Associate Director, Research and Policy

at  Share our Strength

Since 1984, Share Our Strength® has led the fight against hunger and poverty by inspiring and organizing individuals and businesses to share their strengths. Today, through the No Kid Hungry campaign, Share Our Strength is ending childhood hunger in America by ensuring all children get the healthy food they need. No child should go hungry in America – we’re on our way to making that a reality and we want you to join us. We’re bold, creative, always open to new ideas, and 100% dedicated to our mission. If that sounds like you, we’d like you to consider becoming part of our team.
Share Our Strength is looking for an Associate Director to lead and develop the organization’s Research work. The Associate Director of Research will be responsible for identifying key opportunities to invest in externally led research or conduct internal research. In the short term, our research will primarily focus on understanding the implementation and impact of the new USDA Summer Nutrition for Kids (SUN) Programs. The Associate Director will work to develop Share Our Strength’s research presence in the field, including producing external-facing reports, and developing strategic relationships with other individuals and organizations conducting research. This position will manage and direct the work of a Senior Research Manager.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s Degree or higher;
• 7+ years of relevant research experience;
• Expertise conducting quantitative data analyses and/or survey research, in addition to interpreting and triangulating data to identify key learnings.
• Be a strategic thinker who can leverage research findings into concrete actions and recommendations;
• Experience managing research professionals;
• Effective project management skills, including ability to meet deadlines and keep long-term projects on track;
• Knowledge of federal nutrition programs, safety net or other anti-poverty programs preferred;
• Experience with GIS and other data visualization software a plus;
• Outstanding interpersonal and relationship management skills, including the ability to identify and work through challenges, underscored by strong judgment and emotional intelligence.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including ability to tailor communications to appropriate audiences and experience presenting to senior leadership levels.
• Ability to work independently and efficiently.

• Develop Share Our Strength’s multi-year research plan to identify priorities and opportunities for investing in research to understand program or policy impact, influence our strategy, or broadly inform the field of those working to address food and nutrition security and poverty;
• Provide oversight for third-party research contracts that are directly managed by the Senior Manager, including approving final deliverables;
• Direct and approve the production of external-facing reports and briefs to disseminate learnings with the field and key stakeholders like program partners, legislators, or media;
• Cultivate strategic research partnerships to incorporate learnings from the field into our programmatic strategy development, influence the direction of others’ research to produce results that are actionable for policy and practice, and identify opportunities for conducting joint research;
• Coach and cultivate the research and data analysis skills of direct reports;
• Partner with colleagues to support Share Our Strength’s work to be a diverse and inclusive organization, and ensuring this value is embedded in the organization and throughout our work
• Travel 10%.