Senior Associate, K-12

Education Strategy Group•Washington, DC

1d•$75,000 - $110,000•Remote

About The Position

The Senior Associate will play an integral role in designing and executing projects across Education Strategy Group, with a primary focus on K-12 work. Projects will focus on strengthening middle and high school systems’ capacity to prepare students for high-value postsecondary pathways—including college, career training, and the workforce—and aligning education, workforce, and economic development systems with labor market needs. The role requires experience developing and leading college and career readiness work and designing and providing technical assistance to K-12 systems, higher education institutions, and/or community organizations. The Senior Associate will use strong analytic, writing, and facilitation skills; exercise judgment in directing AI tools and verifying their output; and collaborate with national, state, and local stakeholders. Education Strategy Group supports local, state, and national organizations and foundations working to improve the capacity and performance of the U.S. education system and prepare students for career success. The firm is virtual, with a home base in Washington, DC, and staff located in cities across the country.

Requirements

At least five years of professional experience in education policy within a state education agency, intermediary organization, postsecondary institution, school district, or national nonprofit, developing and leading work to build or expand career preparation opportunities for students.
Knowledge of efforts to increase students’ readiness for high-value postsecondary opportunities, particularly demand-driven pathways, early college experiences, work-based learning, industry credentialing, and alignment across K-12, higher education, and the workforce.
Understanding of legislative and policymaking processes that lead to strong local implementation of education-to-workforce practices.
Master’s degree in public policy, education policy, or a related field, or equivalent knowledge and experience.
Strong qualitative research, data analysis, writing, and project management skills.
Strong facilitation skills and experience leading workgroups of policymakers and/or practitioners in K-12 or postsecondary education.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects and tasks to meet deadlines.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively, including openness to feedback and collaboration.
Interpersonal skills to build relationships, work effectively in teams, and facilitate joint problem-solving with clients and colleagues.
Curiosity and eagerness and ability to develop new knowledge and skills.
Comfort using AI tools for research, drafting, and analysis, along with the judgment to verify outputs, flag uncertainty, and recognize when a task requires human methods.
Maturity, flexibility, and comfort working in a small, virtual organization.
Ability to travel to support projects as needed.
Experience consisting exclusively of practitioner-level work, such as classroom teaching, school counseling, or school leadership, will not be considered.

Responsibilities

Lead execution of K-12 projects, including developing and overseeing work plans, managing timelines, and leading implementation to deliver solutions to clients’ career readiness challenges.
Use approved AI tools to accelerate research, drafting, and analysis, while owning the accuracy, framing, and verification of AI-augmented work against primary sources.
Design and lead quantitative and qualitative research and policy analysis on student readiness issues, including advising and navigation systems, market-driven pathways, work-based learning, early postsecondary coursework, social capital, credential attainment, and supporting state funding and data-system infrastructure.
Capture and share project insights for clients using visualization software such as Tableau.
Develop tools and strategies to assess client needs and replicate national best practices.
Design and deliver high-quality technical assistance and facilitation to clients, including multi-agency state and local teams spanning K-12, higher education, workforce, and economic development.
Help plan and organize in-state and cross-state convenings of policymakers and practitioners.
Author and assist in publishing blogs, briefs, reports, and other documents for the public, policymakers, media, and other stakeholders.
Develop and grow relationships with partners, clients, and national experts to identify opportunities for new projects.
Draft concept papers and proposals to help secure new projects.
Represent Education Strategy Group at external events and meetings.
Serve as a thought partner and engage in team problem-solving across the firm.
Perform other duties as assigned.