Community & Insights Advisor, Future of Work & Innovation Economy - New America

New America’s Future of Work & Innovation Economy (FOWIE) initiative is seeking an entrepreneurial and tech-savvy Community & Insights Advisor with a knack for community building, project management, research, and journalistic writing.

The candidate will help oversee a learning network, change management, and technical assistance for a national community of practice (CoP) comprised of community college workforce leaders engaged in federally funded regional innovation ecosystems, regional technology-based economic development, and emerging technology-focused workforce development across the United States.

The candidate will support an ambitious multi-year project to empower community colleges in the innovation economy through capacity building, partnership development, and the implementation of best practices. The project aims to strengthen equitable workforce pathways to jobs in emerging technology sectors comprising the future of work and the American innovation economy.

The candidate will help design and administer professional development, peer-learning, and relationship-building learning opportunities for senior community college administrators, faculty, staff, and partners. The candidate will distill insights from the CoP and communicate those insights to college and workforce leaders, policymakers, the media, and the public through compelling blogs and presentations.

This is an extensively people-facing role, and the candidate should be personable, patient, and comfortable managing relationships with senior executive-level leaders. The ideal candidate will have experience working in or with higher education institutions and will be a flexible, detail-oriented, and collaborative team player who is willing to pitch in where needed and guide complex projects to completion on a set timeline.

About New America: Since 1999, New America has pioneered a different kind of think-and-action tank: a civic platform that connects a research institute, technology lab, solutions network, media hub, and public forum. We are dedicated to the renewal of the American promise. We advance the quest to realize the nation's highest ideals, honestly confronting the challenges caused by rapid technological and social change and seizing the opportunities those changes create. Our policy experts, technologists, social entrepreneurs, and storytellers prize our intellectual and ideological independence and our diversity, seeking to do our best work to reflect and celebrate a new America. In each area of our work, we put equity at the center, elevate the stories of people closest to the public problems we seek to solve, invest in the next generation of leaders, and intentionally engage with local perspectives.

About FOWIE: New America's Future of Work and the Innovation Economy Initiative (FOWIE), situated within its Center on Education and Labor, is a research, storytelling, policy incubator, and a force multiplier for positive change. We are dedicated to harnessing rapid technological and social change to rebuild and renew the American middle class through reform and innovation across our education, workforce, labor, and R&D institutions. Our mission emphasizes building capacity and partnerships of and between community colleges, labor unions, federal agencies, state government, employers, and R&D organizations to ensure that the innovation economy offers good jobs and reliable workforce pathways to those jobs. We seek to mitigate the risks and maximize the benefits of emerging technologies on work, workers, and families.

Job Responsibilities:.

• Program Management & Community Stewardship (70%): In partnership with supervisor, help manage a national community of practice and learning network of ~22 community colleges participating in federally funded technology-based economic development and innovation ecosystems
  • Community engagement: Help foster a feeling of value, learning, trust, and fun among senior workforce leaders at community colleges
  • Site visits: Plan and participate in research and convening-oriented site visits to CoP participants across the country (~10 expected over 3 years).
  • Web workshops: Manage monthly Zoom web workshops. Tasks may include designing compelling and useful agendas, issuing pre- and post-email communications, tracking attendance, managing a resource database, fostering chat engagement, coordinating guest speaker participation, and managing live-event logistics, including breakout rooms and recordings.
  • Annual summit: Once a year, organize a fun and engaging two-day in-person summit for 60-80 people at New America’s HQ, including overseeing event logistics, supporting agenda development, communications, note-taking, and facilitation.
  • Coaching: Coordinate and participate in regular coaching and consultation calls with each participating college to better understand their needs and ways to support
  • Affinity groups: Manage CoP affinity groups program to promote networking and community-building among colleges or leaders with shared characteristics (e.g. rural serving, urban serving, tribal colleges, technology focus, veteran-serving, etc.)
  • Database & surveys: Ensure the contacts database is current and manage regular project evaluation surveys to ensure CoP programming meets colleges’ needs.
  • Grants management: Including interfacing with the New America finance office to track, monitor, and fulfill invoices for grants, events, or reimbursement for college.
  • People management: Support supervisor in managing part-time & full-time interns and consultants
• Research, Writing, and Communications (30%): Distill CoP insights into crisp, compelling writing and communications targeted at presidents, vice presidents, and senior decision-makers at community colleges and universities, as well as decision-makers in economic development organizations, state/local government, federal agencies, and Congress.
  • Research: Develop interview protocols and conduct interviews with CoP members, partners, and experts in the field to inform research and writing. Conduct other qualitative research (e.g., in-depth interviews, site visits, and focus groups) and some quantitative research (e.g., assembling and/or analyzing databases) to derive insights from CoP
  • Blogs: In a clear, jargon-free journalistic style, author and co-author compelling and concise articles for New America’s Ed Central blog detailing effective practices, challenges, lessons learned, and impact testimonials learned from CoP and, as opportunities arise, contribute to policy debate based on insights.
  • Presentations: Give compelling virtual and in-person presentations to internal and external audiences at conferences and events.
  • Communications: Support CoP’s strategic communication projects, including collaborating with the Communications Team to generate collateral and content for social media (Especially X and LinkedIn), coordinating a regular newsletter, and managing website updates.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• At least five years of work experience working in think tanks, philanthropies, colleges and universities, membership associations, or non-profits focused on higher education, economic development, workforce development, emerging technology, or public policy.
  • An ability to work more independently with initiative and drive.
  • Candidates should have an understanding of the importance of evidence-based policies and programs.
  • Inclined to think independently and challenge conventional wisdom in higher education, labor, and science and technology policy.
  • A plus if you have experience working in or with higher education institutions and/or workforce development organizations, state and federal policy, technology, or R&D organizations,
  • A plus if you have skills or experience in institutional design, teaching, coaching, or facilitation that lend themselves to CoP-style projects.
• Proven research, writing, editing, and verbal communication skills. Candidates should be able to communicate complex ideas clearly and concisely to public, policy, and journalistic audiences using both the written word and oral presentations.
  • Ability to translate analyses into written products for both narrow and broad audiences.
  • Strong presentation skills. The ability to create professional slide presentations and collaterals and communicate complex ideas to diverse audiences, particularly in a virtual environment.
  • A passion for following the news and politics, listening and learning, and reading academic, policy, and media studies and articles.
  • Research skills including the ability to design and execute a research plan, research analyses, and the identification and communication of key findings.
  • Strong analytical skills, which could include quantitative analytical skills; qualitative analytical skills such as the ability to conduct and analyze interviews and focus groups, ability to synthesize large amounts of information from federal datasets to inform problem-solving.
• Strong technology and project management skills, including using the best-in-class tools and techniques available to support a community of practice
  • Above-average skillset for using Zoom, Notion/Airtable, Google Drive/Workspace, Canva, Twitter/LinkedIn/YouTube, and Slack
  • Sophisticated notetaking, task-management, and time-management skills
  • Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, including meeting and communicating around deadlines and milestones
• A commitment to entrepreneurialism, learning, aspiration, and a growth mindset
  • Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to patiently manage relationships with executive-level leaders and experts at colleges, in government, and across organizations.
  • A spirit of curiosity, an inclination to intellectual hubris, and a love for research and learning.
  • Excellent work ethic matched by openness to feedback, being coached, mentored, and team collaboration.
• A bachelor’s degree in instructional design; learning, technology, and design; public administration; non-profit management; public policy; communications; or other relevant areas is required. Certificates, badges, industry certifications, or micro-credentials affirming specific skills and competencies related to the preferred work are also a plus (e.g., Project Management Professionals certification).

Location: Washington, DC, Virginia, or Maryland metro area preferred (hybrid work schedule 2 days a week in Washington, DC HQ); Remote candidates in Eastern or Central Time Zones considered.

Compensation and benefits: Starting salary range is $70,000-100,000, commensurate with experience and expertise. New America offers a highly competitive benefits package that includes generous, affordable health (including zero premium options), dental, vision, and life insurance coverage; A no-cost Employee Assistance Program; HSA Accounts; Tax-free metro or parking benefits; flexible work arrangements; a generous retirement plan with an employer contribution of 10% total annual salary match (7% annual salary eligible after the first year of service, and dollar-for-dollar retirement match of up to 3% of the employee’s salary eligible immediately); 20 days of paid time off in your first year of employment and 30 days of paid time off in subsequent years; all 11 paid Federal holidays; an office-wide closure between Christmas and New Year; early closure on Fridays between Memorial Day and Labor Day; 12 weeks of paid parental leave; employee discounts, and other benefits.

Application Process: Submit a resume/CV, a writing sample, and a 1-page cover letter that describes your skills, qualifications, and career aligned with the described work directed to the hiring manager – Shalin Jyotishi, Managing Director of New America’s Future of Work & Innovation Economy initiative. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. No phone calls or emails, please.

Please, no phone calls and no emails

Office & Culture: New America’s spacious offices are within walking distance from the McPherson Square and Metro Center stations and include a no-cost fitness center, snack bar, patio space, and regular lunch catering on in-person days. We foster a comfortable, equitable, and sunny work environment with a flexible/smart casual dress code. New America seeks to invest in new voices and leaders of the future. We offer robust professional development opportunities, including mentorship, skill-building, networking, and peer learning opportunities. New America is a unionized workplace under New America United. This is a bargaining unit position with eligibility in the union.

Originality and Transparency: At New America, we value authentic voices and intellectual property rights. All application materials, including cover letters, writing samples, and any other submissions, must be solely your own original work. The use of AI text generation tools like ChatGPT, language models, or other artificial intelligence writing assistants is strictly prohibited for any part of your job application. Submissions found to contain AI-generated content will be disqualified from consideration. Applicants have a responsibility to be fully transparent about authorship and any tools or resources utilized. We celebrate human ingenuity and want to hear your genuine thoughts and experiences.

New America is an equal-opportunity employer committed to hiring a diverse workforce at all levels of the organization, thereby creating a culture that allows us to better serve our clientele, our employees, and our communities. We value and encourage the contributions of our employees and strive to create an environment where everyone can reach their full potential and drive outstanding results. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, gender identity or expression, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal law. This policy applies with regard to all aspects of one’s employment, including hiring, transfer, promotion, compensation, eligibility for benefits, and termination.

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