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About Urban Institute:
At the Urban Institute, we believe in the power of evidence to improve lives and strengthen communities. As a nonprofit focusing on social and economic policy, our researchers and policy entrepreneurs open minds, shape decisions, and identify transformative solutions to the most pressing issues of our time.
Our Mission
To open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions through economic and social policy research.
Our Values
Collaboration, Equity, Inclusivity, Independence, and Integrity
For more information on the Urban Institute, please visit https://www.urban.org.
The Opportunity:
Central to Urban’s mission is fostering a truly inclusive community that ensures ongoing relevance to a changing world. The WorkRise is a major multi-year initiative focused on jobs, workers, and mobility that convenes and collaborates with often-siloed groups—employers, worker advocates, practitioners, policymakers, scholars, and philanthropists—to ensure the solutions we deliver are relevant and scalable. WorkRise aims to be a trusted resource for the data, evidence, and tools today’s leaders need to shape a more equitable, resilient labor market.
Urban is seeking a talented Policy Coordinator to join WorkRise’s grantmaking team, which designs and issues competitive solicitations for new research, manages the initiative’s growing portfolio of subawards, and supports grantees throughout the grants lifecycle. We are looking for a candidate who is interested in understanding and improving the economic stability and upward mobility of workers, especially low-wage workers, and working to dismantle the structural inequalities that disadvantage certain workers, especially women, Black workers, and other workers of color. The successful candidate will be enthusiastic, intellectually curious, and excited about the role that evidence can play in shifting policy and practice.
What You’ll Do:
Coordinate:
- Assist with the organization, coordination, and management of grantmaking activities to advance the initiative’s research agenda.
- Collaborate with program and operations leads to plan requests for proposals and manage timelines and deadlines at each stage of the grantmaking cycle.
- Coordinate and facilitate application review and award-related decision-making on a fixed schedule.
- Contribute to planning and executing private and public events.
Engage:
- Support engagement with the academic, applied research, and other key stakeholder communities through WorkRise’s competitive grantmaking program and commissioned projects.
- Help recruit and maintain a body of active research advisors to review incoming research proposals and drafts of grantee products.
- Manage correspondence between advisors to ensure that reviewers receive materials and complete reviews in a timely fashion.
- Provide technical assistance and support to grantees throughout project implementation.
Organize:
- Maintain a database of grantee projects and deliverables coded by characteristics of interest and outcomes tracked for WorkRise’s measurement, learning, and evaluation.
- Regularly monitor grantee reporting requirements, review grantees’ progress, and flag issues and opportunities to the WorkRise team.
- Collect, summarize, and report on stakeholder data and feedback related to WorkRise’s grantmaking, and stay up to date on activities related to grantees’ research findings, including conferences and presentations, press coverage, and new partnerships.
Translate:
- Support the research and communications teams to prepare content for the WorkRise website, blog, and social media, to include drafting written summaries of relevant academic and applied research papers and other products for target audiences.
Who You Are:
Strong candidates will offer:
- Possess a bachelor’s or master’s degree in a social science or related field (e.g. public policy, political science, sociology, or economics) with 2-4 years of experience, or a combination of substantive policy knowledge, grants management, program coordination, and project management skills needed to perform the duties described above.
- Demonstrated interest in economic and labor market policy and research on issues related to labor markets and low-wage workers (e.g. employer practices, worker power, job search, skills and training, supportive services) as well as an open, curious, flexible approach to exploring evidence in emerging areas of policy and practice.
- Background or exposure to grantmaking, grants management, fundraising, or development.
- Effective and strong relationship management, including active listening, and the ability to engage and build trust with new and existing partners.
- Exceptional written communication skills.
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
- A track record of self-direction and an ability to work independently while juggling multiple projects and responsibilities, as well as a collaborative approach with an emphasis on teamwork for results
- A commitment to WorkRise’s core mission to support low wage workers, economic mobility, and equity in the U.S. labor market.
- Prior experience with Salesforce (preferred)
What You’ll Experience:
No matter your role with Urban, you will contribute to meaningful work that makes a difference for people and communities across the country. And whether you call the Washington, DC area or elsewhere home, you can expect to be part of a welcoming and hybrid workplace. We are committed to cultivating a community and working in a manner defined by collaboration, equity, inclusivity, independence, and integrity.
Urban’s greatest asset is our people.
Urban is committed to supporting our staff’s physical, emotional, and financial well-being through a robust benefits package for yourself, eligible dependents, and domestic partners. It includes generous paid time off, including nine federal holidays, medical (including prescription), dental and vision insurance, and transit benefits. Urban is unique in that we offer 403(b) retirement plan participation immediately after you’re hired and a generous employer contribution after five months of service and 1,000 hours, with immediate vesting. You’ll also have access to a health advocate, personal finance coaching, an Employee Assistance Program, and educational assistance for undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
As a federal contractor, Urban will comply with Executive Order (EO) 14042 that requires federal contractors, subcontractors, and their respective employees to comply with Covid-19 vaccinations. All Urban Institute employees must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and comply with masking and distancing requirements, regardless of responsibilities or work location. New hires must also be fully vaccinated before starting work. Employees may request exemption from vaccination against COVID-19 based on either a medical condition or a sincerely held religious belief that prevents them from being vaccinated. Where such an exemption is approved, Urban will discuss with each employee potential accommodation.
The Urban Institute has formally recognized the Urban Institute Employees’ Union, which is part of the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU). Urban management and the Union work together in good faith and are motivated by a shared commitment to this institution. This position is included in the Union-represented collective bargaining unit, and specific employment terms and conditions are subject to collective bargaining negotiations.
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by the people assigned. This posting is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and requirements. Urban management reserves the right to amend and change duties, responsibilities, and requirements to meet business and organizational needs as necessary.
The Urban Institute is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. All qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender or gender identity, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, veteran status, pregnancy or family responsibilities, matriculation, disability, political affiliation, or any other protected status under applicable law.
We are committed to equal employment opportunity and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities. If you have a physical and/or mental disability and are interested in applying for employment and need special accommodations to use our website to apply for a position, please contact Human Resources at humanresources@urban.org. Reasonable accommodation requests are considered on a case-by-case basis.
For more information please visit: LinkedIn
