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Managing Director, Employment and Economic Opportunity Program

US-Remote | US-VA-Arlington | US-NC-Chapel Hill | US-IL-Chicago | US-CA-Sacramento | US-TX-Austin

AIR is seeking a Managing Director to join our Employment and Economic Opportunity Program (EEOP) Program. EEOP focuses on the full employment cycle in the U.S. including workforce readiness, recruitment, selection, performance management, training, and improving employment and life outcomes for all people, with special attention to underserved populations. We apply the best available evidence to develop the knowledge, systems, programs, processes, and tools needed to maximize human and organizational potential for federal, state, regional, and local agencies; leading foundations; post-secondary institutions; school districts, workforce agencies, and other community-based organizations; private businesses; and professional associations. Our evidence-building, systemic improvement, and change management efforts always aim to contribute to economic vitality, future-readiness, and resiliency for all people and communities.

The Managing Director will serve as a senior thought leader who shapes strategy, leads and grows cross-sector education‑to‑career and human services research, drives business development and funder relationships, ensures high‑quality project execution, mentors staff, and elevates organizational visibility through research leadership and external engagement.

This position has the flexibility to work remotely within the United States (U.S.) or from one of AIR’s U.S. office locations. This does not include U.S. territories. 

About AIR:

Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance to address some of the most pressing challenges in the United States and globally. We generate evidence and apply data-driven solutions that expand opportunities and improve lives for all.

Responsibilities:

Working as a thought leader and content expert across public programs spanning education-to-career pathways and human service supports, including:

  • contributing to the vision for AIR’s future work, knowing trends and market opportunities, and working with other division leaders to create and execute a plan to grow new work with federal, state, local, and foundation clients.
  • leading work as a principal investigator/project director and supporting other leads in conceptualizing research studies, ensuring high quality implementation, and defining and measuring outcomes for cross-market research at the federal, state, and local levels.

Working with AIR’s program and corporate leadership to create business development strategy for established areas and specific new areas of growth identify new opportunities, including:

  • coordinating pursuit plans and pipelines across a set of federal, state, local, and foundation funders of education-to-career and human service-focused research.
  • contributing to and making bid/no-bid decisions in collaboration with program leadership teams.
  • leading and supporting pursuits of new opportunities, conceptualizing bid strategy and research plans, contributing to proposal writing, and conducting critical technical reviews of major proposals.
  • nurturing relationships with potential partners and existing funders and building new funder relationships.
  • monitoring existing work with those clients and funders, to ensure that the right capabilities are brought to bear on new pursuits and to have a sense of strengths and potential challenges.
  • monitoring staff capacity to work on projects and new pursuits with those clients and funders.
  • mentoring staff in business development strategy and proposal development.

Leading research studies and mentoring staff to successfully lead and contribute to education research studies as a Project Director, Principal Investigator, advisor, and/or Quality Assurance reviewer, including:

  • integrating effective project management and quality methods to manage complex projects, including effective management of budget, quality, client, and project staff.
  • mentoring staff to integrate effective project management and quality methods.
  • communicating regularly with clients and internal team members to gather feedback, sustain project momentum, and respond to needs.
  • conducting quality reviews of project deliverables and supporting project teams to clearly and effectively communicate research plans and findings.

Conducting a variety of activities with staff and AIR’s Communications Department to foster external visibility and contribute to AIR’s preeminence in cross-sector research, technical assistance, and data analytics, including presentations at major conferences, publications, visits with clients, etc.

Qualifications:

Education, Knowledge, and Experience

  • Ph.D. or masters degree in a substantive area such as public policy, economics, social science, or social service discipline with national or international reputation for evaluation/research expertise as evidenced through research grants and other funding received, publications, and overall body of work.
  • A minimum of 15 years of leadership/management experience in fields relevant to the substantive areas.
  • Demonstrated experience conducting applied research, evaluating policies and programs, and/or conducting evaluations or impact studies including randomized control trials, quasi-experimental studies, and field-based research projects.
  • Proven ability to manage large-scale research projects, lead teams, write reports, and publish and present findings.
  • Demonstrated success leading large scale initiatives with evidence of outcomes, ideally in high need areas such as cross-system studies in education-to-work, high-growth sectors, and integrating administrative and high-frequency data into analysis.
  • Demonstrated track record in conceptualizing and writing proposals that have resulted in funding to build a body of work.
  • Established networks in the field (federal, state, local, foundation) with a willingness to draw on, cultivate, and expand relationships on behalf of AIR.

 Skills

  • Thought leader with sophisticated understanding of the policy landscape and evidence gaps in workforce development, human service agencies, and cross-system approaches, as demonstrated through publications/presentations, award of contracts and grants, and overall body of work.
  • Demonstrated ability to develop rapport with and lead mission-driven teams with both internal (staff) members and external (subcontractor and consultant) members.
  • Collaborative leadership, organizational, and interpersonal skills at a senior level. 

Disclosures: Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S. on a full-time basis. Employment-based visa sponsorship (including H-1B sponsorship) is not available for this position. Depending on project work, qualified candidates may need to meet certain residency requirements.

American Institutes for Research is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability. AIR adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo reference and background checks. AIR maintains a drug-free work environment. 

ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE: If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process due to a physical or mental disability, please send an email to Taliba Boone at tboone@air.orgor call 202.403.5000.

Fraudulent Job Scams Warning & Disclaimer: AIR is aware of individuals falsely presenting themselves as AIR representatives. Fraudulent job scams seek to extract sensitive information or money from victims. To protect yourself, please be aware that AIR recruitment will only email you from an “@air.org” domain. Please take extra caution while examining the email address, for example jdoe@air.org is correct and jdoe@aircareers.org is not a legitimate AIR email address. If you are unsure of the legitimacy of a communication you have received, please reach out torecruitment@air.org. If you see a job scam, or lose money to one, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) atReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can also report it to your state attorney general. Find out more about how to avoid scams atftc.gov/scams.

AIR’s Total Rewards Program, is designed to reward our staff competitively and motivate them to achieve our critical mission. This position offers the anticipated annual salary as listed. Salary offers are made based on internal equity within the institution and external equity with competitive markets. Please note this is the annual salary range for candidates that are based in the United States.

Anticipated Annual Salary Range

$195,000 - $260,000 USD

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