Preference for Seattle, WA; Oakland, CA; Princeton, NJ; Washington, DC; Chicago, IL; and Cambridge, MA

The Organization

Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2018, Mathematica has been at the forefront of assessing the effectiveness of policies and programs for decades. Considered an architect of social policy research, the organization conducted the nation’s first major social research experiment, the New Jersey Negative Income Tax Experiment, to test ways of encouraging low-income individuals to work. In recent years, Mathematica has launched four specialized research centers and has diversified its work to include policy issues related to child welfare, housing, veterans’ affairs, and climate change as well as strategies to alleviate poverty in developing countries.

Position Overview

Mathematica Policy Research, an internationally recognized nonpartisan research organization, seeks a relationship-driven and strategic Director of Foundation Engagement (Director) who will help to grow, deepen, and diversify the organization’s portfolio of work with foundations and their implementing partners. Working together with Mathematica’s area leaders and experts in the human services portfolio, the Director will engage foundation leaders and grantees to better understand both existing and emergent priorities, how Mathematica’s services can advance those priorities, and where there is opportunity for co-creation and partnership around new areas.

Mathematica is dedicated to improving social well-being by creating and making use of relevant evidence. With 1,200 staff across nine national offices, Mathematica helps clients address pressing social issues through program and policy evaluations, technical assistance, data analytics, data collection, and capacity-building.  They have worked with a wide range of foundations, including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. In addition to foundations, Mathematica serves nonprofit organizations, universities, professional associations, and federal, state, and local agencies.

As it is more critical than ever that social policy and community change be evidence-based, the Director will play a key role in identifying ways that Mathematica can develop and refine the strategies of partners in the philanthropic sector, particularly around issues involving education, early childhood, youth programs, and economic mobility. The Director is expected to have a finger on the pulse of significant developments and trends across the philanthropic landscape and have familiarity in working with or at foundations on projects that inform the decisions of foundation staff, grantees, other implementing partners, policymakers, and practitioners.

The ideal candidate will have at least 10 years of experience in or around the philanthropic sector and will bring substantive expertise working in the US on initiatives relevant to Mathematica’s Human Services division. Excellent written and oral communication skills, strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to convey complex technical issues to a broad and diverse audience are required. A Master’s degree or equivalent experience in education, public policy, sociology, psychology, economics or a related social science is preferred.