Senior Associate, Data and Analytics

Afton Partners is seeking a Senior Associate in Data & Analytics to support education finance and policy projects across early childhood education (ECE) and K-12. This role is ideal for a candidate who can work independently on deep analysis, develop financial and statistical models, build dashboards, and interpret education funding and policy trends to inform decision-making. The ideal candidate has strong quantitative skills, experience working with complex datasets, and a passion for education finance, funding adequacy, program evaluation, and strategic resource allocation.

This is a full-time, remote position with geographic flexibility, requiring up to 10% travel, and offering competitive pay and benefits, including health insurance, paid time off, and 401(k) with company match. The salary range for the position is $105,000-$117,500.

About Afton

Afton Partners is an impact-driven consultancy that reimagines and implements systems, policies, and practices that improve lives. We bring technical savvy and a relational approach to partnerships with clients across the early care and education, K-12, higher education, and workforce development sectors. Since 2011, Afton has collaborated on more than 150 initiatives in 40 states, and our clients include state and local government agencies, public school systems, charter schools, and philanthropies. We’re creative, committed, and energized by complexity. Together, we can solve our toughest societal challenges and co-create a future where each person has the opportunity for growth and fulfillment.

Key Responsibilities

Data Management, Cleaning, & Integration

• Manage and analyze large-scale ECE and K-12 datasets from federal, state, and local sources.
• Work with disparate datasets, including funding allocations, program participation, student outcomes, and demographic data.
• Merge, clean, and transform complex financial, academic, and operational data for analysis.
• Integrate publicly available datasets such as:
  • American Community Survey (ACS) & Census Bureau (childcare access, socioeconomic factors).
  • Head Start Program Information Reports (PIR) (enrollment, staffing, and funding data).
  • CCDF State Plans & Funding Data (federal child care subsidy programs).
  • State Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) (student performance, enrollment, finance).
  • State and Local Education Agency school finance data

Statistical & Financial Modeling

• Conduct equity and adequacy analyses for ECE and K-12 funding.
• Develop cost models for early childhood and K-12 programs.
• Assist in designing statistical analyses to evaluate variable relationships and program impact.
• Support return on investment (ROI) studies to measure cost-effectiveness of funding allocations.
• Conduct trend and scenario modeling for education finance and policy decisions.

Data Visualization & Reporting

• Build interactive dashboards and data visualizations using Power BI, Tableau, or Python.
• Present complex funding trends and policy impacts in clear, actionable formats.
• Design geospatial visualizations of funding disparities (using Power BI, Tableau, or ArcGIS).
• Develop data-driven reports, policy briefs, and presentations for clients and stakeholders.

Policy & Landscape Analysis

• Assess funding trends and policy shifts in early childhood and K-12 education.
• Support current landscape analysis for state and local funding decisions.
• Evaluate federal and state funding mechanisms (e.g., Title I, IDEA, CCDBG, and UPK programs).
• Review and summarize best practices in data-driven education policy and finance analysis.

Project Support & Client Engagement

• Work closely with clients in state agencies, local school districts, and philanthropic organizations.
  
• Collaborate with internal teams to codify best practices in data analytics and modeling.
  
• Support client presentations and explain technical findings to non-technical audiences.
  
• Contribute to thought leadership, helping shape Afton’s approach to data and analytics consulting.
  

Qualifications

• 3-6 years of experience in data analytics, financial modeling, education policy, or consulting.
  
• Proficiency in SQL, Python, R, Excel, or similar tools for data management and analysis.
• Strong skills in Tableau or Power BI for dashboard creation and data visualization.
• Experience working with ECE and K-12 finance, enrollment, and funding datasets.
• Ability to work independently on deep analysis and contribute to team-based projects.
• Strong communication skills, with experience presenting complex data to non-technical audiences.

Preferred Skills

• Experience in education finance and policy analysis (state funding formulas, cost modeling).
• Familiarity with state education agencies, funding mechanisms, and reporting requirements.
• Experience conducting ROI studies and funding adequacy assessments.
• Ability to integrate spatial data into education funding and access studies (Power BI, ArcGIS).

Afton Partners is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a Drug-Free Workplace. A full list of physical, mental and cognitive demands is available upon request. Candidates must be able to accomplish core tasks with or without reasonable accommodation. No visa sponsorship is available for this position. The above information has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.