Associate, Higher Education

About ESG

At Education Strategy Group (ESG), we aim to open doors to economic opportunity for all individuals. We support districts, states, national organizations, and foundations committed to dramatically improving the capacity and performance of the U.S. education system to prepare students for workforce success. Our staff bring deep experience leading policy development, advocacy, and implementation in the K-12, postsecondary, and workforce sectors. We offer a flexible work environment to stay engaged with education leaders nationally and to enable our staff to work where they have built their lives.

The Associate will play an integral role in supporting the execution of high-stakes, multi-sector projects that bridge the gaps between higher education, workforce development, and economic systems. This position requires a sophisticated ability to understand the complex political and operational challenges inherent in supporting state and regional level solutions across disparate policy and funding silos. The ideal candidate will support multi-year strategic initiatives to manage college enrollment pipelines, align certificates and degrees with workforce demand, ensure the credentials students earn result in strong career outcomes, and define and deliver on the promise of the value of higher education. Central to this role is the capacity to build solutions and provide support for collaborative strategies that prioritize strong economic return for students, policymakers, and citizens, and the opportunity to develop expertise in multiple higher education issue areas.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Associate's primary duties and responsibilities will include providing direct support to higher education project directors and clients while focusing on the following:

• Problem-solve on opportunities to efficiently deliver results on key tasks and milestones across the practice area;
• Produce cutting-edge insights regarding state policy and data systems implementation, specifically as it pertains to collaborative strategies between higher education agencies and their counterparts in K12 education and workforce development;
• Providing communications and analytical support to project teams and clients, including drafting reports, slide decks, and other presentation materials;
• Design and lead quantitative and qualitative analysis of client work, including gathering information through data analysis, interviews, surveys, focus groups, and desk research;
• Conduct policy analysis and design technical assistance on postsecondary education issues, including higher education value and return on investment, data systems, enrollment, and career alignment;
• Support the responsible use of AI across the project team, accelerating and improving the quality of our output while owning the accuracy, framing, and verification of all AI-augmented work against primary sources;
• Produce data analysis, data visualization, and data insights to capture and share project insights for clients;
• Help organize in-state and cross-state convenings of policymakers and practitioners, developing engaging facilitation and learning plans;
• Assisting in the drafting of concept papers and proposals, using AI to accelerate research and drafting, to help ESG secure new projects;
• Support grant/award administration and reporting for projects, including to funders and sub-grantees;
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have:

• Strong quantitative and qualitative research, data analysis, writing, and project management skills, including proficiency with spreadsheet-based analysis (Excel and Google Sheets) and the ability to build clear data visualizations for non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated contributions to the execution of complex, multi-year, cross-sectoral strategic initiatives, and/or coordination of less-complex, shorter-term initiatives;
• Familiarity with postsecondary, labor-market, and K-12 data sources (e.g., IPEDS, LightCast, CRDC, Census, state longitudinal data systems);
• Knowledge of the intersection between higher education, workforce development, and economic systems to capture and share actionable insights;
• Aptitude for leveraging emerging technologies, such as AI, to accelerate high-quality project delivery while ensuring the integrity of technical assistance;
• A minimum of three years' professional experience on career preparation and postsecondary attainment initiatives in a state education agency, intermediary organization, postsecondary institution, school district, workforce or economic development agency, or nonprofit organization; 
• A Master's degree in public policy, education policy, or related fields, or a Bachelor’s and an equivalent level of knowledge and experience.
• Ability to travel to support projects as needed, projected to be around 20%.

Location

Education Strategy Group is a virtual firm with a home base in Washington, DC. We have staff located in cities across the country. Our flexible work environment enables our professionals to live and work in locations where they can be most productive—both professionally and personally.

ESG is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran.