Manager, Regional Impact | Research, Data, & Insights Team

Good Reason Houston•Houston, TX

48d•Hybrid

About The Position

Good Reason Houston is the region's education backbone, aligning school districts, higher education, community partners, philanthropy, and civic leaders around a shared goal: ensuring every Houston student has a clear, supported path from the first day of pre-K to a living-wage career. Our North Star is ambitious—to double the rate of Houston public school graduates earning a living wage by 2040. We believe that achieving this goal requires our region to work together; united around shared goals, measurable progress, and collective accountability, with parents and educators helping shape the decisions that matter most for students. Good Reason Houston works alongside educators, families, school systems, and community partners to identify what students need most, align regional action, track progress and mobilize the resources and accountability required to improve outcomes for every child, in every neighborhood of Houston. Today, Good Reason Houston partners with 25 public school systems serving more than 700,000 students across approximately 900 schools. Together with school systems, higher education institutions, employers, philanthropy, and civic leaders, we are building an education system that prepares every student for a future of opportunity, choice, and economic mobility. For more information, please visit www.goodreasonhouston.org . Reporting to the Director, Regional Impact and Evaluation, the Manager, Regional Impact ensures that Good Reason Houston becomes the essential creator and holder of knowledge in the Houston region about what is working, who it’s working for, and where initiatives might be targeted to promote long-term success for Houston’s students. Through application of rigorous mixed methods program evaluation techniques and expertise, this role will work closely with the Director to build a best-in-class evaluation practice for Houston’s education system, while partnering with cross-functional teams to strengthen and expand our organizational impact monitoring frameworks and practices. A member of the Research, Data, and Impact team, this role manages and executes evaluation projects by using rigorous data collection methods and evaluation frameworks tailored to partner and project needs, and engages with key external stakeholders, such as school districts, nonprofit service providers, and institutions of higher education. While the Manager does not carry formal supervisory responsibility, they serve as a technical mentor to the Associate, Program Evaluation, helping build evaluation capacity and rigor across the team.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, advanced degree preferred
3+ years of professional experience, with 2+ years of program evaluation experience
Prior experience working on mixed methods evaluation projects preferred
Familiarity with both formal and informal evaluation methods
Demonstrated project management experience
Familiarity with Microsoft Excel and Powerpoint skills
Prior experience with data visualization software (e.g., Shiny, Tableau)
Prior experience with data analysis/statistical software (e.g., R, SPSS, Alteryx, Stata)
Prior experience with qualitative analysis software (e.g., NVivo, Dedoose)
Experience with survey design and analysis preferred
Experience working in an organization or on a team that requires flexibility, a high degree of responsiveness, and comfort with ambiguity
Will consider an equivalent combination of relevant education and experience
Ability to produce quality work under tight deadlines
Ability to translate complex data outputs into meaningful insights
Ability to effectively weave both quantitative and qualitative insights together to create meaningful stories of impact and identify areas of growth
Ability to internalize feedback with open demeanor and adapt quickly
Strong data visualization skills
Strong relationship management skills
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with ability to synthesize and accurately present relevant data analytics information to various audiences
Extremely strong organization skills and attention to detail

Responsibilities

Support in the development of rigorous mixed-methods program evaluations, including logic model development, evaluation planning, data collection instrument design, analysis, and reporting
Lead the compilation of a Houston-specific, “What Works Clearinghouse”-style compendium of effective programs and best practices driving student outcomes in our region
Advise the Director, Regional Impact and Evaluation on effective evaluation methods and practices, both formal and informal, most aligned with projects, contexts, and needs
Engage with cross-sector internal and external partners to support current evaluation portfolio
Coach and support the Associate, Program Evaluation in the development and execution of program evaluation, impact monitoring, and reporting best practices
Enhance organizational practices and standards around internal impact monitoring and reporting
Develop comprehensive internal progress and impact monitoring systems and cadence in partnership with Director, Regional Impact and Evaluation
Partner with internal teams to think critically about how impact can be measured and reported on organizational priorities
Work with Director, Regional Impact and Evaluation to develop a comprehensive picture of the Houston region’s baseline in drawing down state-level bonus funding streams
Work with Leadership and Advancement teams to develop methods for measuring and reporting impact to funders, board members, and other partners
Engage with external clients, existing and potential, to gauge evaluation needs and craft best-fit offerings
Schedule regular meeting cadences with evaluation partners to provide progress updates and ensure project obligations are understood and met
Develop packages to demonstrate impact and progress for board members and philanthropic partners
Network with potential evaluation partners to expand Good Reason Houston’s evaluation portfolio
Translate research and evaluation findings into clear, compelling reports, presentations, and data products for diverse audiences including program staff, funders, and partner organizations
Support development of and execution of organization-wide research agenda, drawing from focus questions across all programmatic areas
Collaborate with internal team and external partners to develop appropriate research questions and data collection instruments, including survey design and analysis
Perform recurring and ad hoc quantitative data analysis that maximizes Good Reason Houston’s impact and aligns with strategic and external affairs objectives
Perform other duties as assigned.