The Newark Trust for Education (The Trust) is seeking a highly motivated Research and Evaluation Officer to be a key member of the Trust’s team. The successful candidate is a motivated self-starter and a team player with experience in the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data. The candidate should also be highly organized and detail oriented, with knowledge of, or a strong interest in the education sector in Newark, NJ.

Type of Position: Full-time

Start Date: November 15th (flexible)

Reports to: Director of Programs and Engagement

Salary: Competitive salary and benefits commensurate with experience

Location: Newark, NJ

About Newark Trust for Education

The Newark Trust for Education (The Trust) is an independent nonprofit dedicated to coordinating and focusing ideas, people, and resources; and holding all of us responsible for providing a quality public education for all children in Newark. The Trust was launched in January 2011 to help facilitate a shared vision for high quality public education and to support information-sharing and collective action strategies aimed at improving education outcomes for children in Newark. This is achieved by brokering and strengthening relationships that harness the energy, expertise, and passion of people and organizations so that all children have access to a high-quality public education.

At Newark Trust for Education we believe that systems must be designed to support student learning with the internal capacity and resources required to be effective. In light of the city's transition to local control we are exploring potential strategies to support residents’ knowledge acquisition about the roles and responsibilities of the Board of Education. The goal is to increase positive participation in School Board meetings and increase the pool of residents interested in serving on Newark's Board of Education. Another element to developing effective, efficient and responsive systems is the identification of partners with which to collaborate as we work to develop, build and promote the use of a citywide data systems.

Job duties of the Research and Evaluation Officer include, but are not limited to:

Program Evaluation

Read and analyze interim and final reports for all schools and organizations awarded NTE grants.
Attend school and program site visits to document qualitative data.
Create a system for aggregating relevant programmatic data over time.
Document trends, continuity, and successes and challenges; complete end of year analysis and report.
Work with leadership team and schools to create a common set of indicators for Safe and Supportive Schools grant program and align with South Ward Community Schools Initiative.
Work with consultants and outside evaluators to interpret results of reports and integrate findings into organizational protocols.

Strategic Research and Writing

Support the Executive Director and the Director of Programs and Community Engagement in carrying out discreet research projects to enhance the profile of strategic priorities.
Conduct literature and desk reviews, historical scans and stakeholder interviews.
Prepare concise and engaging white papers (1-2 annually).
Keep abreast of national trends related to strategic priorities.

Organizational Data Analysis

Work with Director of Operations to create and maintain organizational dashboard to track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), including the ongoing collection of internal and external data.

Skills and Qualifications

Excellent communication and writing skills;
Deep knowledge of research, monitoring and evaluation techniques and their application in the non-profit sector;
Passionate about the collection and maintenance of usable data for decision-making;
Ability to analyze a variety of data and create compelling presentations for a variety of audiences;
Ability to work with school personnel to enhance understanding of and assist with data collection methods;
Self-starter - ability to create simple data collection systems from scratch;
Technical skills: Advanced excel, working knowledge of CRM platforms such as Salesforce; SQL a plus.

Sense of humor and a roll up your sleeves, get it done attitude a must!

Application Instructions