New York, NY

Research Fellow, The Wallace Foundation

The Organization

The Wallace Foundation—an independent, national, New York-based philanthropy with $1.8 billion in assets—traces its origins back more than half a century to DeWitt and Lila Acheson Wallace, founders of The Reader’s Digest Association. Our work is grounded by our core values, which guide how we work together, and our mission and approach, which describes what we do. We aim to create a workplace where we all can thrive and contribute in support of our mission.

We seek to improve complex social systems in ways that are meaningful, measurable, and sustainable. We value behavior that demonstrates a commitment to Mutual Respect and Support, Diversity, Continuous Learning, Collaboration, Excellence, and Accountability.

Position Overview

The Research Fellow is a new role for Wallace, designed as a one-year, half-time position (20 hours/week). If mutually desirable, the fellowship may be extended for an additional year. This opportunity is particularly well-suited for a graduate student working towards a Ph.D. in one of the fields of education leadership, the arts, or youth development. The position offers a distinct opportunity to integrate this scholarship to strengthen, deepen and expand Wallace’s knowledge base, inform our grantmaking, and participate in research design, while learning about the philanthropic sector. The position reports to the Director of Research.

At Wallace, research is an integral part of our strategy design grounded in our interdisciplinary teams, our commitment to learning, and our focus on dual goals for our initiatives: (a) benefits for our grantees and those they serve, and (b) benefits for the broader field through credible, relevant knowledge. By comparison, at most foundations the focus for research is on evaluation of the work of the grantees or the foundation. Research at Wallace spans four areas: arts cultural institutions, youth arts, education leadership, and youth development. Current directions include working with arts organizations centered on communities of color, developing equity-centered principal pipelines, and exploring equity-centered approaches to youth development generally and youth arts programs specifically.

RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Conduct literature reviews, research scans, and analyses, to inform the exploration phase of strategy design, ongoing refinement of an initiative, a potential new area of interest, or a particular topic or tactic that supports the foundation’s approach to grantmaking. Recent examples of such projects include developing a thematic bibliography for equity-centered principal pipelines, identifying innovative approaches to youth workforce development, and synthesizing findings from a series of analytic memos from research grantees studying arts programs designed to serve youth from marginalized communities.
  • Prepare and present the findings of the scans, reviews, and analyses in accessible, non-academic language, highlighting tensions, possibilities, and discussion points relevant to interdisciplinary team conversations.
  • Support the research unit’s data infrastructure, for instance by creating and monitoring RFP and research timelines and developing systems to monitor efforts to diversify and expand research grantees and approaches.
  • Stay current with, and share with the relevant arts, ed leadership, or youth development team(s), new trends and developments in the field, as well as new published research, to inform team strategy and discussions.
  • As requested, assist in the development of Requests for Proposals (RFPs), managing grants for commissioned research, and contribute to the editorial review of new research reports.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

  • Graduate student working toward a Ph.D. with a portfolio of advanced scholarship on the intersection of equity and K-12 education leadership, youth development, or the arts.
  • Demonstrated experience conducting literature reviews and conducting research of varying types.
  • Experience with critical research methodologies, either quantitative or qualitative, is preferred.
  • Work experience in relevant practitioner settings, e.g., districts, schools, afterschool, intermediary organizations, or arts organizations, is a plus.
  • Exceptional project management skills and ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment.
  • Excellent conceptual and analytical thinking skills.
  • Outstanding communication skills: listening, writing, speaking, and seeking clarification where needed.
  • Resourceful, attentive to detail, and efficient in conducting scans and analyses.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
The salary for this half-time position is $45,000.
Our benefits include:

  • Health, dental and vision for employee and covered dependents as of date of hire.
  • 403(b) Retirement Plan with employer contribution.
  • Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) and schedule of annual holidays.
  • Professional development initiatives for growth.
  • Leaves of Absence providing employees time to manage personal or family responsibilities, recover from an illness or injury, or respond to civic duties.

We offer flexible scheduling and can consider remote candidates, although we prefer candidates who are able to occasionally travel to our Manhattan offices to participate in key in-person meetings once they resume at some point after Labor Day.

How To Apply

The Wallace Foundation has retained the services of NPAG to support this search. We ask interested candidates to submit their cover letter, outlining their interest and qualifications and how this position fits with their current, short, and mid-term plans, along with their resume via NPAG’s website, https://npag.com/additional-searches/wallace-ro

We will begin reviewing resumes starting the week of June 21st. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

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