Senior Director, Evaluation, Equal Measure

Posted by Equal Measure on July 27, 2015

SENIOR DIRECTOR, EVALUATION
Reports to: Vice President
Location: Philadelphia, PA
(Deadline: August 20)

Equal Measure’s Focus and Team Approach
Equal Measure is a 20-person, $5 million nonprofit evaluation and philanthropic services firm based in Philadelphia. Established in 1988 as the OMG Center for Collaborative Learning, we have evolved into a growing professional services consulting firm focused on helping social sector stakeholders, including major private and community foundations, national and regional nonprofits, and government organizations, develop and implement impactful social change strategies. In our evaluation services, we help our clients achieve maximum reach and influence through practical insights from mixed-method, interdisciplinary approaches. We engage as thought partners with our clients, working together to solve today’s most pressing and wide-ranging social challenges, from educational and health disparities to systemic barriers to opportunity.

Our team of multi-disciplinary thought leaders – with backgrounds in education, economics, health, leadership, community management, and human capital – offers years of practical experience in evaluation, cross-sector partnerships, philanthropic services, nonprofit operations, and strategic communications. We are passionate about what we do, are collaborative in the way we do it, and have committed ourselves to complete integrity, continuous improvement, and intellectual truth and rigor in our work and guidance.

Position Summary
We seek an experienced leader to join our Senior Leadership Team, requiring a mix of portfolio, project, and organizational oversight. The successful candidate will:

• Be a motivated self-starter who exhibits a deep commitment to our mission of elevating insights that help shape investments and fuel sustainable social change;
• Possess a depth of methodological and content expertise to lead a portfolio of evaluation projects;
• Have established field recognition and strong social sector networks that can be leveraged for significant business development and thought leadership opportunities; and
• Have a proven track record of working in a consultative way, and providing exceptional client stewardship and value.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Evaluation Portfolio and Project Leadership:
  • Provide strategic leadership to annual portfolio of evaluation projects (totaling up to $1 million in annual revenue), including methodological and content guidance and review, tool and product refinement and finalization, and client engagement.
  • Establish portfolio and project priorities, and help support team engagement and deployment to deliver project excellence.
  • Engage in entire range of evaluation project activities – from periodic data collection, including interviews, focus groups, site visits, learning dialogues, surveys, and quantitative data analysis, to individual and cross-team analysis and deliverable development.
  • Support the development of reports, memos, workshops, and client learning conversations, and monitor the overall quality of the engagement.
  • Consistently apply strategic thinking and create a learning environment – both internally and externally – to translate evaluation approaches and findings into high impact products and engagements that add immediate value to our clients, fields, and internally to the Equal Measure team.
  • Maintain exceptional client and external partner satisfaction and relationships, including contractual and work plan negotiations, resolution of project issues, networking for thought leadership, and new business development opportunities.
  • Constantly scrutinize and increase quality and innovation of evaluation engagements by identifying opportunities to strengthen methodological rigor, apply strategic and innovative approaches, and deliver products of the highest excellence to the client and for the field.
  • Establish priorities and identify ongoing prospects for stretching, shifting, and maintaining portfolio of projects.

• Thought Leadership, Client, and Partner Stewardship:
  • Be an active, contributing, nationally-recognized thought leader in select areas of expertise, including through writing Issue Briefs, blogs, and articles; presenting at conferences; and participating in other thought leadership outlets.
  • Maintain a diverse professional network, and actively monitor the shifting context of the social sector to inform the organization’s strategic direction and field-level influence.
  • Develop, maintain, and steward strong relationships with current and prospective clients, developing new business opportunities, with an estimated sales target ranging from $350K to $800K of new portfolio work annually, depending on organizational needs and projected growth.
  • Support the conceptual development of publications, proposals, and new business services and directions.
  • Model consultative approaches with clients, partners, and field stakeholders.
  • Integrate and model Equal Measure values into all thought leadership and client engagements, including collaborative approaches, integration of culturally relevant consultancy, and issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Team and Organizational Leadership:
  • Effectively manage budget and talent to assure high quality completion of portfolio work, establishing and refining project priorities, while maintaining project excellence and client satisfaction.
  • Coach, support, and conduct performance assessments, providing guidance to team members and direct reports (up to six direct reports) to help support career growth and pathways.
  • Work with senior consultants and directors to set suitable expectations, establish clear roles, and delegate appropriate activities to project staff.
  • Work closely with the Executive and Senior Leadership Teams to support team oversight and organizational strategy, business direction, climate, and growth.
  • Motivate staff to deliver their best in project work, client interactions, and efforts with colleagues – setting an example in these areas for others to model.
  • Facilitate staff development through creative leadership and supportive supervision methods.
  • Actively engage with Executive and Senior Leadership Teams to support organizational priorities, such as talent management, organizational infrastructure, knowledge management, and communications, including leading ad-hoc and standing organizational committees.
  • Support development of organizational strategy and direction, including new service design and refinement of business model.

http://www.equalmeasure.org/about/careers/senior-director-evaluation/