Associate Partner, Strategic Advising

Deploy your strong management skills, exemplary insight generation, and deep relationship-building tool kit to strengthen the impact of education organizations that are working with communities to eliminate gaps for students furthest from opportunity. 

Bellwether is looking for an Associate Partner to join our team. The ideal candidate for this position will bring a sophisticated understanding of relevant issues in education and proven success as a project manager and people manager, and they will possess an entrepreneurial spirit — all of which will help shape project work to build compelling, actionable strategic plans that accelerate equity and excellence in the U.S. education system. Our work is national in scope, so our flexible working style allows our professionals to work where they have built their lives. This means Bellwether is able to hire the best person for each role, regardless of geography, within the United States. We also offer flexible work options if an employee lives near our dedicated, physical office in Washington, D.C. and is interested in a hybrid work model. Approximately 25% travel may be required.

About Bellwether

We are a national nonprofit transforming education to ensure systemically marginalized young people achieve outcomes that lead to fulfilling lives and flourishing communities. We work hand in hand with education leaders and organizations to accelerate their impact, inform and influence policy and program design, and share what we learn along the way.

Our Strategic Advising practice advises leaders and organizations on their most pressing strategic and operational issues. Our work ranges from supporting entrepreneurs through business plan development to partnering with established organizations on growth and performance improvement to assessing new opportunities for impact as the field evolves.

Responsibilities 

Associate Partners (APs) work as project managers of small teams and take strong leadership roles in both external and internal capacities. Externally, APs play an important role with clients and on client engagements by identifying issues, forming hypotheses, designing and conducting analyses, synthesizing conclusions into recommendations, developing work plans, and ultimately helping to implement change with our clients. Throughout an engagement, an AP is directly involved in discussions and presentations with senior client leadership. Typically, APs manage two projects at a time. Internally, APs manage the work of and coach and develop consultants, fellows, and subcontractors. APs collaborate with and are accountable to Partners and Senior Associate Partners within Bellwether who, in turn, guide their work and invest in their professional development. This particular opportunity is in the Strategic Advising practice within Bellwether. While the AP will have the opportunity to work across the Bellwether practice areas to broaden their skills and perspectives, they will primarily support Strategic Advising and report to a senior leader on the Strategic Advising team.  

In this position, you should expect to:   

• Take on team and client leadership responsibilities, as described above.
• Partner with clients to develop high-impact strategies and implementation plans in response to the real-world, time-sensitive challenges they bring forward.
• Plan and lead regular check-ins as well as longer working sessions with clients at various levels of seniority.
• Develop individual and team work plans and guide teams to implement them with a high degree of independence, adapting work plans as appropriate when new information arises.
• Oversee, manage, and support development of consultants and other team members who perform research and analytical functions.
• Identify key data sources, gather data, and perform quantitative and qualitative analysis (i.e., interviews, desk research, data analysis, and/or financial modeling) on core strategic issues for clients; synthesize insights and communicate them as appropriate for the purpose and audience. 
• Facilitate and promote honest dialogue, in one-on-one and larger group settings, that includes multiple perspectives. 
• Ensure diverse perspectives from constituent groups, internally and externally, are sought and reflected in decision-making and planning.
• Write and deliver high-impact presentations, reports, and plans tailored to the purpose and audience.
• Contribute to Bellwether’s knowledge capture and dissemination.
• Take on internal roles to build out Bellwether’s capabilities.
• Generate creative, action-oriented insights and recommendations for both internal and external improvements.

Compensation

The base salary range for this role, for incoming team members, is $135,000-$160,000 annually. While the final offer amount will be determined by multiple factors, including prior experience and content knowledge, which may vary from the listed range, Bellwether is committed to transparency and all offers are aligned with our compensation philosophy.

Bellwether is committed to building a team that reflects the varied backgrounds and experiences of the students we seek to serve. It is important to us that you use your application materials to clearly surface ways in which your background and experiences align with Bellwether’s core values, including our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Bellwether is committed to providing equal opportunities. It is our policy to ensure that all individuals with whom we are in contact are not discriminated against on the basis of age, race, ethnicity, color, disability, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran’s status.

• A passion for and commitment to transforming education for systemically marginalized to ensure young people achieve outcomes that lead to fulfilling lives and flourishing communities in the United States.
• An understanding of and commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. 
• A track record as a people manager and developer. 
• At least seven years’ professional experience in a role requiring project management, research, and analytical problem-solving. 
• A well-rounded interpersonal skill set with the capacity to build strong senior client relationships, work effectively in a team environment, coach consultants, and facilitate joint problem-solving with clients and team.
• A high degree of reflection and self-awareness, and an ability to build trusted relationships across lines of difference and positional power as well as to seek out and respond to perspectives different from your own.
• Excellent quantitative analytical skills, including a high degree of comfort with managing financial modeling and data analysis. 
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, and facility in navigating challenging conversations.
• A highly self-motivated work style and willingness to proactively take on leadership roles within project teams and the organization.
• A learning mindset and the ability to seek out and synthesize new information. 
• The ability to balance two or more client-facing projects, even when each project has multiple competing priorities.
• The ability to travel nationwide approximately 25%.

Bellwether provides competitive compensation and an attractive benefits package that includes a performance bonus based on individual and organizational success, health care coverage, and a 401(k) plan with an employer matching contribution policy.

Use your application (a custom letter of interest and a current résumé) to show us how you’ve got the skills we’ve listed or why the skills you have are the ones we actually need. We’ll review applications as we receive them until the position is filled.