The Walton Family Foundation is seeking a skilled, highly motivated, and entrepreneurial individual to join the team as a SLED Officer in support of the Education program.

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Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
We are committed to embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the organization to foster an environment where all associates THRIVE and belong. We do this by creating:

• a culture committed to continuous learning that recognizes and values differences
• an environment of respect and connection to learn from the richness of identities, experiences, and perspectives
• fair access for all to opportunities for growth and advancement

About the Position
Strategy, learning, and evaluation are at the core of who we are at the Walton Family Foundation. Our SLED team plays a central role in providing actionable information that helps inform decision-making about individual grants as well as overall strategy. We are dedicated to learning not only from our own grantmaking, but also with and from our grantees and partners in the field. Through a strategic approach to learning, we can develop stronger strategies to achieve the greatest impact.

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Specific duties include the following:
Strategy

• Provide support to the Education program to ensure strategies are fully conceptualized as they evolve over time, including assisting in the development and refinement of theories of change, assumptions, hypotheses, key performance indicators, and learning agendas and throughout the strategy lifecycle
• Assist in the preparation for mid- and end-of-year strategy review meetings

Evaluation

• Assist in creating rigorous and actionable evidence for Education staff and other key stakeholders
• Collaborate with staff and grantees to develop meaningful, outcome-focused performance measures as part of the grant proposal development process
• Conduct evaluations of select grants, including the development of lessons learned in collaboration with program staff and grantees
• Support the design and management of research and evaluation projects, grounded in culturally responsive and equitable approaches, to provide quantitative and qualitative evidence that is useful, timely, and informs strategic decisions
• Contribute to the development of research grant portfolios that address knowledge gaps and program learning needs
• Produce (or manage others to produce) internal and external products that clearly summarize and synthesize key findings and insights for the Education program

• Data collection, analysis, and documentation:
• Review, compile, and analyze data from grantee reports
• Collect and analyze primary and secondary data related to key performance indicators and strategic learning questions
• Create and maintain detailed documentation of data sources and analysis methods

• Grants and contracts administration
• Manage grants and contracts, in alignment with the larger strategy of the program. This includes collaborating on proposal development, sourcing, shepherding proposals through the foundation’s approval process in a timely manner, and monitoring third-party partner progress toward objectives

Learning

• Assist in the planning and implementation of learning activities with program staff
• Contribute to the development and implementation of Foundation-wide strategic learning processes, tools, and staff trainings
• Participate in and contribute to SLED learning and development activities
• Consistently model key characteristics of a learning culture, including curiosity, openness, experimentation, risk-taking, acknowledging mistakes, etc.

Whom we are looking for:
Desired education and experience

• Master’s or Doctoral degree in a relevant social science field, such as education, economics, sociology, public policy, etc.
• One to three years of experience working directly on research and/or evaluation projects
• Subject-area knowledge in one or more of the following topics: K-12 education policy, school choice, charter schools, school governance and finance, human capital (teachers and school leaders), advocacy, career technical education / workforce pathways, measurement and assessment of academic and/or non-cognitive skills, or related subject areas

Additional preferred qualifications
We are seeking candidates who are highly motivated, have a keen sense of responsibility, and can balance multiple priorities in a fast-paced work environment.

• Ability to work independently and take initiative while working collaboratively across and within teams
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to effectively share detailed technical information with non-technical audiences
• Experience creating clear and intuitive data visualizations
• Knowledge of evaluation and research methodology, descriptive and inferential statistical analysis procedures and interpretation, measurement, and data reporting
• Experience using primary and secondary data sources and qualitative and quantitative research methods
• Comfort toggling between careful attention to detail and accurate generalizations about findings
• Competency with the Microsoft Office suite of programs, including the ability to analyze and graph data using Excel
• Willingness to travel up to 10% of the time

Personal attributes that support your success

• Ability to act as a trusted advisor and thought partner to colleagues while demonstrating expertise and integrity
• Comfortable in a complex work environment that requires a creative, adaptable, and solutions-oriented mindset
• You are helpful, a team player, and show respect while collaborating with others
• You are results oriented and exercise sound judgment in your work
• A lifelong learner, who is inquisitive and solves problems with bold thinking and innovation
• You are dedicated to achieving excellence and work with others to tackle the tasks at hand

About the Walton Family Foundation
The Walton Family Foundation is, at its core, a family-led foundation. Three generations of the descendants of our founders, Sam and Helen Walton, and their spouses, work together to lead the foundation and create access to opportunity for people and communities. We work in three areas: improving K-12 education, protecting rivers and oceans and the communities they support, and investing in our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. To learn more, visit waltonfamilyfoundation.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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About SLED
The Strategy, Learning, and Evaluation Department (SLED) at the Walton Family Foundation supports careful planning, rigorous research, and systematic assessment in service of organizational learning, strategic adaptation, and philanthropic impact. We seek to learn with our grantees and other partners and advance the fields in which we work.

About the K-12 Education Program
Learn more about the Education Program strategy here.

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Compensation and Benefits
The Walton Family Foundation offers an excellent benefits package and a competitive salary that is commensurate with experience.
All offers of employment are contingent on your successful completion (where permitted by state law) of a confidentiality agreement and background check. In addition, you will need to provide proper identification verifying your eligibility to work in the United States on your first day of work.

Salary Range: $128,000 - $150,000

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The Walton Family Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building and maintaining a culturally diverse workplace that is free of discrimination and harassment of any kind. We encourage women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate.
Basic Qualifications

• Master’s or Doctoral degree in a relevant social science field, such as education, economics, sociology, public policy, etc.
• One to three years of experience working directly on research and/or evaluation projects
• Subject-area knowledge in one or more of the following topics: K-12 education policy, school choice, charter schools, school governance and finance, human capital (teachers and school leaders), advocacy, career technical education / workforce pathways, measurement and assessment of academic and/or non-cognitive skills, or related subject areas

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $128,000.00 - $150,000.00 per year