Senior Director, Data Hub

Job Title: Director of Strategy, Learning, & Impact

Reports to: CEO

Role Type: Full-time

Location: Boston / Mid-Atlantic Preferred with regular in-office presence

Salary: $140,000-$150,000

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director of Strategy, Learning, & Impact is the senior individual contributor responsible for stewarding Project Evident's organizational strategic planning process, Strategic Evidence Plan, learning agenda, & the integrity of the evidence & knowledge the organization produces. Reporting directly to the CEO, the Director ensures that what Project Evident knows, claims, & shares with the field is rigorous, aligned with the organizational Theory of Change & broader strategy, & credible to the practitioners, funders, & partners we serve. This role deliberately combines strategy stewardship, editorial authority, & field-facing thought leadership in a single individual contributor seat.

The Director will play a critical role in advancing Project Evident's external thought leadership & field influence. They will manage the organization's strategic planning process, design & oversee the learning agenda & Strategic Evidence Plan, set & uphold standards for evidence quality & external claims, & lead the development of externally facing knowledge products, including reports, briefs, & white papers. The Director partners closely with program leads to ensure programs reflect organizational strategy & produce & act on meaningful learning, & partners with the Director of Communications to translate validated insights into effective external content. This role owns the substance of what Project Evident says & stands for.

The Director will also represent Project Evident in external forums, conferences, & working groups where strategic ideas, evidence standards, & field direction are being shaped. They will gather field intelligence, test the organization's positioning against peers, & bring those insights back into strategy & program design.

We are looking for a senior strategist & synthesizer with deep experience in strategy, evaluation, & organizational learning, ideally in education, economic mobility, or the intersection of data, evidence, & technology in the social sector. The ideal candidate is a strong writer & editor with the judgment to distinguish well-supported findings from emerging or promising ones, the standing to challenge weak claims, & the partnership instincts to strengthen rather than slow the work of program teams. They are a self-directed individual contributor who can scope, research, synthesize, & deliver complex knowledge work end-to-end, with a track record of influencing organizational decisions through credibility & clarity rather than formal authority.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

Organizational Strategy & Learning Systems (35%)

• Manage the organization's strategic planning process, including annual & multi-year planning, progress monitoring, & translation of field trends & internal insights into strategic priorities.
• Design & steward the organization's learning agenda & Strategic Evidence Plan, aligned with the strategic plan & updated to reflect organizational learning & necessary improvements generated from a variety of sources across operations & program areas.
• Establish & uphold standards for evidence quality, claims integrity, & data-informed improvement & innovation use across program & external-facing work.
• Partner with program teams to embed learning loops into engagement design & delivery, ensuring that insights generated through programs & operations are systematically used to inform organizational decisions & future work.
• Provide structured analysis & synthesis to support the CEO & leadership team's decision-making, with a focus on translating complex inputs into a clear strategic direction.

Content Quality & Evidence Integrity (30%)

• Serve as the check & balance for the communication department as they develop externally facing knowledge products, including reports, briefs, & white papers grounded in organizational evidence & aligned with strategy.
• Review program products, white papers, case studies, & major external content for alignment with & fidelity to strategic framing & positioning priorities, core messages, accuracy of claims, & strength of evidence prior to external release.
• Set & communicate standards for what Project Evident publishes & claims externally, including appropriate framing of well-supported findings versus emerging or promising practices, & ensure evidence integrity, with the backing of the CEO when claims are not adequately supported.
• Ensure consistency across practice areas in how impact is communicated, ensuring alignment with evidence standards & practices.
• Provide approval steps in communications-led processes for case studies & program-generated content to ensure systematic quality control.

Field Insights & Thought Leadership (35%)

• Monitor & track major trends across all programmatic & strategic work, & translate them into cross-program learning, business development, & content development for departments to implement. Inform & review credible narratives for funders, practitioners, policymakers, & other audiences in the field.
• Identify strategic opportunities to shape field discourse through content, in close partnership with the CEO & Director of Communications & inform the editorial calendar.
• Lead & contribute to grant-funded field research & knowledge deliverables that require strategic synthesis & evidence judgment.
• Represent Project Evident at sector conferences, convenings, & working groups where strategic ideas, evidence standards, & field direction are being shaped.
• Build & maintain relationships with peer organizations, researchers, funders, & policy actors to stay current on sector trends & emerging practices.
• Bring external insights back into Project Evident's strategy & program design through actionable synthesis.
• Support the CEO in preparing for & following up on high-stakes external engagements where strategy & evidence are central.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree or equivalent applied experience strongly preferred.
• A minimum of 8–12 years of professional experience in strategy, evaluation, learning, knowledge management, or related roles, ideally in education, economic mobility, or adjacent social sectors.
• Demonstrated track record as a high-autonomy individual contributor with the ability to scope, execute, & deliver complex knowledge & strategy work end-to-end.
• Experience designing or stewarding learning & evidence systems that move insights from programs into organizational decisions.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

We are also looking for candidates who have:

• Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex qualitative & quantitative inputs into clear strategic direction, with the judgment to identify cross-program patterns & the discipline to resist overclaiming.
• Strong evidence judgment & editorial command, including the ability to distinguish well-supported claims from promising ones & to strengthen content rather than simply approve or reject it.
• Deep working knowledge of key trends, players, & debates in education, economic mobility, & the intersection of data, evaluation, & technology in the social sector.
• Excellent writing skills with a track record of producing credible, externally facing content for funders, practitioners, & policy audiences.
• Demonstrated experience designing or managing learning & evidence systems, with an understanding of how insights translate into behavior change rather than dashboards.
• Independent research capability & tech fluency, including thoughtful use of AI tools for research, mapping, & synthesis with disciplined validation against primary sources.
• Ability to influence organizational decisions & direction across teams without formal authority, through relationships, credibility, & clarity.
• Effectiveness as a strategic partner to the CEO & a peer to the leadership team, with the ability to manage up with clarity, challenge assumptions constructively, & maintain a unified organizational voice.
• Comfort with ambiguity & the ability to advance work in environments where direction is still being refined.
• Familiarity with evidence frameworks, program evaluation methodology, & theory-of-change infrastructure as applied in social sector strategy work.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Ability to work with a virtual team. The team works across multiple time zones & expects regular availability between 10:00am - 4:00pm (ET).
• Expected to work 40-50 hours per week, but could fluctuate based on client demands.
• Travel required to meet the needs of the organization.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Ability to sit, talk, & listen continuously for up to 8 hours per day.
• Requires fine motor skills, such as typing for up to 4 hours continuously.
• Ability to lift at least 30 pounds.
• Driver license required.

WHY JOIN PROJECT EVIDENT?

To support you in bringing your best self to work, we offer:

• Comprehensive Benefits – Generous medical, dental, & vision plans, a 403(b) retirement plan with employer match, & life & disability insurance.
• Flexible Time Off – Unlimited vacation days, Summer Fridays between Memorial Day & Labor Day, & organizational-wide closure from December 25 to January 1.
• Support for Your Growth & Well-Being – Remote work stipends, reimbursement & time off for professional development, & coverage for relevant membership fees.

About Project Evident

Project Evident harnesses the power of data, evidence, & technology to achieve greater impact. We believe that by empowering practitioners to drive their own data & evidence building while also strengthening the surrounding ecosystem, we can increase the number of effective solutions in the social & education sectors & scale them faster, ultimately producing stronger, more meaningful, & more equitable outcomes for students & communities.

Project Evident is an equal opportunity employer, dedicated to building an inclusive & diverse workforce committed to a culture of belonging & accountability.