Associate, Early Childhood

About the role

Afton Partners seeks an Associate to support strategic planning, policy, and systems design engagements with Early Childhood clients across the country. Afton's Early Childhood practice advises state and local governments, philanthropic funders, and community-based and advocacy organizations working to improve conditions for families with young children, with an emphasis on early childhood education and care.

The Associate is a core member of Afton project teams. You carry out research, analysis, and engagement tasks that shape the recommendations our clients act on. Typical initiatives include facilitating public commissions and advisory bodies, engaging communities, assessing needs and gaps, modeling costs and informing funding policy options, studying workforce compensation and benefits strategies, planning state and local governance strategies, and supporting program design and implementation.

Working under the direction of Managers, Directors, and Senior Directors, you produce accurate, well-organized work and steadily build your expertise. You'll grow in early childhood policy and systems, in analytical methods, and in the craft of management consulting. This role suits someone who is analytically strong, curious, and eager to learn fast in a collaborative, mission-driven setting.

This is a full-time, remote position within the United States, requiring up to 10% travel. Afton offers competitive pay and benefits, including health insurance, paid time off, and 401(k) with company match. The salary range for the position is $80,000-$90,000 per year.

What you'll do

Research, Analysis, and Synthesis

• Conduct policy, program, and landscape research on early childhood topics such as funding streams, governance structures, and comparative practices across states.
• Gather and code qualitative data from interviews, focus groups, and surveys, pulling out key themes.
• Collect, clean, and analyze quantitative data, including enrollment, cost, workforce, and funding data. Build clear, well-documented spreadsheets and models.
• Support cost modeling, revenue scenarios, and budget analyses by gathering and analyzing data.
• Turn research and data into clear takeaways, focusing on what matters most for the client's key questions and what it means for their decisions.
• Check your own work for accuracy, consistency, and polish before it goes to project leads.

Communication and Materials Development

• Prepare materials for commission, advisory body, and stakeholder meetings, including agendas, pre-reads, background documents, and discussion guides.
• Draft client deliverables or portions of them, including memos, research briefs, reports, and presentation slides.
• Ensure all written materials are error-free, well organized, and tailored to their audience.

Facilitation and Stakeholder Engagement Support

• Coordinate logistics for interviews, focus groups, and convenings, and build clear, professional relationships with client staff.
• Support facilitation and stakeholder engagement by participating in meetings and focus groups, helping to design and implement a variety of interactive engagement approaches, and facilitating breakouts and small group interactions.
• Listen well and build trust across a range of stakeholders in the early childhood ecosystem, from parents and educators to agency officials and philanthropic leaders.

Project Coordination and Support

• Manage your own tasks against project work plans and deadlines, raising risks or questions early.
• Track project documents, timelines, and next steps to help the team stay organized.
• Take notes, capture decisions and action items, and synthesize client and stakeholder input.

Growth and Team Contribution

• Seek out and act on feedback, taking on more independence and responsibility over time.
• Build your early childhood knowledge by keeping up with federal, state, and local policy developments.
• Contribute to business development in practical ways, such as conducting research for proposals, preparing background documents for prospective client meetings, and drafting RFP responses.
• Take part in team learning and help build a strong, collaborative team culture.

Qualifications

This position requires strong analytical and research skills, clear writing, and close attention to detail. You should also have a foundation in, or a strong desire to develop, management consulting skills: structuring problems, synthesizing information, supporting facilitation, and communicating with clients.

We've found that the following experience and skills prepare candidates for this work:

• 2-4 years of relevant professional experience in consulting, public policy, research, government, philanthropy, or early childhood or education organizations.
• A basic understanding of early childhood systems, including programs (Head Start, state Pre-K, child care, home visiting, early intervention), policy, and funding, and a strong interest in learning more.
• Strong qualitative and policy research skills, with the ability to find, evaluate, and synthesize information from many sources.
• Strong quantitative skills, including proficiency in Excel. Experience with data analysis or financial modeling is a plus.
• Clear, concise writing and the ability to build well-organized slides and documents.
• Organization and attention to detail, with the ability to manage several tasks and meet deadlines.
• A growth mindset: you seek feedback, learn quickly, and take initiative when things are ambiguous.
• A collaborative, professional approach that builds trust with teammates and clients.
• Experience working with or learning about programs that serve diverse children and families, and commitment to our clients' missions and communities.
• Alignment with Afton's core values.

Research shows candidates from underrepresented backgrounds often apply only when they meet every listed qualification. If you have most of these qualifications, we encourage you to apply.