Senior Officer, Washington State Data

The Foundation

We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve. We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities. As a workplace, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.

The Team

Our US Education programs support young people along the PK-16 continuum, from pre-kindergarten through postsecondary. In Washington state, we work with local and regional partners to help students see a clear path to success in the careers they choose, with an emphasis on young people who face the highest barriers, including Black, Latino, Indigenous and rural students, and students from low-income backgrounds.

With only 50% of Washington students pursuing any type of postsecondary credential, the Washington team has focused its investments squarely on education. The Washington State Initiative focuses on supporting the transitional point in a student’s education journey: enrollment after high school in a postsecondary program that will lead to meaningful employment. The Washington team plays a unique role in the United States Program (USP), leading and grounding the foundation’s national work in place and facilitating learning and synergy between the Washington State team, community partners, and the foundation’s national strategies.

The Washington team works in close coordination with the USP division’s program and functional strategies (US Charters, Early Learning Solutions, K-12 Education, Pathways, Postsecondary Success, Economic Mobility and Opportunity, and Data). This cross-team approach aspires to drive greater collaboration, synergy, and coherence between national strategies and the foundation’s strategic investments in Washington State.

Your Role
As Senior Officer, Washington State Data, you will lead a body of work focused on strengthening demand, systems, governance and use of education data in Washington State, with a particular focus on high school to postsecondary and workforce transitions. You will manage a portfolio of grants and contracts that strengthen the Washington State data ecosystem and improve the flow of data, research, and insight to state policymakers, regional partnerships, researchers, practitioners, students, and families. Reporting to the Deputy Director, you will also support the WSI team’s efforts to identify, advance and deploy technology-enabled solutions that can expand postsecondary enrollment in Washington. You will also collaborate closely with the USP Data and Pathways teams, helping bridge WSI’s place-based work with national assets and resources. 

* This position is based in our Seattle, WA offices where employees work a hybrid scheduled, as well as participate in our generous benefits and total rewards offering. Relocation is available if the hired individual is not currently residing in Seattle, WA.

What You'll Do

• Develop, manage, and lead a complex portfolio of grants and contracts that support Washington’s P20W data modernization efforts, statewide data policy and governance improvements, development and implementation of data solutions, regional data and research capacity-building, and local data use. 

• Build strong partnerships with state agencies, regional intermediaries, research organizations, community leaders, and practitioners, aligning partners towards shared vision and goals to catalyze systemic improvements in data access and use. 

• Identify and evaluate new technology (particularly AI) from the field and other USP investments, finding opportunities to improve data use and expand postsecondary enrollment in Washington.

• Develop and implement annual investment plans; identify potential partners; solicit and review investment concepts; and provide clear, concise, and insightful analyses and recommendations for funding. 

• Implement and monitor performance-based grants and contracts, identifying and managing key portfolio risks and developing mitigation strategies and contingency plans as needed. 

• Assess and communicate strategic progress and pivots using data. Identify policy implications and leverage strategic intersections with other bodies of work.

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