Director of Learning and Evaluation

Position Summary:

The Director of Learning & Evaluation is responsible for leading and strengthening Just A Start’s evaluation and learning practices and aligning them with Just A Start’s recently completed strategic plan, which emphasizes evaluation, participant feedback, program integration and the deepening of the organization’s learning culture. The Director reports to Just A Start’s Executive Director and serves on the Leadership Team. S/he is part of the organization’s seven-member Leadership Team and will ultimately be leading a three-person Learning and Evaluation team.

Organizational Background:

Just A Start believes that access to stable housing and sustainable careers are the essential building blocks of equitable communities. For 56 years, we have addressed the fundamental needs of individuals and families who have been systemically denied opportunities to realize their full potential.

Our programs include affordable housing, education and job training, and comprehensive support services spanning Cambridge and beyond. We have developed and currently operate 645 affordable apartments. We also provide financial and technical assistance to support stable housing for low- and moderate-income tenants and homeowners. Finally, we prepare individuals of all ages and circumstances with the skills and knowledge they need to secure family-sustaining careers, leveraging their talents to achieve economic mobility and strengthen the region’s workforce.

Just A Start’s recently completed strategic plan reaffirms our commitment to meeting the evolving needs of the people we serve. To do so will require that we build our capacity to learn and adapt. The Director of Learning and Evaluation will be charged with building our own capacity to collect and analyze data, and to use what we learn to grow, adapt, and change.

Key Job Activities:

Evaluation and Research

• Lead efforts to promote a data-driven continuous improvement culture at Just A Start.
  • Collaborate with program directors to build-out evaluation plans in their areas.
  • Identify or develop instruments for quantitative and qualitative measurement of program outcomes.
  • With Learning and Evaluation team members, develop effective data collection practices and ensure data collection quality.
  • Analyze data and prepare internal evaluation reports for learning and quality improvement, as well as external reports for dissemination.
  • Develop mechanisms to track internal and external referrals and their related impacts.

Data and Reporting Systems

• Oversee the redesign and improvement of Just A Start’s Salesforce data collection system to achieve greater data uniformity across the organization and to align with efforts to monitor the implementation of JAS’s strategic plan.
• Manage reporting schedule for collection and dissemination of data, dashboards and reports to program directors, the Strategic Planning Committee and other key stakeholders for use across the agency, including development.
• Help develop or improve structures for collecting and reporting data, including through identifying and training point people and other staff in particular program and operational areas.
• Lead the development of outcome dashboards that are accessible and informative to the staff, board and others.

Learning and Dissemination Strategy

• In partnership with Just A Start’s Leadership Team and the Strategic Planning Committee, develop and implement strategies and structures for organizational learning from evaluation.
• Facilitate regular reviews of data and progress toward established goals with the Strategic Planning Committee, the Board of Directors and staff.
• Identify opportunities for learning across programs to improve the organization’s work and encourage innovation.
• Stay current and contribute to evaluation and learning practices in the nonprofit community.
• Identify opportunities to share evaluation and learning strategies and findings publicly to benefit Just A Start and inform best practices in JAS’s program areas.
• Work with the Resource Development/Marketing & Communications team to use evaluation and impact measurement to support our communication and fundraising strategies.

Management and Leadership

• Staff Just A Start’s Strategic Planning Committee.
• Participate on Just A Start’s Leadership Team.
• Work with program directors to design and implement uniform intake and participant feedback processes across all programs.
• Manage the Learning & Evaluation program budget and all related vendor relationships.
• Collaborate with HR and Leadership Team to identify staffing needs, conduct interviews with qualified candidates, make hiring decisions and onboard new employees.
• Other duties as assigned.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree in education, social work or a relevant field preferred.
• Minimum of seven years of experience in the areas of workforce development, youth development, social services and/or housing services, with a focus on serving disadvantaged populations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including public speaking and the capacity to produce well-written reports, analyses, proposals, and presentations.
  • Extensive experience in quantitative and qualitative analytic methods.
  • Extensive experience and skills in Salesforce.
• Excellent computer skills with proficiency in Excel and Word.
• Experience creating and delivering high-quality, content-rich trainings, reports and technical assistance plans.
• Strong analytical and strategic skills that enable effective problem-solving and creative solutions to programmatic and operational challenges.
  • Interest in and experience with organizational and systems change.
  • Collaborative work style and ability to engage with multiple audiences, including program participants, frontline staff, program directors, board members, funders and partners.
  • Strong facilitation, training and consultation skills to convene groups to interpret and examine data, make decisions and move to action.
  • Demonstrated leadership and supervisory skills with ability to engage, lead, motivate, train and manage a diverse and high performing team.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

This is a 37.5-hour per week hybrid remote/in-the-office position with an annual salary range of $105,000-120,000. The typical schedule is Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm, with an average of 2-3 days in the office, with team meetings at the office on Mondays.

In addition to a competitive salary, Just A Start offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical insurance, dental insurance, short-term disability insurance, long-term disability insurance, life insurance, transportation benefits, early release at 2 pm every Friday, 20 PTO days in the first year, 13 paid holidays, volunteer time off, employee assistance program and a 401k savings plan with a 3% employer contribution.

All employees and long-term consultants are required to be fully vaccinated and follow the organization's established protocols regarding COVID.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Must possess mobility to work in a standard office setting and to use standard office equipment, including a computer; vision to read printed materials and a computer screen; and hearing and speech to communicate in person and over the telephone. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. The noise level in the work environment is quiet to moderate.

Please send a cover letter and resume for consideration.