Associate, K-12

Education Strategy Group • Washington, DC

79d • $60,000 - $90,000 • Remote

About The Position

The Associate will play an integral role in executing projects across Education Strategy Group, with a primary focus on K-12 work. The role supports efforts to strengthen middle and high school systems' capacity to prepare students for high-value postsecondary pathways, including college, career training, and the workforce, and to better align education, workforce, and economic development systems with labor market needs. The Associate will work with a broad range of stakeholders, including school districts, state agencies, industry associations, advocacy groups, national education organizations, and foundations. Strong research, writing, and analysis skills are central to the role, along with sound judgment in using AI tools and verifying their output.

Education Strategy Group is a virtual firm with a home base in Washington, DC, and staff located across the country. Its flexible work environment enables staff to live and work where they can be productive professionally and personally. Travel to support projects is estimated at approximately 10%.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required.
• At least three years of professional experience in a relevant role requiring project coordination and analytic problem solving, or a master's degree plus one year of experience.
• Strong qualitative and quantitative research, data analysis, writing, and project management skills.
• Proficiency with spreadsheet-based analysis using Excel and Google Sheets, and ability to build clear data visualizations for non-technical audiences.
• Comfort using AI tools for research, drafting, and analysis, with judgment to verify outputs, flag uncertainty, and recognize when a task requires human methods.
• Ability to prioritize work and manage time across projects to meet deadlines.
• Interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships and work effectively both in teams and independently.
• Maturity, flexibility, and comfort working in a virtual organization.
• Ability to travel as needed to support projects, estimated at approximately 10%.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree.
• Experience working in or with school districts, state K-12 agencies, higher education, or workforce/economic development agencies.
• Familiarity with public K-12, postsecondary, and labor-market data sources, such as IPEDS, Census, and state longitudinal data systems.

Responsibilities

• Conduct quantitative and qualitative research and policy analysis on student-readiness issues, including advising and navigation systems, market-driven pathways, work-based learning, early postsecondary opportunities, social capital, credential attainment, and supporting state funding and data-system infrastructure.
• Support the design of research and evaluation instruments, including surveys, interview and focus-group protocols, and logic models.
• Support delivery of technical assistance and facilitation for clients, including multi-agency state and local teams spanning K-12, higher education, workforce, and economic development.
• Use approved AI tools to accelerate research, drafting, and analysis, while verifying AI-augmented work against primary sources and taking responsibility for its accuracy and framing.
• Develop expertise in one or more priority areas and contribute to ESG's external visibility and publications, including reports, briefs, blog posts, tools, and other written and presentation materials.
• Contribute to knowledge management by capturing lessons learned and codifying replicable tools and models.
• Support business development through research and contributions to concept papers and proposals.
• Support grant and award administration and reporting for ESG, its funders, and sub-grantees.
• Provide project management and logistical support, including for multi-stakeholder convenings.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level