Manager, Assessment and Advisory Services

CEP is expanding its Assessment and Advisory Services team and is seeking a dynamic and skilled client lead to join its Cambridge, MA or San Francisco, CA office. Reporting to the Senior Director, Assessment and Advisory Services, the Manager position is responsible for leading effective engagements with philanthropic funders by partnering with a variety of stakeholders. Externally, the Manager builds and maintains relationships with foundation leaders and represents CEP in meetings, presentations of assessment tool results, and at conferences and speaking engagements. Internally, the Manager supervises analysts and collaborates with other leaders on the strategy and continuous improvement of the Assessment and Advisory Services department.

Position Outcomes

A successful Manager, Assessment and Advisory Services will achieve the following outcomes:

• Lead a portfolio of client engagements, driving the development of appropriate assessments and advisory engagements, overseeing data collection and analysis processes, and presenting results to clients, ultimately building a trusted advisory role with major funders
• Develop new business for CEP’s Assessment and Advisory Services department, identifying opportunities for CEP to meet foundations’ needs related to data-driven decision-making
• Foster high performance and individual development among CEP’s analysts through effective supervision, coaching, and collaboration, and by promoting a positive environment within CEP’s offices

Key Responsibilities

In order to achieve these outcomes, the Manager will:

• Cultivate strong existing and new client relationships based on trust, communication, integrity, and a commitment to service excellence
• Oversee the development of high-quality assessment and advisory engagements by appropriately scoping and designing projects and by managing project-based teams to effectively choose what paths of analysis to pursue, focus interpretation on the most important findings, and center results and analysis in values of equity and inclusion
• Discern how best to communicate results through written reports and virtual and in-person presentations for clients
• Facilitate organizational learnings by helping clients deeply understand assessment results, demonstrating patience, empathy, and an appreciation for organizational dynamics and the psychological barriers to change and improvement
• Contribute to new business development by reaching out to potential clients, following up on inquiries and leads, as well as exploring new business opportunities with existing clients
• Participate on the client leadership team, which addresses the strategy, content, and continuous improvement of CEP’s assessments, participates in the development of new approaches, and identifies opportunities to provide advisory services
• Supervise analysts through coaching, mentoring, and training to foster their development and ensure that CEP’s work is of consistently high quality
• Attend periodic conferences and philanthropy events to generate interest in CEP’s work
• Contribute positively to the organization’s culture by demonstrating a commitment to the organization’s mission, its belief in the power of good data to improve decision-making, and its commitment to excellence

Qualifications

• Minimum of seven to ten years of experience, with previous consulting, foundation, and/or other nonprofit experience highly desired
• Experience developing new and managing existing client relationships with responsibility for deliverables and presentations
• Comfort interacting with high-level senior executives in high-stakes settings
• Excitement about improving the effectiveness of philanthropy and of the nonprofit sector broadly
• Experience leading teams and mentoring and training junior staff members, with the ability to collaborate effectively with remote colleagues
• Demonstrated strong quantitative analytical ability and commitment to data-driven insight, facility with interpretation of basic statistical analyses (i.e., T-tests, ANOVA) a plus
• Experience developing and delivering presentations
• Excellent writing and communication skills
• Detail-oriented and organized, with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously
• Highest level of personal integrity and commitment to excellence
• Travel annually of up to 10-20% will be required of this position, when safe to do so
• A minimum of a bachelor’s (BA, BS) degree or equivalent is required, with subsequent experience in a field, approaches, or subject matter relevant to CEP’s context

Benefits

Our nonprofit model is central to our identity: our bottom line is impact, not profit. Yet even as a nonprofit, we successfully compete for top talent across both the public and private sectors and offer competitive compensation and benefits, including:

• A commitment to pay parity and salary equity. The annual salary for this role is ­­­­$119,853 (MA)/ $131,662 (CA)
• Performance based incentive compensation plan
• Comprehensive health and dental insurance plans
• Generous paid time off plan, including up to 15 holidays, two weeks of accrued vacation, and two personal days per year
• Flexible working schedule options
• 401(k) plan with a 1:1 Employer Match up to 5% of total compensation
• Generous annual personal professional development allowance
• Flexible spending and dependent care tax free savings plans
• Life insurance covered 100% by the organization

About CEP

For two decades years, CEP has led the movement to improve philanthropy through a powerful combination of dispassionate analysis and a passionate commitment to improving lives. Today, over 300 foundations around the world have used CEP’s assessments and advisory services to gather honest feedback from their stakeholders in an effort to learn how to be even more effective. CEOs and trustees have come to rely on our research for insights into foundation effectiveness on a wide range of topics, from assessing performance to developing strategy to managing stakeholder relationships. Our highly regarded programming—including our biennial conference—gives foundation leaders an exclusive and unprecedented opportunity to connect with their peers. CEP is based in Cambridge Massachusetts, with a second office in San Francisco, California. Strengths of CEP’s work culture are entrepreneurialism, accountability, teamwork, collegiality, diversity, and mutual respect.

To Apply

Please fill out our application for employment and attach a resume and a thoughtful cover letter outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position. If you have any questions, please contact Leaha Wynn, Manager, People and Culture and D&I Strategist or Alyse d’Amico, Vice President of People and Culture at jobs [at] cep [dot] org. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

We believe that a diversity of thoughts, experiences, backgrounds, personalities, and identities helps us think bigger and better, and enables us to reach our goals more effectively. We are committed to building a diverse staff and encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply.

Once a candidate begins our process, we discourage outreach to our staff for interviews or conversations that are outside our standard interview process. We have worked hard to design a process that is fair and rigorous and achieves a good match between candidates and CEP/YouthTruth.

We evaluate candidates based on their merits. We strongly discourage unsolicited references. We will ask for references if and when a candidacy reaches a finalist stage.