Senior Associate, Technical Assistance

Think of Us•Washington, DC

8d•$70,000 - $75,000•Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a mission-driven Senior Associate (Generalist) to join our Programs & Services team. In this role, you will apply systems design methods to help public child welfare agencies, states, and communities tackle complex problems—ranging from prevention and family support to permanency, transition-age youth outcomes, and workforce well-being. You will deliver technical assistance (TA), facilitate multi-stakeholder collaboration, translate research into action, and support implementation to produce measurable improvements for children, youth, and families. This is a hands-on, cross-functional role ideal for a practitioner who can move fluidly between discovery, strategy, design, facilitation, analysis, and implementation support.

Requirements

5–8 years of relevant experience in child welfare, human services, systems design/service design, public policy, implementation, consulting, or adjacent domains (e.g., homelessness response, behavioral health, education, juvenile justice).
Demonstrated experience providing technical assistance or capacity-building support to public sector agencies (state, county, tribal, or city).
Proficiency with systems design methods: discovery planning, journey mapping, service blueprinting, root cause analysis, prototyping, and iterative testing.
Strong facilitation skills across diverse stakeholder groups; able to navigate sensitive topics with empathy and clarity.
Comfort with both qualitative and quantitative analysis; ability to synthesize findings into clear, actionable deliverables.
Excellent writing and communication skills (briefs, memos, guides, training decks).
Effective project management: scoping, workplanning, risk management, and on-time delivery in dynamic, multi-partner environments.
Commitment to centering lived expertise, equity, and trauma-informed practice; cultural humility and relationship orientation.
Ability to travel for partner engagements as needed.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience working within a state/county/tribal child welfare agency or community-based provider.
Familiarity with child welfare policy and funding (e.g., FFPSA, Title IV-E/IV-B, CQI practices, licensing/placement policy, prevention services, kinship support).
Experience supporting youth and young adults with lived experience in foster care or related systems.
Analytical tools (e.g., Excel/Sheets, basic data visualization); comfort collaborating with data teams.
Bilingual or multilingual skills.

Responsibilities

Systems Discovery and Problem Framing
Lead and support mixed-method discovery (interviews, workshops, journey mapping, data reviews) to understand root causes and system constraints.
Translate findings into clear problem statements, hypotheses, and prioritized opportunities.
Service and Systems Design
Co-create solutions with agency partners, youth and family leaders, and community providers using service blueprinting, prototyping, and iterative testing.
Document workflows, roles, decision points, and policy/tech implications; identify enabling conditions, risks, and mitigation strategies.
Lead mixed-method discovery efforts (interviews, workshops, journey mapping, data reviews) to surface root causes, system constraints, and opportunities for change.
Help translate discovery findings and user needs into clear product/technology requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria in collaboration with product and engineering teams.
Technical Assistance and Implementation Support
Provide TA to state/county/tribal agencies and community partners on policy translation, program design, change management, and implementation planning.
Develop tools, guides, protocols, and training materials (e.g., playbooks, facilitation decks, standard work, dashboards) to build local capacity.
Support pilots and scale-up through learning cycles, rapid feedback loops, and continuous improvement practices.
Support partners in understanding and adopting technology-enabled tools and approaches, including AI-powered platforms, as part of how they deliver services and make decisions.
Work with agency teams to define what success looks like, set up ways to track progress, and build learning and improvement into the day-to-day — not as a separate activity, but as part of how the work gets done.
Maintain and curate TA tools, playbooks, and a central learning repository so partner materials are discoverable and reusable.
Stakeholder Facilitation and Partnership Management
Plan and facilitate meetings and workshops across agency leadership, frontline staff, youth and family partners, providers, and advocates.
Build trust-based relationships that center lived expertise and foster shared ownership of outcomes.
Analysis, Measurement, and Learning
Synthesize qualitative and quantitative data; convert insights into practical recommendations and decision-ready briefs.
Define outcomes, indicators, and measurement plans; support data-informed learning agendas and progress reviews.
Project Delivery and Collaboration
Manage workplans, timelines, and deliverables with strong attention to detail and quality.
Collaborate with policy, research, product/technology, and communications teammates to deliver integrated solutions.
Bring what you're learning in the field — what's working, what's stuck, what's emerging, back to the broader Think of Us team so it can shape our strategy, policy positions, and product development.
Contribute to proposal development, donor reporting, and the preparation of deliverables required by grants, contracts, and funders.
Equity, Lived Expertise, and Trauma-Informed Practice
Operationalize equity, cultural humility, and trauma-informed principles throughout the work.
Ensure youth, parents, kin, and community leaders are meaningfully engaged as co-designers and decision-makers.

Benefits

100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees; 50% for dependents.
Access to Talkspace for confidential therapy and mental health support.
Short-Term Disability, Life, and AD&D Insurance included.
Optional Long-Term Disability and Supplemental Life Insurance.
Health Care and Dependent Care FSAs available.
401(k) Plan for pre-tax retirement contributions.
Work-from-home setup stipend to optimize your workspace.
Flexible PTO policy, plus sick leave and paid leaves of absence.
8 company holidays, plus three organization-wide seasonal breaks.
TOU values continuous learning and invests in the professional development of its employees in alignment with organizational needs based on role, performance, business needs, and Company policies.
Regular organization-wide learning sessions on relevant and reflective topics.