The Right Question Institute (RQI) is looking for a hardworking program associate to support the work of our Microdemocracy team. This position offers an unusual opportunity to work on innovative projects that focus on building people’s skills of asking questions and participating effectively in democracy. In particular, the program associate will work closely with co-directors and senior staff to advance RQI’s voter engagement initiative. In addition, the program associate will play a central role in other programs at RQI, including programs in school-family partnerships, legal services, and health care. The work also includes support for RQI’s fundraising efforts and administrative support for the Microdemocracy team.This position provides an opportunity to gain a deep understanding of non-profit organizational challenges and opportunities. We expect the responsibilities in this role will expand and deepen over time.
About RQI
Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Right Question Institute (RQI) is a nonprofit educational organization that aims to make education and democracy work better. RQI offers a simple, powerful strategy that builds people’s skills to ask better questions, learn, participate more effectively in decisions that affect them, advocate for themselves, and partner with service-providers.
For three decades, RQI has developed and advanced innovative educational methods and resources designed to support work in a wide range of fields across the United States and beyond. This includes work in K-12 as well as higher education, social services and other direct services, community-based organizations, and health care. Evidence of the impact of our work comes from a range of sources including NIH-funded randomized controlled trials, extensive data from the field in rural and urban areas all around the country, a Harvard Education Press best-selling book for educators, and use of our Question Formulation Technique in more than one million classrooms around the world. The organization is currently working on projects with grant funding from the Library of Congress and the National Science Foundation, and it runs a popular online course for educators through Harvard Graduate School of Education. Our work across fields shows how our methods lead to more people thinking for themselves, feeling more confident taking action, and having a say in decisions that affect them.
Your Role
As the program associate, you will support the lead staff on project management, marketing, building and maintaining partnerships, encouraging donations, and measuring and reporting effectiveness. Strong candidates should demonstrate the ability to learn quickly and multitask efficiently. Key responsibilities include:
- Coordinating the rollout and implementation of programs in various fields by developing work plans in coordination with lead staff, and keeping track of tasks and progress.
- Corresponding with potential partners and other stakeholders in the field
- Developing marketing materials and managing outreach campaigns
- Supporting the design and development of training materials and online resources
- Supporting Microdemocracy Team in writing and editing thought pieces
- Recruiting and supervising undergraduate interns
- Supporting RQI’s fundraising efforts
Requirements and Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree required
- Demonstrated skills communicating with multiple stakeholders
- Strong creative, strategic, analytical, and organizational skills
- Attention to details
- Computer literacy including Microsoft and Google Suite
- Strong oral and written communication skills
- Ability to juggle multiple priorities at a time
- Willingness to take initiative
- A team player who is self-motivated and can also work well independently
- Passionate commitment to the objectives of the organization
To Apply
Why are you the right person to be doing this work?
Please submit the following to Naomi Campbell, director of the Microdemocracy Program, at naomi.campbell@rightquestion.org:
1) A one-page cover letter
2) Your CV/resume
Applications with no cover letter will not be considered.
No phone calls please. Candidates that make it to the next round will be contacted to schedule a phone interview.
Deadline
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. We will start the interview process with outstanding applicants as soon as possible.
Start date: as soon as possible.
The Right Question Institute is an equal opportunity employer. We are strongly committed to hiring a diverse and multicultural staff and encourage applications from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds.