Senior Manager, Federal Policy (Workforce)

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 (2015-2018), RFA worked to demonstrate the power of evidence-based policymaking in ways that resonated with an even broader universe of elected officials and policymakers. Now in its third phase of 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.”

Department Overview

Results for America’s Federal Practice helps educate federal government officials on the most effective and efficient ways to build and use evidence and data to improve outcomes at the local, state, and federal levels.

Here are examples of a few of our education and workforce development initiatives:

Workforce Development

Our Moneyball for Workforce Development report features several federal policy recommendations on how to build and use evidence and data to help improve workforce outcomes for youth, adult, and dislocated workers.
Our State & Local Workforce Fellowship is helping state and local government workforce leaders from across the country strengthen their networks, build skills in using evidence and data, and learn from peers to drive their impact.
Our  Good Jobs & Equity Project is helpingstate, local, and tribal government leaders build and use evidence and data to leverage the historic recovery investments in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to improve job quality and advance workforce equity.

Education

Our Moneyball for Education outlines a series of recommendations to advance the use of data, evidence, and evaluation to solve some of our nation’s most pressing education challenges.
Our Moneyball for Higher Education outlines how strategic use of data and evidence can help many more college students succeed and promote upward mobility.
Our Moneyball for Headstart outlines a vision for a continuous improvement approach that uses data, evidence, and evaluation to improve outcomes at all levels of the Head Start program.
Cohort III of the State Education Fellowship will offer states direct technical assistance to help them build foundations for sustainable, internal research capacity, and ultimately improve their engagement in evidence-based policymaking.

Position Overview

This position sits in the Federal Practice team and will work in close collaboration with RFA’s Workforce, Education, State Practice, Impact, and Strategic Communications teams in addition to implement federal priorities. This role will expand the Federal Team’s capacity to engage with and incorporate lessons from state governments.

RFA is seeking a team member who is passionate about advancing economic mobility  and who has excellent project management, communication, and relationship-building skills. The Senior Manager will be critical in identifying how the federal government can partner with state governments to improve outcomes.

Position Reporting Relationship

The Senior Manager, Federal Policy will report to RFA’s Associate Director of Federal Education and Workforce Policy.

Position Responsibilities

Policy Development and Research (50%)

In collaboration with the State Practice and Workforce Development Team

Support the adoption and implementation of workforce development policy priorities arising from the RFA Workforce Fellowship and Moneyball for Workforce Development recommendations
Support coordination of workforce development federal policy efforts across the RFA organization.
Conduct project management that synthesizes learnings arising from the RFA Workforce Fellowships and state policies to incorporate into federal policy.
Research, identify, and leverage federal opportunities to improve legislation, regulation, guidance, and programming that incorporates state and local learnings with the Department of Labor and Congress.
Collaborate across teams to research and draft policy briefs and recommendations based on lessons learned from state-and local-level teams.
Prepare proof points and case studies to highlight key learnings
Support the bi-directional flow of information between the RFA Workforce Fellowship at the state and local levels and Federal agencies and Congress to share learnings and barriers
Identify and leverage partner organizations to provide training and technical support as needed to supplement RFA expertise
Assist with schedule coordination and logistical support with RFA and external partners as needed

Systems Tracking and Impact (25%)

In collaboration with the Measurement, Evaluation, and Learning Team

Provide project management under the guidance of the AD, of Education and Work Force Policy and AD, Federal and State Policy Implementation, OA and MEL Director for the development of a federal policy implementation learning model.
Support impact tracking of federal correspondence, emerging best practices, contact lists, and progress reporting in collaboration
Capture, track, and contribute to a learning model that features lessons learned from federal, state, and local teams to advance RFA priorities

Communications (25%)

In collaboration with the Communications Team

Support social media outreach and public communication efforts to build awareness of the RFA Workforce Fellows and advance national workforce development priorities, including newsletter content, public-facing blog posts and news articles, and event logistics supports
Develop written correspondence to advance workforce development policy collaboration with external organizations and Congressional professional staff members, including recommendations and policy requests.

Position Requirements

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

Experience:

Bachelor’s degree and 8-10 years of relevant experience required;
Experience working in government, research or policy organizations/think tanks, advocacy, and/or other mission-driven nonprofits strongly preferred;
Experience working with or in the public workforce system;
Experience with collecting and analyzing policy data;
Experience managing multiple projects at once;
Experience delegating tasks;
Experience guiding at least one FTE; and
Demonstrated ability to work with groups of people/stakeholders.

Competencies:

Strong project management skills, including the capacity to manage and coordinate simultaneous projects and successfully prioritize among multiple tasks;
Familiarity with program management software, such as Asana, preferred;
Advanced skills in Google Suite, and MS Office Suite, 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;
Strong data analytics abilities;
Skilled facilitator, who is able to lead engaging group discussions and make progress on shared goals, including in a virtual environment;
Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal skills;
Flexibility and adaptability to shifting circumstances, such as navigating priorities based on legislative time tables;
Commitment to developing solutions to complex issues and developing processes from the ground up; and
Willingness to pitch in and be entrepreneurial in developing and building out new projects.

This is a full-time, except position. The Senior Manager, Federal Policy will attend program-related events, and may involve up to 10% travel.

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; and (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 $90,200 – $107,800.

How to Apply

If interested, please forward a cover letter and resume to recruiting@results4america.org,

subject: “Senior Manager, Federal Policy -Your Name.”

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.