Sr. Program & Data Associate

Arlington, VA • Student Supports • Posted 07/05/2024

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WHO WE ARE

In 2020, 11.6 million children in the U.S.—16% of all children nationwide—lived in poverty, and those children were disproportionately children of color. Students living in poverty often have physical and mental health, social-emotional, cognitive, and identity development needs that schools are not equipped to support. Rooted in community for more than 45 years, Communities In Schools (CIS) strives to bring community resources inside public schools, where they are accessible, coordinated, and accountable. CIS Co-Founder Bill Milliken said, “It’s relationships, not programs, that transform children. A great program simply creates the environment for healthy relationships to form between adults and children.” 

Bill Milliken’s vision is alive through a strong network of trained CIS staff imbedded in schools nationwide building support and relationships inside schools. Today, CIS serves approximately 3,700 schools, the overwhelming majority are Title I-eligible schools across two channels: (1) independent affiliates and (2) licensed partnerships. Grounded in the power of transformative relationships to unlock a young person’s potential, CIS has a national, research-based history of delivering local results that support improved student relationships with adults, better-quality relationships with peers, and increased engagement and sense of belonging. These outcomes lead to improved attendance, improved academic success, and improved on-time high school graduation rates. In 2021, the overall CIS enterprise had revenue of $330 million, including roughly $300 million within its 110 independent affiliates. This nationwide network is supported by the CIS National Office.  

MISSION AND VALUES

Communities In Schools (CIS) is “all-in” for kids. It is our passion—it is our mission. At the National Office, CIS collaborates with local affiliate organizations to provide resources and create communities of caring adults who work hand-in-hand with educators to make sure young people have the tools they need to stay in school and achieve in life. We are the nation’s largest dropout prevention organization, and we achieve our mission by hiring bright, creative, and innovative team members who demonstrate a passion for what they do. 

‘Within the national office, we foster a culture inspired by our mission, our values of integrity, accountability, equity, collaboration, and excellence, and a commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Our culture is centered on three core tenants:  

• We acknowledge contributions and perspectives. 
• We collaborate across roles and departments. 
• We honor a whole-person approach and encourage balance. 

We aim to create a psychologically safe environment where relationships matter, and mutual respect is paramount.  

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Sr. Program and Data Associate (SPDA) for Community & District Engagement will be responsible for supporting the team in delivering training and technical support to our Licensed Partners. Primarily, the Sr Program and Data Associate will support efforts with program managers and site coordinators to promote data capture, visualization, and use in practice. The Sr Program and Data Associate must learn the CIS Model of Student Supports and CIS Data Management System (CISDM) to provide effective support and training.

This position includes great flexibility to work remotely and requires some travel. The SPDA must be highly proficient in working remotely and will also have broad opportunities to visit and support communities across the country.

PRIMARY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support Community & District Engagement staff to ensure successful completion of scope of work with each Licensed Partner.
• Develop and deliver training and support, in both virtual and in-person settings, that promote the use of the CIS Data Management System (CISDM) to inform service delivery in schools. Troubleshoot and offer viable solutions to CISDM-related challenges, including but not limited to, routine user and/or technical issues.
• Document actions taken and resolution status, and track trends with respect to common issues/challenges and fixes.
• Proactively identify and develop solutions including training enhancements, cheat sheets, user resources, etc to help improve overall functionality and use.
• Manage and support Licensed Partner practitioners in the completion of the annual End of Year data collection process. 
• Analyze and generate data reports to support Licensed Partners’ use of data at multiple levels from practitioner to executive.  
• Manage CISDM user/organization set-up and ongoing maintenance and communicate to Community & District Engagement about changes/updates to CISDM,
• Partner closely with the Data and Evaluation team in the ongoing performance and use of CISDM. Serve as the liaison with Data and Evaluation to plan for new features, enhancements, and annual maintenance of the system.
• Partner with the Research and Evaluation team to conduct evaluations and present information.
• Collaborates within and works as a part of the Student Supports Department to ensure achievement of Departmental goals.

SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE THE FOLLOWING SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Required skills & qualifications:

Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent work experience) in Social Work, Education, Public Affairs, Business Administration, Community Organization, Organizational Development, Communications, with minimum 3-5 years of experience in a non-profit organization in the areas of organizational development, instructional design, community planning and/or program development. Other required skills include but are not limited to: 

• Advanced PC skills including Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Strong time management and prioritization skills.
• Proven strength in communication skills (written, verbal, and use of other technologies) and collaboration.
• Demonstrated strength and proven track record in project management.
• Willingness to learn and adapt to new technology systems and help others learn as well.
• Strong attention to detail to be able to call attention to inconsistencies, identify the frequency/depth of an issue, quickly identify solutions to problems within established timeframe.
• Willingness to learn and flexibility to shift as priorities shift.
• Teamwork--you can build positive relationships with your colleagues and are willing to help others.
• Inclusive--you’re excited to work with people who have different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives from your own.

TRAVEL

Travel up to 25% is required, including travel in the domestic US with overnight stays.

ABOUT US

CIS staff continue to work in a virtual environment; however, the national office is open and available for staff to use as appropriate. 

To ensure the health and safety of staff and job applicants, all interviews will be conducted by phone and/or video conference.

BENEFITS & PERKS

Work that makes a difference—the opportunity to contribute to an important mission!

Competitive and comprehensive compensation and benefits package, including:

• Five weeks of Paid Time Off
• Generous 403b Retirement Savings Plan contribution
• 10 Paid Holidays
• 90% of employee health care premiums paid by the organization
• Summer Work Schedule and Winter Break
• Employer-paid short-term and long-term income replacement programs, and much, much more!

Communities In Schools is committed to a workforce that is representative of the varied communities we are privileged to serve. We provide a work environment that does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, mental or physical disability, genetic information or any other basis protected by applicable law. CIS prohibits harassment of applicants or employees based on any of these protected categories. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

For more information on Communities In Schools please visit our website.