Associate Director, Early Childhood

Organization Overview

Results for America (RFA) is the leading, national nonprofit organization helping policymakers at all levels of government harness the power of evidence and data to solve the world’s greatest challenges. Our mission is to make investing in what works the “new normal,” so that, one day, all government leaders use rigorous evidence and quality data to inform important policy and funding decisions. We believe that data-driven and evidence-based policy decisions could significantly increase the impact of the over $1 trillion that governments spend annually to advance economic mobility and racial equity.

Founded in 2012, RFA spent its first three years partnering with policy innovators to build the credibility of evidence-based policymaking, securing early and important wins in education, expanding its work to multiple levels of government and driving awareness and demand through carefully orchestrated education and communication campaigns. During its second phase, RFA worked to demonstrate the power of evidence-based policymaking in ways that resonate with an even broader universe of elected officials and policymakers. In its current work, RFA intends to demonstrate that governments at all levels can make faster, more lasting progress in accelerating economic mobility for residents when they use evidence and data in decision-making. By creating specific issue-area wins, RFA will further cement support for evidence-based policymaking among all policymakers as the “new normal.”

Team Overview 

Early Childhood, a new area of focus for RFA, builds upon our deep experience in working with governments to build capacity, identify effective interventions, and help government leaders and their community partners invest in evidence-based early childhood solutions that produce better and more equitable opportunities and outcomes. 

With this position, RFA begins the work of building out an early childhood practice team to launch and manage a range of early childhood programming that advances RFA’s priorities and goals, supports government leaders’ efforts to increasingly invest in evidence-based early childhood solutions to help advance early childhood outcomes in their communities, and meaningfully contributes to the larger early childhood landscape. 

Position Reporting Relationship

The Associate Director, Early Childhood reports to the VP, Solutions and Early Childhood whose portfolio also includes RFA’s Economic Mobility Catalog and the Solutions Sprints initiatives.

Position Overview 

This role will be critical in supporting the growth and development of our Early Childhood portfolio, cultivating relationships with key partners in the broader early childhood community, helping identify and increase government investments in evidence-based early childhood solutions, and shaping and managing the early childhood work that RFA delivers to support the work of our government partners across the country. 

We are seeking a team member and leader with significant early childhood expertise who is action oriented, takes initiative, has excellent project management, communication, and relationship building skills, and is passionate about improving early childhood outcomes and opportunities in communities across the country. 

Position Responsibilities 

The responsibilities of the Associate Director, Early Childhood are grounded in four core areas: research & due diligence, program design & execution, partner development & management, and continuous improvement. Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to the following: 

Program Design and Execution (60%)

• Support the design of operating procedures and processes that systematically identify, select, and prioritize evidence-based early childhood programs and interventions for replication, build a pipeline of early childhood program replication options, and create a programming schedule;  
• Help governments committed to increasingly investing taxpayer dollars in evidence-based early childhood solutions through their direct services, grant-making/procurement, and/or budgeting; 
• Support the design of recruitment strategies to target and recruit jurisdictions that may be particularly inclined toward the subject matter of RFA’s programming;
• Develop and deliver an approach for cohort onboarding and ongoing communications;
• In collaboration with internal and external partners, design the scope and sequence for curriculum that can be delivered in online learning environments and advances participants’ ability to implement new policies or practices affecting specific early childhood outcomes; 
• Deliver designed programs alongside programming partners, including but not limited to curriculum sessions, webinars, and other convenings;  
• Contribute to the development and improvement of infrastructure and tools that better support the learning and growth of teams in the programming; and
• Collaborate with the RFA’s finance team to monitor and project manage grant-related responsibilities as needed.

Research & Due Diligence (20%)

• Support the design of and conduct necessary due diligence and research activities to identify and recommend evidence-based strategies, programs, and interventions in the early childhood space that are best suited for inclusion in RFA’s Economic Mobility Catalog and replication using RFA’s model of program replication; 
• Support the design of and conduct necessary due diligence and research activities to identify target government agencies committed to increasingly investing their taxpayer funds in evidence-based early childhood solutions;
• In consultation with RFA’s local, state, federal practice teams, design and conduct necessary due diligence, research, and analysis activities on specific grant programs and other public funding streams that are available for early childhood use; and 
• In consultation with RFA’s impact team, conduct necessary research and formulate a set of early childhood outcomes metrics and program metrics to track and measure RFA’s impact and support the organization’s goals. 

Relationship Development and Management (10%)

• Identify and cultivate relationships with early childhood organizations and experts; 
• Build a set of trusted, mutually beneficial relationships and sustain an active network of with early childhood advocates, practitioners, leaders, and advisors; and
• Manage contract negotiations and scope of work development with partners as needed.

Continuous Improvement and Program Growth Activities (10%)

• Work collaboratively with other RFA teams to refine the early childhood scope of work and direction as needed;
• Develop processes and mechanisms to collect stories of impact and progress for jurisdictions after they have participated in our programming; 
• With RFA’s Impact team’s support, lead progress and impact tracking efforts, including monitoring and tracking leading indicators and data for early childhood programming;
• Prepare and deliver presentations to internal and external audiences, including RFA’s senior leadership, about programming outcomes and lessons learned; and
• Contribute to the development and improvement of infrastructure and tools that support  RFA’s organizational learning agenda. 

All RFA employees are expected to participate in the organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. 

Some travel may be required (approximately 10%, less if living in the Washington, DC area).

Experience and Competencies 

The ideal candidate will have the following qualifications, along with a strong commitment to RFA’s mission and vision, including its diversity, equality, and inclusion values.

Experience:

• A Bachelor’s degree and least 10 years of relevant work experience; 
• Significant experience working within government on early childhood issues; 
• Significant experience working with early learning, childcare, pre-kindergarten, or other early childhood-related providers, advocates, and programs also required;
• Strong experience with successful project completion and results production even in ambiguous environments, taking initiative to solve problems, and cultivating strong, mutually beneficial partnerships; 
• Experience setting and driving toward accomplishment of multiple team goals; and
• Experience successfully managing relationships with key internal and external stakeholders..

Competencies:

• Expertise in and knowledge of the supports and services needed for babies, infants, toddlers, and/or young children to thrive; 
• Expertise in and knowledge of how governments can increasingly invest their taxpayer dollars in evidence-based early childhood solutions through direct services, grant-making/procurement, and/or budgeting; 
• Excellent project management skills, including the capacity to manage and coordinate simultaneous projects and successfully prioritize multiple tasks and fluency with project management tools and strategies; 
• Process orientated with the demonstrated ability to operationalize ideas and concepts into action; 
• Outstanding interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships with a diverse range of policymakers, nonprofit partner organizations, and other stakeholders;
• Skilled facilitator, able to lead engaging group discussions and make progress on shared goals, including in a virtual environment;
• Demonstrated ability to manage cross team/cross department initiatives; 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to write clearly and concisely;
• Advanced skills in Google Suite, Excel and Word; 
• Strong Powerpoint skills, including the ability to produce audience-specific presentation materials with excellence and ease; 
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to establish and implement processes to achieve goals;
• Flexibility and adaptability to shifting circumstances; 
• Ability to learn quickly and approach our work with curiosity and optimism; and 
• Learning mindset and ability to give and receive compassionate, constructive feedback.

Salary and Benefits 

At Results for America, all staff members currently receive a compensation package that includes: (1) a salary aligned with RFA’s position level and salary bands and against similar nonprofit organizations; (2) a suite of benefits that includes a choice of medical and/or vision and dental care, paid time off, a 403b retirement plan with employer match, and education and commuter benefits. The salary band for this position is $107,800 - $138,600.

How to Apply 

To apply for this position, please send your cover letter and resume to recruiting@results4america.org. The subject line of your email should read “YOUR NAME – Associate Director, Early Childhood”

RFA is an equal opportunity employer that values/celebrates diversity and that follows a policy of making all employment decisions and personnel actions without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, partnership status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, family responsibilities, matriculation, political affiliation, disability, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual offenses or stalking, military status, veteran status or any other category protected under federal, state or local law.