Project Director, Economic Mobility Data Systems and Tools

 About WestEd

 As a community of over 1,400 researchers, practitioners, consultants, and administrative professionals from all backgrounds and life experiences, we are committed to making a qualitative difference in the lives of youth, children, and adults. We conduct and apply research, develop evidence-based solutions, and provide consulting services across the country in both rural and urban communities to improve equitable outcomes for individuals from infancy through adulthood. Serving as trusted partners in the areas of education, health, and justice, our teams enhance capacity within communities and school districts to prioritize impact by asking the right questions, customizing methodologies, developing relevant tools, and implementing best practices specific to a diverse range of stakeholder needs. 

Furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion is core to who we are and how we work. We are committed to working with our clients to illuminate and address disparities, value and elevate diverse voices, and ensure equitable access to our resources and services. Please review WestEd’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Come and join us!

SPECIAL NOTICE REGARDING THE WORK LOCATION OF THIS POSITION—Although WestEd provides the option of working at one of its facilities for employees, many roles allow employees to choose to work remotely for their own convenience.  The decision to allow remote work at the employee's convenience is based on the requirements of the position or project in question. 

Economic Mobility, Postsecondary, and Workforce Development Initiatives at WestEd

The Project Director for Economic Mobility Data Systems and Tools works as a part of the leadership team in WestEd’s Economic Mobility, Postsecondary, and Workforce Systems Content Area and the WestEd Center for Economic Mobility. The mission of Content Area and Center is to improve education and workforce systems to remove systemic barriers to living-wage jobs and to provide low-income people, families and communities with access to economic and social mobility. Our evidence-based, collaborative, and student-centered approaches offer relevant information, help make that information meaningful to improving learner and community economic outcomes, and support systems change.

The Content Area and Center are supported by an extremely dynamic, innovative team of individuals with a passion for social/economic justice and systems change. Our goal is to re-vision how educational, workforce, and human services systems function, both individually and collectively, to create stronger pathways to economic self-sufficiency and self-determination. Major component of our group’s work include:

• Innovative use of educational and economic data and creation of state and regional data tools to drive innovation in educational and workforce development systems,
• Use of learner and employer centered pathway and systems design to design more effective local and regional pathways and systems that increase access to living wage jobs,
• Regional and statewide educational, workforce, and economic planning that lead to long term and effective systems change focused on the needs of vulnerable communities,
• Cutting edge research and evaluation that illuminates and explores persistent gaps in our knowledge about learner journeys, systems change, and innovative practices.

The WestEd Center for Economic Mobility was to position the work of the content area at the forefront of national strategies increasing access for low wage communities to living wage jobs and economic self-sufficiency. For more information go to economic-mobility.wested.org.

Position Description:

The Project Director will oversee business development and implementation of initiatives and projects that strengthen the team’s work related to innovation in the improvement of educational and workforce data systems and the implementation of innovative data tools, including statewide, regional, and or project specific data products. The Project Director will be part the content area leadership team, supporting our expanding portfolio of work and overseeing the work of the data systems and tools team.

The ideal candidate should have the following core qualifications:

• A strong background in the use of administrative or programmatic data for planning, program improvement or systems change, in particular through the creation of innovative data tools and data visualization to support innovation.
• A proven track record leading complex, multi-year projects, with demanding timelines and deliverables, extended teams, and that include diverse technical, programmatic, or research expertise or components.
• Familiarity with diverse administrative and economic data systems including educational, workforce, economic and related public data systems and the statutory requirements of related frameworks and systems such as ESSA, WIOA, the National Student Clearinghouse, Bureau of Labor Statistics, O’Net, and U.S. Census, among others.
• Strong fund and business development experience, including managing of a diverse and extensive portfolio of projects while continuously engaging in fund and proposal development leading to new projects and lines of work.

This person’s content knowledge and experience should be matched by strong leadership and communication skills, an open mind, strong problem-solving skills, and a high tolerance for providing leadership in an environment with continuously shifting demands and priorities.

Responsibilities:

Project and Program Leadership Experience:

• Oversight and implementation for complex projects across a broad portfolio of project- including all activities, outputs, and outcomes related to project management and administration, including reporting, budget development and monitoring, financial transactions, execution of project plans, and project performance.
• Oversight of project teams implementing complex cloud-based data tools and systems leveraging diverse public administrative data sets from education, workforce, economic development, or other systems.
• Oversight and leadership of project teams implementing planning and design processes to improve statewide or regional data systems including intersegmental P-20 or integrated workforce educational data systems that cross traditional system boundaries.
• Leadership and consultation across project teams in the content area on innovative data visualization, data structures, or processes that improve practitioner use of data for program improvement or systems change.

Technical Experience:

• Technical project management focused on data and technology product development and design.
• Development of data systems and tools including cloud based administrative systems and tools.
• Designing and implementing data tools that link educational, economic, workforce, census, and other data sources.
• Data Governance, privacy, and adherence to data privacy provisions under federal or state data protection acts such as FERPA or HIPAA.
• Web tier and user interface development and design.

Strategy and Business Development:

• Lead business development efforts to increase federal, state, local, and philanthropic funding for our lines of work related to data systems and tools.
• Establish a state-by-state strategy and national strategy for business development and expansion of the lines of work related to workforce and economic development.
• Co-create and co-lead, with the content area director and other project directors in the content area, strategic direction, business planning, and growth of the content area and our related lines of work.

Project Management:

• Manage complex projects with multiple partners and internal team members, in a context of rapidly evolving priorities, and ensuring deliverables are on time and on budget.
• Manage budgeting, coverage, and administrative duties related to the adult and noncredit education projects and overall body of work.
• Support the content area research and evaluation team to identify new research needs and directions that can improve our understanding of effective practice that drives improved outcomes and impact for adult and noncredit educational programs.

Communications:

• Working with project teams, support facilitation of client and stakeholder meetings that advance project goals.
• Present information in a concise fashion in high-stakes settings such as meeting with advisory committees, legislative staff, and the press.
• Support dissemination of our work through conferences, white papers, and other presentation venues including engagement with federal and state policy leaders.
• Manage relationships across agencies and within WestEd departments.

Qualifications

Experience:

• A Bachelor’s degree in a field related to data, technology, or technical product development.
• At least 10 years of direct experience in leadership and leadership related to development of technology products, data visualization, and data informed practice including management of complex multi-year projects with multiple deliverables.
• At least 5 overall years of professional experience working with public administrative educational workforce or human services data sets.

Project Management:

• Demonstrated history managing complex projects involving project teams, multiple stakeholders, and project budgets in excess of 1 million dollars with numerous deliverables over multiple years.

Communication Skills & Accuracy:

• Demonstrated ability to communicate in a collaborative manner with colleagues and partners at all levels, from frontline employees to executives and external representatives.
• Ability to communicate complex information to diverse audiences.
• Strong marketing skills including experience with writing for a diverse audience with clarity and brevity and understanding, strategies to improve usage of resources, and curating online content.
• Demonstrated ability to ensure that one's own and others’ work and information are complete and accurate, especially under tight timelines.

Alignment: An abiding commitment to excellence and equity, and helping people attain living wages.

Travel: Ability to travel – requires 25% travel time. For staff working remotely or from a home office travel time may be as much as 50% depending on the demands of the project.

*Note: Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Successful candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.

WestEd conducts a criminal background check and education verification for all new hires. Any offers of employment will be contingent on receiving a clear background check in accordance with applicable law.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

The full salary range for this position, WestEd level 14, is $160,000 to $250,000 but WestEd does not typically hire at or near the top of the salary range. The target hiring range for this role is $160,000 to $200,000. The actual offer takes into account multiple factors including but not limited to education; experience; internal equity, and other organizational needs. 

 In addition to the base salary, benefits include: 

• 15% contribution toward retirement effective day 1 of employment 
• Pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts 
• All health/welfare benefits are effective first of the month following hire date 
• PTO: 3 weeks’ vacation (increases to 4 weeks beginning the 4th year of employment), paid holidays, and 12 days paid sick leave per year 
• Life Insurance: value of 3x gross salary 
• Opportunities for annual merit-based performance increases + annual incentives 
• Professional development opportunities & mentorship program

For more detail about our benefits, go to: https://www.wested.org/work-at-wested/benefits/

Committed to the diversity of race, ethnicities, perspectives, and opportunities, WestEd offers a variety of social and professional learning communities, such as Employee Resource groups, the Data Intelligence, Insights, and Innovation PLC, and the WestEd Parent Community, just to name a few. We hope you’ll consider joining us to build better schools, communities, learning pathways, and more! WestEd is a Drug Free Employer and maintains a drug-free workplace. #LI-Remote #Circa-ALLSTATES