Strategy and Research Program Associate

Responsibilities & Duties

The program associate, strategy and research will work within the Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s (CDP) strategy and innovation (SI) team and play a key role in support of our mission to mobilize philanthropy to strengthen the ability of all communities to withstand disasters and recover equitably when they occur.

Reporting to the senior manager of strategy and research, the program associate will contribute to establishing and strengthening systems, practices and norms that will have a lasting impact on CDP and the field. The organization’s current strategic plan goes through 2027, and the SI team is responsible for its successful stewardship. The program associate will play a key support role in making progress on the strategic plan, which is critical for mission advancement.

The SI team has a new multi‑year research, learning and evaluation (RLE) strategy that aligns with CDP’s strategic plan. The RLE strategy serves as a guide to help us become the go‑to resource for insights on disaster philanthropy while also ensuring we learn about our work and improve our practice. This role will support the implementation of priority RLE projects, including our annual State of Disaster Philanthropy report, that contribute to outcomes identified in the RLE strategy.

As a fully remote workforce, CDP prioritizes employee engagement and relationship building in service of a collaborative culture rooted in equity. To this end, in‑person team retreats are scheduled throughout the year in different regions of the U.S. This role will be expected to attend 2‑3 retreats per year, which average 3‑5 days of travel.

You are an excellent project manager, known for being able to manage multiple tasks at the same time and not letting things fall through the cracks. You are self‑motivated and eager to contribute ideas. You can discern when to be proactive and when to seek support or input.

You are curious and eager to learn, asking powerful questions to gain clarity and move the group or conversation forward. People describe you as analytical, inquisitive and/or strategic. You are a strong collaborator and see the value in other’s contributions.

You communicate effectively with other team members and internal and external stakeholders.

• Project management
  • Provide general project management support for strategy and research, learning and evaluation functions – both overarching and specific project support.
  • Organize and maintain Redbooth work spaces and task lists, including assigning work and monitoring deadlines, and Dropbox folders for strategy and research, learning and evaluation functions.
  • Maintain relevant relationship records in Raisers Edge NXT, including uploading email communication and meeting notes.
  • Schedule meetings and coordinate with internal colleagues and external stakeholders, as requested.
• Strategic plan support
  • Provide support to CDP staff as needed to ensure the primary strategic framework is used correctly.
  • Maintain the strategic plan indicator tracker, help with communications to strategy groups and assist with scheduling meetings.
  • Design and implement, with input from other team members, a monthly strategy newsletter.
  • Develop content for quarterly strategic plan updates in consultation with the senior manager and the vice president of strategy and innovation.
  • Identify, recommend, and carry out opportunities for improvement across the implementation of the strategic plan.
• Research, learning and evaluation (RLE) support
  • Design and maintain tools for tracking RLE project elements, including status, stakeholder engagement and consultant assessment.
  • Support the infrastructure for organizational learning through template creation, technology adoption and/or training support.
  • Conduct research, proactively and/or upon request, on topics that can inform decision‑making, for example, about available survey platforms.
  • Participate and contribute to RLE meetings and discussions, including before and after action reviews and RLE strategy or focus area updates.
  • As requested, contribute to monitoring, data collection and analysis, synthesis and sharing…