Manager of Learning, Evaluation and Impact (Hybrid) - The Chicago Community Trust

With direction from the Senior Director, Learning and Impact, implement and enhance the learning and evaluation functions at The Chicago Community Trust to improve the effectiveness and impact of its programs and activities.

As a community foundation, the Trust is an advocate, funder, investor and fund raiser. These functions are strengthened through the strategic use of internal, externally sourced and publicly available data. The successful candidate will partner with staff across the organization to support the development of program and evaluation design, data collection, assessment of data quality, quantitative analysis, and dissemination of results to improve daily decision-making, long-term planning, and the impact of the Trust resources.

Position Responsibilities:

Learning and Knowledge

• Work with the Learning and Impact team to inform the implementation of a learning agenda for the Trust, synthesizing programmatic and operational data from across the Trust to facilitate collaborative learning.
• Partner with the Community Impact team to design, monitor, evaluate and refine the impact of pilots and ongoing work.
• Work with departmental teams to develop strategies to aggregate impact data at multiple layers of the organization (department, initiative, focus areas) using and refining existing data management tools (e.g., Salesforce). This includes grants, partnerships, initiatives, and strategies across the organization.
• Serve as a thought partner to staff as they strive to develop data-informed insights and share learnings with leadership, grant recipients, and community partners.
• Partner with members of the Strategic Communications team to develop social media posts, newsletter content and other materials to highlight the work of the Trust and the impact of our approaches.
• Contribute to the culture of continuous improvement through reflection on current practices and impact; refinement of strategic approaches, processes, tools, and data collection methods; shared meaning making of findings with staff, grantees, and the broader community.
• Collaborate with the peers and staff to regularly integrate qualitative and quantitative data into decision making across the Trust.

Data and Analytics

• Collect and analyze metrics to measure the Trust's progress against its strategic priorities.
• Use and refine existing data management tools (e.g., Salesforce) to inform progress against targets.
• Clean and transform publicly available and organizational datasets for analysis.
• Support staff in the development of impact measures, reporting protocols and the creation of meaningful reports to drive activities in alignment with strategic goals.
• Monitor the integrity of the information gathered at the Trust and help determine how to translate data into easy-to-understand, actionable reports.
• Produce reports, maps and presentations for use by staff and partners.
• Synthesize and summarize findings of outcomes measurement across grant strategies and internal departments. Present findings to leadership, staff, and partners. Provide training and coaching to grantees and staff on the development of outcomes metrics aligned with theories of change, data collection strategies, and basic data analytics.
• Compile and graphically represent relevant administrative and programmatic data to inform the Trust’s impact tracking and reporting.
• Inform the design of databases and software applications for data analysis, mapping and visualization.

This description should not be construed to contain every function or responsibility that may be required to be performed by an incumbent in this job.

Keyword: Manager of Learning, Evaluation and Impact (Hybrid)
Required Experience:

Position Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in social sciences, research and evaluation or public administration/policy required.
• 5 + years of work experience in pilot development, conducting evaluations, data analytics, creating data visualizations and GIS mapping.
• Experience conducting evaluations and analytics projects.
• Strong communication, presentation, evaluation, data analytics, and data visualization skills.
• Self-motivated and able to work independently. Must be dependable and able to meet deadlines.
• Evaluation or program experience in post-secondary education, wraparound supports, workforce pathways and/or small business supports preferred but not required

Related Necessary Skills:

• Experience in developing, monitoring and evaluating programs and initiatives.
• Knowledge of social science research methods and strong technical skills.
• Experience performing quantitative analysis using original data collection and publicly available datasets.
• Expertise with data analytics and data visualization using tools such as SPSS, Stata, ArcGIS, Tableau, Python, R or PowerBI.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite applications (i.e., Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint specifically), web-based applications and databases.
• Ability to work independently and as a team member.
• Detail focused.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, effectively, and efficiently.
• Effective communication skills to work with a wide range of stakeholders.

Starting Salary: $110,000

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are fundamental to achieving our impact

The Chicago Community Trust’s vision is a Chicago region where equity, opportunity, and prosperity abound. We acknowledge the specific role discrimination and systemic barriers based on race, ethnicity, and other varied identities and differences have played in limiting opportunities for too many. A commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is at the core of who we are, the decisions we make, and the actions we take in our work to strengthen the communities we serve and advance our strategic focus to close the racial and ethnic wealth gap. Click here to learn more about our strategic plan.

The History of The Chicago Community Trust

The Chicago Community Trust was founded in 1915 by Norman and Albert Harris, father and son duo of the Harris Trust and Savings Bank (now BMO Harris Bank). The Trust was the fourth community foundation ever created. There are now 750 community foundations in Canada and the U.S.

As our region’s community foundation, the Trust unites generous donors, committed nonprofits and caring residents to effect lasting change that moves our entire region forward. Our approach centers on tackling the region’s immediate needs and addressing the root causes of deep-seated issues to realize a more prosperous future for all who call metropolitan Chicago home.

For more than 100 years, donors have entrusted their philanthropic resources and visions to our stewardship. Guided by our deep knowledge of the community, we fund, lead, convene and collaborate to address the greatest and most critical needs facing the Chicago region. From the $22 million raised to help with unemployment relief in the Great Depression to spearheading an effort to help people keep their homes during the foreclosure crisis of the Great Recession to $35 million raised for the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund, which supported nonprofits serving our most vulnerable neighbors, Chicagoans have put their trust in us.

In 2019, we announced we would focus our discretionary spending over the next decade on working to close Chicago’s growing racial and ethnic wealth gap. The Trust envisions a Chicago region that’s stronger and more prosperous because everyone—regardless of race, ethnicity, or zip code—has equitable access to the opportunities and resources they need to succeed and live a fulfilling life.

With assets of more than $4.5 billion, the Trust, in partnership with its donors, distributes more than $1.6 billion in grants each year. The Trust Team seeks to match the passion and commitment of donors, grant recipients, residents, and community leaders that continue to work tirelessly to make the Chicago region one where all have the opportunity to realize their dreams.

From: The Chicago Community Trust