Sr. Program & Data Associate

Description

WHO WE ARE

In 2020, 11.6 million children in the U.S.—16% of all children nationwide—lived in poverty, and those children were disproportionately children of color. Students living in poverty often have physical and mental health, social-emotional, cognitive, and identity development needs that schools are not equipped to support. Rooted in community for more than 45 years, Communities In Schools (CIS) strives to bring community resources inside public schools, where they are accessible, coordinated, and accountable. CIS Co-Founder Bill Milliken said, “It’s relationships, not programs, that transform children. A great program simply creates the environment for healthy relationships to form between adults and children.” 

Bill Milliken’s vision is alive through a strong network of trained CIS staff imbedded in schools nationwide building support and relationships inside schools. Today, CIS serves approximately 3,700 schools, the overwhelming majority are Title I-eligible schools across two channels: (1) independent affiliates and (2) licensed partnerships. Grounded in the power of transformative relationships to unlock a young person’s potential, CIS has a national, research-based history of delivering local results that support improved student relationships with adults, better-quality relationships with peers, and increased engagement and sense of belonging. These outcomes lead to improved attendance, improved academic success, and improved on-time high school graduation rates. In 2021, the overall CIS enterprise had revenue of $330 million, including roughly $300 million within its 110 independent affiliates. This nationwide network is supported by the CIS National Office.  

MISSION AND VALUES

Communities In Schools (CIS) is “all-in” for kids. It is our passion—it is our mission. At the National Office, CIS collaborates with local affiliate organizations to provide resources and create communities of caring adults who work hand-in-hand with educators to make sure young people have the tools they need to stay in school and achieve in life. We are the nation’s largest dropout prevention organization, and we achieve our mission by hiring bright, creative, and innovative team members who demonstrate a passion for what they do. 

‘Within the national office, we foster a culture inspired by our mission, our values of integrity, accountability, equity, collaboration, and excellence, and a commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Our culture is centered on three core tenants:  

• We acknowledge contributions and perspectives. 
• We collaborate across roles and departments. 
• We honor a whole-person approach and encourage balance. 

We aim to create a psychologically safe environment where relationships matter, and mutual respect is paramount.  

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Sr. Program and Data Associate (SPDA) for Community & District Engagement will be responsible for supporting the team in delivering training and technical support to our Licensed Partners. Primarily, the Sr Program and Data Associate will support efforts with program managers and site coordinators to promote data capture, visualization, and use in practice. The Sr Program and Data Associate must learn the CIS Model of Student Supports and CIS Data Management System (CISDM) to provide effective support and training.

This position includes great flexibility to work remotely and requires some travel. The SPDA must be highly proficient in working remotely and will also have broad opportunities to visit and support communities across the country.

PRIMARY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support Community & District Engagement staff to ensure successful completion of scope of work with each Licensed Partner.
• Develop and deliver training and support, in both virtual and in-person settings, that promote the use of the CIS Data Management System (CISDM) to inform service delivery in schools. Troubleshoot and offer viable solutions to CISDM-related challenges, including but not limited to, routine user and/or technical issues.
• Document actions taken and resolution status, and track trends with respect to common issues/challenges and fixes.
• Proactively identify and develop solutions including training enhancements, cheat sheets, user resources, etc to help improve overall functionality and use.
• Manage and support Licensed Partner practitioners in the completion of the annual End of Year data collection process. 
• Analyze and generate data reports to support Licensed Partners’ use of data at multiple levels from practitioner to executive.  
• Manage CISDM user/organization set-up and ongoing maintenance and communicate to Community & District Engagement about changes/updat