Job Description

Employment Type: Full Time/Salaried/Exempt
Opening Date: 03/25/2025

The National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) is seeking a curious, creative, and capable Policy Analyst to join its Policy team. Are you an experienced education policy professional who is inspired by possibilities? Creative, agile, and willing to take risks? Eager to hear different perspectives? Detail-oriented and evidence-based? We want to hear from you. 

The Organization
As our name indicates, we work at the intersection of education and the economy to deeply understand current systems, anticipate the future, elevate effective practices, and innovate for opportunity. We connect research, policy, and practice with innovation to drive transformative progress—and engage policy makers, educators, youth, researchers, philanthropists, and industry leaders as allies and co-designers. We find synergy where others see divides. We build bridges, co-identifying shared goals and priorities, and co-constructing a path forward. We seek solutions to the key issues of our time—technology, well-being, life-long learning —working with other organizations, adjacent sectors, and coalitions to advance their mission and ours. 

NCEE’s Policy Work 
NCEE works with Commissions, study groups, Task Forces, Governors’ Offices, legislative committees, funder collaboratives, and partnerships of policy organizations. We help these groups to set future-focused visions for education; design and advance bold policy; and develop roadmaps for successful implementation. Policymakers rely on NCEE to craft policies that drive lasting impact. 

Our approach relies on a “Discover,” “Design,” and “Deliver” methodology. Via Discovery analyses, we help policymakers to look out through carefully curated research to discover what high performing and rapidly improving systems do and then analyze their own systems against the insights. Through rigorous Design work, we help policymakers craft substantive, boundary-spanning policy recommendations, and stress-test those recommendations with their communities. We Deliver on those policy recommendations by building educators’ leadership capacities to implement them and transform schools and systems. 

The Policy Analyst plays a key role within and across this framework. Their policy summaries, briefs, and scans surface concrete options for policymakers to consider, and shape the direction of design recommendations. The logistical support they contribute to convenings help create professional learning experiences for policymakers and practitioners that deliver real change in schools.

About the Position 
The Policy Analyst is a key contributor to NCEE’s diverse and dynamic Policy team of advisors, learning designers, project managers, and advocacy professionals. Tasks include researching and drafting policy briefs, piloting new tools, contributing to project management, and performing analysis that informs complex statewide policy redesign efforts. This position reports to NCEE’s Senior Designer, Policy.

Primary Responsibilities

• Conducting policy analysis via desk research, legislative and regulatory scans, and informant interviews to identify findings and surface national, state, and local trends.
• Supporting senior staff in preparing talking points, PowerPoints, and background materials for major speaking engagements. Audiences include legislative bodies, state commissions, state education agencies, workforce intermediaries, and funder collaboratives.
• Preparing written summaries of major policy reports and legislation of interest, as well as memos and technical notes covering various policy areas.
• Contributing to policy papers, briefs, toolkits, and other resources translating policy lessons for different audiences, through in-depth policy analysis, synthesis, writing, and editing. 
• Assisting with the design and organization of major policy convenings.
• Contributing to project management and ensuring that numerous complex, time-sensitive projects are completed on time and to the highest standard of quality.

Requirements

• 2+ years experience in education and/or workforce development (a combination of experience in the nonprofit sector, government, advocacy, and/or teaching is acceptable).

• Master’s degree in Public Policy, Education, or a related field strongly preferred. 
• Passion for working in education policy and commitment to NCEE’s mission and values. The willingness and ability to work and communicate in a bipartisan fashion are necessary. 
• A collaborative, gracious, and kind team player with a positive growth-oriented and solution-oriented mindset.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. 
• Ability to speak to major education and workforce development policy issues, including knowledge of state local intergovernmental relationships, educator recruitment and retention issues, and career pathways. 
• Strong attention to detail and genuine curiosity. The ideal candidate will be eager to find answers to nuanced and technical questions, and adept at understanding, synthesizing, and simplifying large and complex datasets. 
• Strong administrative, organizational and time management skills. 
• Familiarity with project management software (e.g., Asana), labor market datasets (e.g., Lightcast) and/or policy analysis databases (e.g., Quorum) a plus. 
• Willingness to travel occasionally (10% or less).

Benefits

NCEE offers competitive wages and benefits. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term and long-term disability coverages as well as generous 401(k) employer contributions, and an unlimited vacation policy. 

How to Apply
Interested applicants should submit a resume, cover letter and two work samples. Work samples should include at least one writing sample that showcases the applicant’s ability to craft succinct and actionable policy recommendations. 

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Candidates from diverse or underrepresented backgrounds are encouraged to apply. 

To provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals, employment decisions at NCEE will be based on merit, qualifications and abilities. NCEE does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, genetic predisposition, disability, military/veteran's status, marital/familial status, or any other status or characteristic protected by law.

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