Trainings Associate

The Scholars Strategy Network (SSN) seeks a Trainings Associate to contribute to the success and growth of SSN’s trainings program. This program furthers SSN’s mission by teaching scholars media and policy engagement skills that empower them to build relationships with policymakers, civic leaders, and journalists to ensure that research is used in policymaking. To do so, the trainings team develops and deploys in-person and virtual trainings to internal audiences, like SSN’s network of 30+ regional chapters, and external audiences, like academic institutions. In addition to delivering trainings, the Associate will play an important role in expanding SSN’s fee-for-service external trainings program by cultivating relationships with academic and partner organizations, helping to generate revenue for the organization.

This is designed as an early-career position for an individual interested in improving connections between academia and policymaking and enthusiastic about teaching university-based researchers best practices for public engagement. The Trainings Associate is part of SSN’s trainings team and reports directly to SSN’s Director of Trainings. 

The Trainings Associate is a full-time position with an annual salary between $56,000-$62,000, based on qualifications and experience. SSN’s competitive benefits include generous time off,  health insurance, professional development opportunities and resources, and a 403B retirement plan with an employer match. This position falls within the SSN employee union and is covered under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. The position will remain open until April 20th.

SSN currently operates as a fully remote work environment. For employees located in Massachusetts, SSN provides the option to work at SSN’s main offices, located at 501 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116. All employees are expected to participate in person for annual staff gatherings. 

RESPONSIBILITIES 

As a large organization with a relatively small staff, SSN has a lean, productive trainings team that develops and deploys academic public engagement trainings for our growing network and for a growing number of external partners. Among other tasks, responsibilities of the Trainings Associate include:

• Facilitate Trainings: The Associate will lead SSN trainings for host organizations around the nation, including local SSN chapters, universities, and foundations. Trainings are a mix of digital and in-person workshops covering a variety of communications and policy engagement topics, from concrete skills like op-ed writing to broader topics like the policymaking process. 
• Expand External Trainings Program: The Associate will identify and engage new groups of scholars and partner organizations, including academic centers, associations, and foundations, to grow SSN’s revenue-generating external trainings program. They will build and manage relationships with these partners and collaborate with them to design and deliver tailored training programs that meet their specific needs. The Associate will also work with the Director to develop and implement strategies for effectively promoting and expanding the reach of SSN trainings.
• Coordinate Training Logistics: The Associate will manage the planning and execution of logistics for both virtual and in-person trainings across SSN programs. This will include working closely with a trainings intern or fellow, when available, as well as collaborating with staff across SSN’s policy, communications, chapters, and membership teams to ensure trainings are well-coordinated and run smoothly. The Associate will independently oversee scheduling, tracking, and coordination processes, using tools such as Asana, Salesforce, EventSpark, and Zoom to support efficient and accurate execution.

• Evaluate Impact: The Associate will help capture and analyze data to evaluate the efficacy and impact of the trainings program over time. The Associate will use these insights to refine individual training modules and the overall training program.
• Update Curriculum: The Associate will support the ongoing work of updating SSN curricula to reflect best practices, new research, and input from practitioners and experts. This will include identifying key findings that should be highlighted in new training modules or in updates of existing modules. The Associate will also work to ensure that existing and new trainings are accessible and useful to the full diversity of scholars in the academy.
• Support Internal Learning: The Associate will work with the Trainings team to ensure that other SSN staff are aware of and understand the “use of research evidence” findings that form the infrastructure of SSN’s trainings and coaching strategies, so that the support that staff offer to scholars is research-based. They will act as the organization’s go-to expert on trainings, providing guidance and coaching, particularly to new team members, on both the content of SSN’s training modules and presentation best practices.

• Coach and Support: The Associate will coach scholars on how to engage in the policy process, providing individual advice on relationship building, feedback on written documents, and training on the policy process.

QUALIFICATIONS

The successful candidate will be a self-starter with a deep interest in making research matter and improving public policy. The ideal candidate for this position would be:

• An individual with an advanced degree in political science, sociology, or other relevant field and 1-3 years of experience in training, policy advocacy, or organizing; or a bachelor’s degree in a social science field with more than 3 years of relevant experience.
• An engaging and dynamic trainer with strong presentation and facilitation skills, passionate about helping others learn and apply new skills and knowledge.
• Experienced in building and maintaining relationships with academic or professional partners and collaborating to design programs that meet their needs.
• Someone with experience in or comfort with sales, marketing, and/or outreach to cultivate new partners and expand SSN’s revenue-generating trainings.
• Skilled at collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data to evaluate program impact and refine training content.
• Someone with a solid understanding of policymaking processes (e.g., legislative processes, administrative/agency processes, implementation and evaluation, etc).
• Comfortable with occasional paid travel (approximately once a month).
• Highly organized and detail-oriented, with experience managing complex logistics for virtual and in-person events and proficiency with tools such as Google Workspace (Google Docs, Slides, etc.) and Zoom. Experience with Salesforce and/or Asana is a bonus.
• Committed to SSN’s mission of promoting evidence-based policy by engaging and expanding our voluntary, federated network of researchers.

SSN is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, class, color, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender, national origin, race, sexual orientation, or gender identity. People of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQ individuals, and women are strongly encouraged to apply. Candidates considering a career transition or whose skills and experience fulfill some, but not all of the qualifications above are encouraged to apply.