Job Opening:

Director of Impact

How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit (a) a letter of application that describes the skills and experience that make you a strong candidate, (b) a resume, and (c) one or two examples of work that demonstrate your ability to succeed in this role. Applications should be sent to: Wkoen@pefchattanooga.org. Review of applications that contain all three elements described above will begin April 18th and continue until the position is filled.

Job Description

The Director of Impact provides the talented staff at Public Education Foundation with data and analysis that strengthen PEF programs and help Hamilton County’s teachers, principals, students, and the broader community better understand and support public education in our community. The Director of Impact identifies meaningful measures of success, collects needed data, analyzes outcomes, and translates complex data into clear, compelling insights to guide program improvement, steer PEF, and inform our community. The Director of Impact helps, but is not solely responsible for, communicating findings to educators, students, families, and community leaders in ways that are clear, accurate, and timely. A major project in the portfolio of the Director of Impact is to lead PEF’s work analyzing the relationships between postsecondary attainment data and income data. This research incorporates PEF’s extraordinary databases and is done in partnership with Hamilton County Schools, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and the State of Tennessee. This groundbreaking work will provide compelling information about the economic impact of different educational pathways to students, parents, educators, our community, and the nation. The ideal candidate combines strong analytical skills with the ability to collaborate with senior staff and communicate effectively with diverse audiences. All candidates must demonstrate a deep commitment to expanding opportunity for all students. The Director of Impact reports to PEF’s president and serves on PEF’s senior leadership team.

Key Responsibilities

Program Impact and Measurement Work closely with PEF program leaders to identify meaningful metrics and track outcomes across the Foundation’s initiatives by Defining practical, powerful metrics that assess the impact of programs Tracking outcomes such as college enrollment, retention, and degree completion; teacher retention and impact; and student engagement and achievement. Producing annual summaries that help staff assess progress and refine programs Ensuring that data used by PEF is accurate, understandable, and timely. PEF is action-oriented and rarely carries out academic research for publication. Data Visualization and Communication Create clear and compelling ways to communicate data to a broad audience by Designing and operationalizing data dashboards Writing brief reports and summaries Creating graphics for presentations and fundraising The goal is to provide timely information that is clear, accurate, and compelling. Data Systems and Partnerships Manage and regularly update PEF’s data systems and databases Maintain strong relationships with PEF’s partners who provide or interpret data, including Hamilton County Schools, community organizations and non-profit partners, local universities, colleges, and businesses, and state education and workforce agencies

Qualifications

PEF seeks candidates who combine strong analytical skills with a deep commitment to public schools and the children who attend them. Candidates must have Experience analyzing and interpreting data Ability to communicate complex information clearly to non-technical audiences Demonstrated ability to use data visualization and AI tools (e.g. Power BI, Tableau, and large-language-model tools) in your work Skill working collaboratively with diverse colleagues Flexibility to manage multiple projects simultaneously PEF recognizes that talented analysts come from many different backgrounds. Candidates may come from fields such as data analytics, policy research, nonprofit evaluation, education, healthcare analytics, or related disciplines. Candidates must be motivated by PEF’s mission and inspired by the opportunity to use data to help students, educators, and communities succeed in learning and in life. For most candidates, the salary will be around $100,000; higher compensation will be considered for those who have a strong record of success in a similar role and significant experience using advanced analytics and AI tools to drive measurable results. PEF provides an excellent benefits package, a beautiful workplace, and a compelling mission. This is primarily an on-site position, but a hybrid working arrangement is possible.