Fortune Society in New York City: Job Opening
The Fortune Society
Castle Gardens Graduate Student Researcher
The Fortune Society, a culturally diverse not-for-profit organization with a forty-year history of assisting formerly incarcerated men and women as they work to rebuild their lives, seeks a graduate student to assist in an evaluation project.
The Fortune Society opened Castle Gardens, a green, energy-efficient multi-use building with residential apartments and on-site supportive services and programs, in summer 2010. The building provides long-term housing for homeless people with histories of incarceration, as well as low-income individuals and families from the five boroughs, through its 114 affordable apartments.
In order to understand the impact this building will have on the lives of residents, we initiated The Castle Gardens evaluation, a time-series analysis of all head-of-household adults using a multi-domain survey covering housing history, physical and mental health, healthcare use, substance use, criminal justice involvement, social services use, and social networks and support.
We are looking for a current graduate student (or students) to assist with the evaluation. The task for the summer includes completion of time two data entry, developing frequency tables of new questions, bivariate and multivariate analysis of time two data, and matched-pairs analysis. Additionally, interested students may be asked to assist with writing preliminary results of the research, and would have access to this data for their own thesis or similar project. This work would take place over the course of the summer. Assignments would be most appropriate for a student who is interested in program evaluation and working with quantitative data.
The graduate student will be expected to work collaboratively with identified Fortune staff on the adherence of the proposed plan to the organization’s mission, values, and current work. Students with strong interest and/or experience in data analysis, evaluation studies, and working with individuals with low-income backgrounds and/or with histories of criminal justice involvement, homelessness, and substance abuse are encouraged to apply.
Interested students should contact Carrie Mills, Manager of Evaluation & Quality, at cmills@fortunesociety.org, or via phone at (347) 510-3688 as soon as possible.
FORTUNE SOCIETY JOB DESCRIPTION
JOB TITLE: Program Analyst
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The responsibilities and requirements listed are representative of the knowledge, skills, minimum education, training, licensing, experience and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
SUMMARY
Under the direct supervision of the Manager of Evaluation and Quality Improvement (EQI), the Program Analyst supports Fortune Society’s programs through evaluation of data related to service delivery and outcomes. The position engages directly with assigned programs to develop system improvements, using brain-storming, root cause analysis and other tools/techniques to enhance overall operating efficiency and effectiveness of programs and the quality and timeliness of their internal/external reporting capabilities.
SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Work with managers of assigned programs to promote a genuine understanding of using data to manage their programs and ensure that internal/external performance targets are met and desired outcomes achieved and properly documented. Reinforce the importance of all data being entered and reported through the agency’s primary database.
2. Work with managers and front-line staff of assigned programs to develop and implement a system of continuous quality improvement (CQI) and quality assurance (QA) which they will be responsible for maintaining.
3. Monitor performance of assigned programs and work with program managers to develop corrective action plans as needed. Alert senior management (program and administration) to issues of noncompliance and/or performance shortfalls, ensuring that such issues are addressed in a timely manner.
4. Support Development team in obtaining data required to demonstrate Fortune’s expertise; create logic models, produce evaluation designs and actual evaluation tools as necessary.
5. Conduct routine audits and compliance reviews of programs and make recommendations to management regarding system improvement based on audit/review findings. Follow-up on program response and implementation of accepted recommendations.
6. Act as liaison between program staff and I/T department, translating program needs related to database functionality and reporting. Identify and facilitate staff training needs and requests.
7. Evaluate client satisfaction through surveys and focus groups, analyze and report results of work performed and any recommendations to enhance program quality.
8. Coordinate with program managers on start-up of new programs and contract/grant renewals, ensuring that key tasks (such as having an appropriate system for data collection and reporting) are clearly defined and monitored for completion.
9. Conduct research related to Fortune’s programs independently and/or in collaboration with outside academics/researchers and work towards dissemination of results.
10. Supervise interns and students who are working on evaluation and research projects.
11. Perform other duties as assigned.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
REPORTS TO: Manager of Evaluation & Quality Improvement
SUPERVISES: Does not directly supervise paid staff
QUALIFICATIONS
• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in public health, human services, criminal justice, sociology or related field or equivalent experience with a strong background in statistical analysis and/or data management. Master’s degree a plus.
• A minimum of two years relevant work experience, preferably in a nonprofit social service setting.
• Must be detail oriented with superior analytical skills. Ability to do “big picture” thinking and solve problems in a way that is creative and collaborative.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills coupled with exceptional people skills.
• Understanding of both qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods
• Must have a thorough knowledge MS Office, including Excel and proficiency in SPSS.
• Experience with quality assurance and/or quality improvement.
• Must be able to take initiative in setting and advancing priorities while being both polite and effective.
• Appreciation of Fortune’s work in serving people who have been incarcerated and those who are at risk.
CORE COMPETENCIES
o Aligned with agency mission and values
o People skills, diplomacy. Must know how to be persistent yet engaging.
o Critical thinking skills. Must be analytical with attention to details, yet able to see the big picture.
o Solid data skills
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