Senior Manager, Research & Evaluation

Company Description

The Context

Atlanta leads the nation in income inequality and has one of the lowest rates of social mobility in the entire country. In fact, recent research suggests that a child living in poverty in Atlanta has about a four percent chance of moving out of poverty and into a higher income bracket in his or her lifetime.

Despite these odds, Atlanta's students have dreams for their futures and their families. In 2015, Achieve Atlanta (AATL) was launched by a group of local leaders determined to support these dreams. Coming together initially with the goal of dramatically increasing the number of Atlanta Public School (APS) students who earn a degree. Achieve Atlanta today, inspired by the power of strategic, coordinated action, and using data as the spark for change, has expanded its vision for the future to include eliminating the degree attainment gap in the city, and making Atlanta a place where race and income no longer predict postsecondary success or upward mobility. A new Strategic Plan deepens and augments the organization's programming and support and expands its geographic footprint in the Atlanta Metro area. The Achieve Atlanta team is now growing to lead this exciting next phase of work, and to help us scale organizationally.

The Work

In pursuit of its vision, Achieve Atlanta's mission is to help APS students access, afford, and earn postsecondary credentials. To do this, Achieve Atlanta:

• partners with college advising providers with proven results to serve APS students while they are in high school;
• establishes strategic formal relationships with postsecondary institutions that can successfully serve APS graduates, especially those who are first generation or come from underrepresented populations;
• is progressing along a plan to mobilize broad community support by leveraging data to accelerate collaborations that further college access, persistence, and completion in Atlanta; and
• provides Achieve Atlanta Scholarships to students to reduce financial barriers to college enrollment and completion.

The Results

It's clear that Achieve Atlanta's endeavors are yielding significant gains; driving an increase in college enrollment and persistence, creating greater access to financial aid and scholarships, securing meaningful commitments from partners, identifying and removing barriers to college completion, and supporting APS to institutionalize a culture that raises awareness of and encourages the pursuit of postsecondary education, thereby enhancing individual students' ability to realize their own potential.

Job Description

The Opportunity

Achieve Atlanta is seeking a strategic and highly analytical Senior Manager, Research and Evaluation to conduct research, program evaluation, and statistical modeling to evaluate the effectiveness of programmatic interventions with Scholars and build evidence for AATL's impact. Reporting to the Vice President, Growth & Impact, the Senior Manager will play a key role in strengthening AATL's internal capacity to measure outcomes and project future results. By leading the design and execution of quantitative and qualitative analyses, the Senior Manager will help shape the way AATL assesses its impact, strengthens its model, and informs the broader field of postsecondary access and success.

Primary Responsibilities

Research & Analysis:

• Support the Vice President, Growth & Impact in developing an organizational research agenda in collaboration with the data analytics & insights team that incorporates programmatic interests/needs and aligns with Achieve Atlanta's goals
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative analyses to answer programmatic questions and draw actionable insights to strengthen programmatic implementation
• Design and execute statistical models to evaluate intervention effectiveness and provide data-informed recommendations to improve student outcomes
• Support the Vice President, Growth & Impact in designing evaluation strategies for the expansion of the AATL Scholarship in Metro Atlanta that inform both the organization's core model and the broader college access and success field
• Develop research briefs, presentations, and reports to communicate program evaluation findings to internal and external stakeholders
• Maintain and update projections on organizational indicators, using data to forecast future outcomes and inform strategic planning
• Stay current on research in postsecondary access and success, sharing relevant findings with internal stakeholders to inform program decisions

Collaboration & Communication:

• Collaborate with data analytics & insights team to align on data cleaning and analysis needs
• Collaborate with internal teams to translate research findings into actionable insights, ensuring alignment with program goals
• Communicate complex research findings clearly and concisely to senior leadership, program teams, and external partners, tailoring the message to each audience's needs
• Partner with program teams to ensure interventions are designed for evaluation and conduct post-implementation assessments to measure impact and refine strategies

Qualifications

The Profile

The ideal candidate for the Senior Manager, Research & Evaluation will be a solutions- and detail-oriented, proactive team player. They will bring a blend of advanced statistical expertise and a collaborative mindset, with a clear ability to communicate complex findings in an accessible and actionable way. Additionally, they will be a self-sufficient professional with strong data analytics experience, problem-solving abilities, and exceptional organizational skills. They will also be thoroughly committed to Achieve Atlanta's organization's vision, mission, and core values.

Education, Experience & Knowledge

• Advanced degree or PhD in economics, public policy, statistical methods, sociology, or a related field with coursework or significant experience in quantitative research methods
• 3-4 years of experience designing, executing, and publishing quantitative research (can include graduate school where applicable)
• Experience integrating qualitative and quantitative research to strengthen learnings
• Understanding of data management principles and familiarity with translating database outputs into a format necessary for statistical analysis (e.g., converting "long" files to "wide")
• Advanced experience in data analysis and visualization using Stata or R (Stata preferred) and Excel, with demonstrated expertise in managing, analyzing, and interpreting complex datasets
• Knowledge of and experience with postsecondary access and/or success (preferred)

Skills & Abilities

Operational Agility:

• Demonstrates exceptional attention to detail and strong organizational skills
• Manages and prioritizes multiple tasks with accuracy and precision while acting with a sense of urgency
• Proactively and resourcefully approaches challenges with a strong willingness to learn, adapt, and independently research solutions to achieve desired outcomes
• Demonstrates resilience and flexibility in dynamic work environments, effectively navigating complex projects with minimal oversight and a "roll-up-your-sleeves" mentality

Analytical and Problem-Solving:

• Applies exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, using knowledge and experience in decision-making to arrive at creative solutions
• Displays exceptional attention to detail, ensuring accuracy and reliability in data analysis and reporting

Technical:

• Demonstrates ability to effectively use data analysis tools for managing, analyzing, and visualizing complex datasets
• Demonstrates proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite
• Synthesizes and interprets data to inform decision-making
• Demonstrates the ability to quickly learn and effectively implement new technical systems and tools

Customer Focus and Relationship Management:

• Builds and sustains effective long-term relationships, fostering a collaborative working environment with stakeholders and colleagues
• Focuses on doing what's right for stakeholders and colleagues

Communication:

• Exhibits exceptional written and verbal communication skills, particularly when communicating technical research findings and complex quantitative results to non-technical audiences
• Demonstrates a natural ability to maintain a customer service mindset and advocate for students
• Demonstrates an empathic nature, acknowledging and honoring all people's humanity
• Approaches working and learning with humility

Additional Information

Organizational Competencies

• Mission and Values Driven: Understands how job contributes to the greater mission of AATL; operates within the core values; supports and performs responsibilities with Mission and Vision in mind.
• Emotional Intelligence: Demonstrates awareness of one's own and others' emotions, attitudes, biases, belief systems, strengths, and limitations to adjust behavior and thus manage interactions successfully and create a psychologically safe workplace.
• Strategic Approach: Understands and processes complex information for use in long-term planning and execution.
• Partnership: Works collaboratively across internal and external boundaries to build relationships and achieve common goals.

• Growth and Development: Actively seeks to improve skills and knowledge to meet the organization's vision and commitments, to fulfill current job responsibilities and prepare for future career goals and opportunities.
• Leading: Takes personal accountability for the organization's success.

Organizational Culture

Achieve Atlanta is a value-driven organization, grounded in principles that guide everything we do.

• Unwavering Belief: A steadfast confidence in our students is the inspiration and fuel for everything we do. Their dreams are the foundation for our work.
• Champion for Students: We back our belief in students by acknowledging historical inequities, breaking down systemic barriers, earning students' trust, and building their agency to become their own champions.
• Expectation of Excellence: We foster a culture of excellence through consistent effort, tenacity, and integrity, resulting in work we can stand behind. It is the standard we set for ourselves and the example we model for our students and community.
• Intentional Collaboration: We cannot achieve our vision alone. We deliberately work together internally and build strategic partnerships externally to identify and accomplish shared goals in changing environments.
• Continuous Improvement: We are constantly learning, remaining curious, and reflecting on our systems, processes, and outcomes to meet our mission. We encourage critical analysis of our work to make thoughtful adjustments, innovate, and take risks to create solutions.

Salary and Benefits

• This is a full-time position offering a competitive salary, and comprehensive health, dental, and retirement benefits.
• Anticipated salary range: $77,000 - $95,000

Location

• Achieve Atlanta currently operates a hybrid model for all staff. Team members work in the office at our downtown Atlanta location for at least two days each week to allow for collaboration and in-person connections. Team members have the flexibility to work the remaining three days from the office, home, or another location.

Deadline

• Priority Application Deadline is March 6th.

Achieve Atlanta is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of qualifications. Achieve Atlanta policy prohibits unlawful discrimination in any employment decision based on pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, race, religious creed, color, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, age, sexual orientation or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law or ordinance or regulation.

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