This new role on the Postsecondary Success team is charged with lifting up evidence-based student success practices from across the country and supporting their dissemination and implementation in our focus states. This work will include investing in a portfolio of partners who can help adapt practices to local context while retaining integrity to their original evidence-based approaches. The role also includes providing research and analysis work in support of other scaling-related grant-making, strategy development and coordination with colleagues across the program and policy, advocacy and communications teams.
Areas of Responsibility:
- Plan, manage and execute a wide range of activities in support of strategic planning, prospecting and developing complex investment opportunities
- Interface with our Global Policy Advocacy “State and Local” team to identify programmatic scaling opportunities in our focus states
- Review letters of inquiry and grant proposals; provide clear, concise and insightful written analyses and recommendations for funding, including drafting and editing proposal summaries and progress reports for existing grants for review by foundation leadership.
- Consult with grantees to achieve desired impact of grants; conduct site visits when appropriate, provide technical guidance, convene meetings and apply and evaluate milestone-based performance objectives.
- Prepare and write briefs and synthesize existing literature regarding scaling evidence-based practices (with a particular emphasis on the role of state and regional systems). Provide written analysis of key topics for foundation management. Fulfill data requests from leadership.
- Manage internal processes and portfolio progress while ensuring appropriate documentation, grant budgeting and reporting. Improve operational efficiency and effectiveness.
Educational Background:
Bachelor’s or other advanced degree
Skills/Experience:
Leadership and Culture
- We believe that energized people, working well together, fueled by great leadership in an inclusive environment in which they thrive, will do phenomenal things. This role is cross-functional in nature and therefore we are looking for a candidate who can be highly collaborative in their work style.
Core Knowledge and Skills
- Knowledge (preferably through direct experience) of public higher education systems
- Knowledge and skills related to institutional change processes (particularly past pilot level and into broader scale- i.e. reaching the majority of students within an institution)
- Strong understanding of key student success concepts, particularly focused on practices that help close opportunity gaps
- Strong analytical, writing and verbal skills for communicating with a broad and diverse audience
- Ability to absorb and quickly distill large amounts of information
- Intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm for understanding the complex challenges of scaling evidence-based practices in higher education
- Effective as a collaborator in complex internal and external orgs
- Extensive project contribution and management experience
- Takes direction well, continually and effectively incorporating feedback into work to address needs of the team and leadership
- Nimble and thoughtful while adapting to shifting priorities potentially at a rapid pace
- Able to provide counter opinions and novel viewpoints with a rigorous, constructive and diplomatic approach
- Practical, proven experience working in partnerships / collaborations
- Experience collecting / analyzing data or applying programmatic innovations at a state/system/regional/consortia levels; i.e., state data coordinator
- Position requires up to 35% travel.
Education and Experience
- Bachelor’s or other advanced degree with 5+ years of experience, particularly in higher education, preferably with state systems or membership organizations or other college change networks. Some consulting experience is also preferred.
Job Function:
Organization Info
Listing Stats
Post Date:
Dec 11 2017
Active Until:
Jan 11 2018
Hiring Organization:
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
industry:
Nonprofit