end of this document.

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW

Innovation Network is a national research and evaluation consulting firm that works to advance the field of evaluation through research, practice, and sharing of learning with the broader evaluation and nonprofit community. As a mission-driven organization, Innovation Network is dedicated to strengthening the field of nonprofit evaluation, providing resources and expertise so that nonprofits have the knowledge and skills to learn from their work and create greater impact. With original roots that focused on evaluation of smaller scale programs, Innovation Network now also partners closely with funders seeking to create social change by evaluating harder-to-measure concepts such as advocacy and social movements, health and health equity, and social justice.

• Advocacy and Social Movements: As funders and nonprofits are increasingly adopting new strategies such as grassroots engagement, grassroots mobilization, community organizing, systems change, and policy advocacy, Innovation Network has cultivated expertise and strategies to evaluate these types of complex initiatives. Innovation Network has deep experience evaluating federal, state, and local policy change efforts, in addition to systems change and grassroots movements, recognizing the ever-evolving nature of social movements and advocacy. Whether the team is mapping civic infrastructure to understand how civic engagement organizations can be strengthened or working to better understand the landscape of health advocacy, the work is designed to inform strategic decision making.
• Health and Health Equity: With a deep understanding of the role of policy change to address systemic inequities, Innovation Network recognizes the challenges and benefits of evaluating health initiatives and deploys customized tools and frameworks to help its partners more effectively evaluate the impact of their efforts on policy to support the health of communities. Innovation Network’s approach is grounded in the notion that work at the state and local level will change health outcomes and perceptions nationwide and frequently takes a community or field-level approach to understand patterns and trends across the health landscape.
• Social Justice: Social justice principles are inherent to many advocacy efforts that attack the root causes of systemic inequities, aiming to break down the institutional barriers that keep groups disadvantaged. Innovation Network engages with its partners to address issues related to economic justice, poverty, and r cea justice.

Innovation Network further strengthens the field through training that builds evaluation capacity building through its widely-read publications, including its hallmark report, State of Evaluation .

With an interdisciplinary team of nine staff, Innovation Network is poised to grow and engage a new Senior Associate to partner closely with the leadership team to lead evaluation engagements and support Innovation Network’s strategy to contribute to thought leadership in the field.

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FACING THE SENIOR ASSOCIATE

The new Senior Associate will join a highly dedicated and talented team and a committed board to provide insight to the social sector in evaluation theory and cutting-edge evaluation practice. As a senior member of the team, the new Senior Associate can expect to engage the following core challenges and opportunities:

Lead the design and management of client engagements. The Senior Associate will steward client relationships and manage multiple evaluations from early to end stages. S/he will design robust project plans including theories of change, evaluation plans, and data collection methods/tools to evaluate the impact of client initiatives; collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data through surveys, interviews, and focus groups; draft and finalize deliverables, including writing reports and other products and designing data visualizations (charts, tables, maps, etc.).

Support the professional growth of the Innovation Network team. The Senior Associate will coach, train, and support Innovation Network staff in all facets of evaluation, including evaluation design, data collection, analysis, and reporting. Additionally, s/he will contribute to an internal culture of collaboration, innovation, and learning.

Contribute to Innovation Network’s growing thought leadership to advance evaluation. The Senior Associate will engage in research/writing projects, trainings, facilitation, and public speaking to support evaluation capacity building across the field. Additionally, s/he will lead in designing agendas, webinars, and facilitating meetings and/or learning sessions for Innovation Network’s partners and clients.

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate will possess many of the following qualifications and attributes:

• Demonstrated subject matter expertise in the areas of philanthropic and nonprofit programs, services, and advocacy initiatives, including the issue areas of advocacy and social movements, health/health promotion/health equity, policy change, and democracy.
• Master’s degree in a social science or related field required; PhD preferred.
• Minimum of seven years of related research and evaluation experience; Knowledge of/experience with evaluation concepts, frameworks, theories, and designs.
• Significant experience in a consulting environment (e.g., as an independent consultant, for a consultant firm, or as an internal consultant) and the ability to manage multiple client projects at once.
• Ability to multitask and thrive in an environment with competing priorities and deadlines.
• Strong qualitative analysis skills including experience conducting interviews, focus groups, and analyzing qualitative data.
• Deep knowledge of quantitative methods including survey instrument design, survey deployment, and analysis.
• Effective communication skills, including speaking, writing, and synthesis; Ability to deliver both concise summaries and in-depth reports.
• Demonstrated ability to work closely with team members, build relationships, and promote a sense of community.
• An energetic, collaborative, and flexible style; a natural communicator with highly developed emotional intelligence; a sense of humor and collegiality that makes the work fun.

Innovation Network is an equal opportunity employer. We consider applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.