Senior Program Associate

Organization Overview  

The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) envisions a nation where marginalized children flourish, leaders prioritize their well-being and communities wield the power to ensure they thrive. The Children’s Defense Fund builds community so young people grow up with dignity, hope, and joy. We serve and advocate for the largest, most diverse generation in America: the 74 million children and youth under the age of 18 and 30 million young adults under the age of 25, with particular attention to those living in poverty and communities of color. CDF partners with policymakers, aligned organizations and funders in this service. The Children’s Defense Fund is the only national, multi-issue advocacy organization working at the intersection of child well-being and racial justice by wielding the moral authority of programmatic proximity and community organizing to inform public policy. For more information visit www.childrensdefense.org 

Position Summary 

The primary responsibility of this position is supporting the evaluation, data, and reporting role of CDF’s youth programs in Minnesota. The Senior Policy Associate supports the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC), and all supporting youth development initiatives in Minnesota to ensure program quality and fidelity and successful implementation and coordination. The Senior Program Associate will create and accurately maintain all necessary data systems. The ideal candidate will have a successful track record of working directly with youth from diverse populations, program support, and data reporting and evaluation. own the systems that measure whether young people are thriving, keep data accurate and audit ready, and ensure required reporting meets all standards and deadlines.

Key Responsibilities

Program evaluation and data 

• Lead evaluation across three federally funded 21st Century Community Learning Center sites, from design through analysis to reporting. 
• Own the evaluation calendar, including pre and post surveys for students, parents, and teachers, the annual Youth Program Quality Assessment, and attendance and demographic reporting. 
• Build and maintain the data tools, workbooks, and tracking systems that keep evaluation accurate, consistent, and on time. 
• Turn raw data into clear findings program staff can act on and lead the annual program data dive. 
• Safeguard data quality and integrity across sites, catching gaps and errors before they reach a report. 
• Facilitate weekly Youth Participatory Evaluation groups, putting analysis in the hands of young people themselves. 
• Coordinate staff professional development on evaluation, raising data literacy across the team. 

Grant compliance and reporting 

• Compile and submit required annual reports accurately and on schedule to the Minnesota Department of Education and other funders. 
• Maintain the documentation, records, and data trail needed to meet funder and reporting requirements. 
• Manage reporting calendars and deadlines across multiple reports, keeping every submission complete and on time. 
• Track participation, attendance, and demographic data to the standards required for reporting. 
• Manage programming contracts and consultant communication, process invoices, and keep records reporting ready. 
• Compile and deliver grant reports and other reports as needed, and support related documentation requests. 

Program support 

• Provide technical assistance and conduct site visits to support program quality and model fidelity and help grow the Freedom Schools network through partnerships. 
• Support family and advisory engagement, including family involvement meetings, grade-band parent sessions, and youth and family advisory groups, with logistics, materials, translation coordination, and stipends. 
• Co-plan signature youth and network events with the Youth Development Senior Manager and other CDF-MN departments.  
• Support program events and transportation logistics, including the field trip approval process and charter travel to national training. 
• Support meeting coordination, such as calendaring and meeting minutes
• Support tracking of partner financial reimbursement process
• Build relationships with schools, partners, and community organizations, and support fundraising, policy, and advocacy activities as needed. 
• Perform other duties as assigned. 

Education and/or Experience 

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in data analysis, evaluation, social science, education, youth development, or a related field. 
• Demonstrated experience with data collection, analysis, program evaluation, and reporting, including turning data into clear findings. 
• Experience meeting reporting requirements and deadlines, ideally for grant funded or publicly funded programs. 
• Strong Microsoft Office Suite proficiency including spreadsheet and data tool skills, with the ability to build and maintain sustainable and efficient data systems
• Strong organization and the ability to manage datasets, calendars, and details accurately across multiple sites. 
• Strong written and verbal communication, with the ability to translate data for audiences who do not live in it. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Experience with 21st Century Community Learning Center programs or similar federally funded evaluation and reporting. 
• Experience with grant reporting and compliance documentation. 
• Familiarity with the Youth Program Quality Assessment or similar quality assessment tools. 
• Bilingual in Spanish and English. 
• Experience working with youth and families from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds. 
• Approaches measurement and reporting as a form of care, not solely as a compliance requirement. 
• The Senior Program Associate demonstrates precision and identifies errors before reports reach funders. 
• Communicates findings clearly to audiences with varying levels of data expertise. 
• Organizes complex information and keeps multiple sites and deadlines on track. 
• Brings empathy, initiative, and commitment to children and families while fostering teamwork and a “One CDF” culture. 

Competencies 

The Senior Program Associate should demonstrate competence in the following: 

• Building Relationships: Establish and maintain positive working relationships with others, both internally and externally, to achieve the goals of the organization – must be able to work with people of all ages and backgrounds, skills, and abilities. 
• Effective Communication: Speak, listen and write in a clear, thorough, and timely manner using appropriate and effective communication tools and techniques for multiple audiences. 
• Foster Teamwork: Works cooperatively and effectively with others to set goals, resolve the problem, and make decisions that enhance organizational effectiveness. 
• Organization: Set priorities, develop a work schedule to monitor progress towards goals, and track details, data, information, and activities. 
• Understanding: Understand and appreciate the mission and work of CDF-MN and how public policy affects children and families. 
• Planning: Determine strategies to move the organization forward, set goals, create and implement actions plans, and evaluate the process and results. 
• Have fun:  Bring a sense of inquisitiveness and humor as well as the flexibility to the work. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.  

Personal Characteristics 

• Orientation to and background of servant leadership 
• A deep commitment to improving the lives of children as expressed in CDF’s mission statement 
• Ability to serve as an advocate and exemplar for the vision, values, and mission of the Children’s Defense Fund 
• Demonstrated strong relational skills. 
• A team player but with the ability to work independently. 
• Brings empathy, passion, and humor to the work 
• Willingness to work flexible hours as needed. 

Type of work environment associated with the job 

• Hybrid office setting with regular travel to program sites and partner organizations 
• Some travel out of state 

Additional Comments 

The Children’s Defense Fund is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

Note: This job description does not restrict management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time. This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of all activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee.