Advocacy & Innovation Project Manager

Advocacy & Innovation Project Manager (Social Services/Legal) Overview Of Kinnect

Kinnect is an Ohio-based non-profit organization dedicated to developing Kin First strategies and delivering programs that strengthen kinship connections and inclusive support networks for families, young people, and children. Kinnect has spent 20 years collaborating with families, public agencies, and private providers to ensure young people and families have the belonging, resources, and relationships they need to thrive.

Kinnect’s purpose, vision, and guiding principles center family and kin and promote a Kin First culture in every aspect of our service delivery and advocacy efforts for families, young people, and children. Kin is family, family is kin, and whether relationships involve relatives or chosen family connections, a Kin First culture is the way we work and live each day.

Kinnect is proud to be a nationally recognized leader and pioneer in the field, which led to the development of KinnectU, a training, consulting, and replication branch of Kinnect, to provide these services to all child- and family-serving organizations. Our programs include the Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator (OhioKAN) program, Kinnect to Family (KTF), and Youth Centered Permanency Round tables (YCPRT). Kinnect is grateful to receive support from a variety of sources, including contracts with government entities, partnerships with nonprofits, generous grants, and invaluable donations from foundations and private donors.

The Advocacy & Innovation Project Manager is responsible for coordinating, implementing, and advancing strategic initiatives for the organization within the Center of Excellence & Innovation. A primary focus will be on efforts to strengthen access to high-quality legal representation for children, parents, kinship caregivers, and families involved with or at risk for involvement with the child welfare system. This position manages complex projects involving legal, child welfare, judicial, public agency, and community partners while supporting pilot development, stakeholder engagement, data-informed decision-making, and continuous quality improvement.

The Project Manager will coordinate initiatives that advance legal advocacy, policy advocacy, systems advocacy, and organizational change; support implementation of innovative service models; engage individuals with lived expertise; and drive project planning through strong communication, facilitation, and virtual presentation skills. Successful candidates will bring experience working with families navigating complex systems and will ensure project activities align with Kinnect’s mission, values, and commitment to family-centered system transformation.

• Establish a framework to support multi-disciplinary and innovative child welfare legal representation models
• Support the rollout of pilot initiatives providing legal services to kinship and adoptive families
• Utilize implementation science and change management principles to design, pilot, evaluate, and scale systemic programmatic improvements while supporting stakeholder adoption of new practices and processes
• Maintain comprehensive records of project milestones, outcomes, deliverables, and reporting metrics using Microsoft Office tools
• Develop professional reports and presentations that summarize project progress, implementation learning, stakeholder feedback, outcomes, and recommendations for internal and external audiences
• Identify pipeline opportunities to grow legal representation models that support Kin First organizational practices

• Manage vital partnerships with public agencies, private providers, and judicial or legal advocacy organizations
• Facilitate multi-disciplinary teams comprised of attorneys, caseworkers, consultants, and individuals with lived experiences
• Engage People With Lived Experience in project planning, implementation, evaluation, and continuous improvement activities to ensure strategies reflect the perspectives of children, families, kinship caregivers, and communities impacted by child welfare systems
• Support meaningful participation of lived experience partners by helping prepare, coordinate, and structure inclusive engagement opportunities for planning and decision-making activities
• Lead remote collaborations and cross-functional team coordination seamlessly utilizing virtual platforms
• Serve as liaison between legal associations, child welfare agencies, and internal team leadership
• Host training workshops and brainstorming sessions to improve legal training frameworks and system capability
• Facilitate virtual and in-person convenings with attorneys, public agencies, child welfare professionals, community partners, and families to translate complex information into clear, actionable next steps

• Monitor legal developments and policy shifts impacting child welfare system…