Careers
JBA is a small business that delivers big results. Driven by a shared passion for improving the lives of others, staff collaborate on an array of challenging projects with local and national significance.
We offer a comprehensive and generous benefits package that includes excellent health care coverage, a 401(k) plan with an above-average company match, and reliable profit sharing. Bonuses are awarded annually for exceptional performance.
As an equal opportunity employer, we evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law. We are committed to excellence in our work and in our practice, and we encourage individuals of unique backgrounds with multidisciplinary experience to apply.
Senior Research Associate/Deputy Director, Child Welfare (Contingent)
JBA is currently seeking a full-time senior research associate/deputy director to join the Child Welfare practice area. This position is contingent upon contract award. This staff member will support a major federal child welfare project by managing day-to-day activities related to two federal review processes: one that assesses the quality of services and outcomes for children and families and the other that ensures compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements for foster care funding. The successful candidate will oversee project activities to administer the review processes, training activities, and the provision of technical assistance as it relates to participating in the reviews. An ideal candidate should be experienced in the field of child welfare and should be able to successfully demonstrate strong knowledge and expertise with Child and Family Services Reviews and Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews. Experience with federally mandated review processes will be very helpful.
This is a remote position with travel required. The salary range is from $90,000 to $120,000, dependent on experience.
Responsibilities
- Participate in teams, work collaboratively with colleagues to develop and deliver training to jurisdictions participating in the Child and Family Services Reviews and Title IV-E Reviews
- Provide in-person training on instruments, a case review system, roles and responsibilities of reviewers, and activities to take place during the review week
- Manage the activities of review teams, including consultants, who will travel onsite to conduct the federal reviews
- Revise content for protocols, instruments, and resources as needed and support federal staff in their implementation of these protocols and application of instruments and resources
- Author technical memos, TA tools, issue briefs, webinar presentations, and reports
- Contribute to company’s business development activities, including generating ideas and responding to requests for proposals (RFPs)
Required Qualifications
- Minimum of a master’s degree with 7+ years of experience in child or human development, social work, family studies, education, psychology, or a related field
- Knowledge and professional experience in child welfare
- Knowledge, understanding, and demonstrated expertise in child welfare policy and practice; system and program improvements; adult-learning and education; and in-depth understanding of federal laws, regulations, policies, and requirements that guide the Child and Family Services and Title IV-E review processes
- Experience developing guidance documents, training materials, and procedures manuals
- Experience managing a team of staff and consultants
- Strong, effective written communication skills, including technical writing and use of plain language
- Excellent oral communication skills
- Ability to work effectively as an individual as well as part of a team
- Strong organizational skills and high level of attention to detail; flexibility to lead and manage multiple priorities, sometimes simultaneously, under deadlines
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Child and Family Services Reviews and Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews
- Demonstrated experience with federally mandated reviews
- Task management experience and report writing
Email cover letter, resume, and writing sample to apply.
Research Associate, Child Welfare (Contingent)
JBA is seeking a full-time research associate to join the Child Welfare practice area. This position is contingent upon contract award. This staff member will support various federal child welfare projects by providing training and technical assistance (T/TA) to support the implementation and evaluation of child welfare demonstration projects. An ideal candidate should be able to successfully demonstrate strong knowledge and expertise of implementation science and be able to apply its principles to T/TA activities that support the implementation of programs and practices in child welfare and the evaluation of these practices.
This is a remote position with some travel required. The salary range is $70,000 to $90,000, based on experience.
Responsibilities
- Participate on teams, drawing on expert-level subject matter expertise in implementation science, analytic skills, technical knowledge, and applied experience to work collaboratively with colleagues to support implementation and evaluation of their child welfare projects
- Support colleagues on implementation science concepts, theories, and frameworks and their application for implementing program innovations
- Provide evaluation TA to child welfare programs, helping to test ways to integrate innovations effectively and ensure interventions are implemented with fidelity
- Translate complex, technical behavioral and social sciences research for end users with nontechnical backgrounds
- Author technical memos, TA tools, issue briefs, webinar presentations, sections of reports, and journal manuscripts
- Contribute to business development activities, including generating ideas and responding to requests for proposals (RFPs)
Required Qualifications
- Minimum of a master’s degree in child or human development, social work, family studies, education, psychology, or a related field
- At least 5 years of experience in behavioral or social sciences
- Knowledge and professional experience in child welfare
- Knowledge and understanding of implementation science concepts and principles
- Demonstrated history of providing T/TA to support program implementation and innovations, including experience applying implementation theories, frameworks, and strategies to help programs in designing and executing their projects and incorporating innovative designs
- Strong, effective written communication skills, including technical writing and use of plain language
- Excellent oral communication skills
- Ability to work effectively as an individual as well as part of a team
- Strong organizational skills and high level of attention to detail; flexibility to lead and manage multiple priorities, sometimes simultaneously, under deadlines
Preferred Qualifications
- Ph.D. with 3+ years of experience
- Experience developing implementation plans or critiquing implementation plans for child welfare services projects
- Demonstrated experience providing individual and group TA to child welfare services project team members to build their implementation and evaluation capacity
- Task management experience and report writing
Email cover letter, resume, and writing sample to apply.
Research Assistant, Child Welfare (Contingent)
JBA is looking for an individual to support research, evaluation, and TA projects in the Child Welfare practice area. This position is contingent upon contract award. The ideal candidate will be knowledgeable in the child welfare field, with some experience working with child welfare agencies and/or programs. The candidate should be highly organized, detail oriented, and able to work independently and as part of project teams. Candidates should have demonstrated experience supporting multiple projects simultaneously, taking initiative, and utilizing effective problem-solving skills.
The position is remote, with occasional travel for site visits, meetings, and conferences. The salary range is $55,000 to $68,000, based on experience.
Responsibilities
- Coordinate and support research and evaluation activities
- Support development of project reports and deliverables
- Coordinate the workflow of various products and tasks
- Contribute to literature reviews and knowledge development activities
- Complete detailed note taking
- Schedule and coordinate internal and external project meetings
- Contribute to coordination of business development activities, including responding to requests for proposals (RFPs)
- Collaborate on teams, supporting a cohesive, team-oriented culture
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s degree in child or human development, social work, family studies, education, psychology, or a related field
- At least 3 years of experience working collaboratively in a research or evaluation capacity
- Experience working in child welfare agencies or service programs
- Experience working with child welfare discretionary grant programs
- Ability to collaborate and build strong working relationships with others, including working effectively as part of a team
- Experience with Microsoft Office products (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, SharePoint)
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Strong organizational skills
- Flexibility to multitask effectively and produce high-quality work under time constraints
Email cover letter, resume, and writing sample to apply.
Research Associate, Tribal Evaluation
JBA is seeking a full-time research associate to join our Tribal Evaluation practice area and support our evaluation and technical assistance (TA) projects with American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. The ideal candidate has a passion for serving Tribal communities and is able to provide both individualized and universal TA to AI/AN early childhood programs. Individualized TA includes meeting with grant recipient leadership, data managers, and evaluators to provide tailored guidance and support on activities such as data collection and reporting, designing and conducting needs assessments, managing data systems, and conducting continuous quality improvement projects. Universal TA includes developing and delivering virtual and in-person training and TA sessions, facilitating peer sharing opportunities, and developing TA resources (e.g., toolkits, guidance documents). Other tasks include contributing to briefs and reports and supporting active engagement efforts to ensure grant recipient voice is represented in TA decisions and actions.
We are seeking an individual with substantial experience with research and evaluation methods, experience working with Tribal communities, organization and time management skills, and proficiency in developing written products and communicating effectively with various partners. Ideal candidates will have familiarity with federal data reporting, continuous quality improvement, and Tribal early childhood program design, implementation, and/or evaluation.
The position is remote with occasional travel for staff meetings. The salary range for this position is $80,000 to $95,000, based on experience.
Responsibilities
- Build relationships with staff from Tribes, Tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, and federal agencies as a TA provider
- Provide individualized TA in the areas of needs assessments, program evaluation, performance measurement, data collection and reporting, data management, dissemination, and continuous quality improvement
- Conduct thorough and detailed reviews of grant recipient data submissions and provide feedback to grant recipients, in coordination with federal project officers
- Deliver engaging in-person and virtual trainings and TA sessions, facilitate peer learning opportunities and other collaborative meetings
- Apply rigorous analytic thinking to the collection and interpretation of quantitative and qualitative data
- Work collaboratively with teams, supporting a cohesive, team-oriented culture and promoting communication and integration among team members
- Contribute to the development of literature reviews, reports, technical memos, TA tools, issue briefs, presentations, and manuscripts
- Translate complex, technical information for practitioners and others with nontechnical backgrounds
- Draw from traditional knowledge and Western science to support the development of culturally responsive evaluation approaches
- Contribute to business development activities, including responding to requests for proposals (RFPs)
- Occasional travel for site visits, client meetings, and conferences
Required Qualifications
- Master’s degree in public health, child or human development, social work, family studies, anthropology, or public policy
- At least 5 years of experience working collaboratively with AI/AN communities in an evaluation or research capacity, including leading community engagement activities
- Knowledge of the breadth and context of AI/AN communities and Tribal sovereignty
- Experience collecting and reporting performance data for federal or state grants
- Experience with continuous quality improvement and/or data systems within human services programs
- Experience with early childhood, public health, health services, child welfare, or behavioral health in Tribal communities
- Strong organizational and analytical skills
- Strong written communication skills, including technical writing and use of plain language
- Excellent oral communication skills, including delivering dynamic presentations (virtually and in person), effectively and respectfully facilitating large and small group discussions, and demonstrating active listening
- Ability to collaborate and build strong working relationships with others, including working effectively as part of a team
- Flexibility to multitask effectively and produce high-quality work under time constraints
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience developing and implementing research designs, evaluation plans, and instruments, both qualitative and quantitative
- Knowledge of home visiting
Email cover letter, resume, and writing sample to apply.
General Inquiries
If you don’t see a current opportunity that fits your skills, we’d still like to hear about your interest in joining our team in the following areas:
- Administration: IT, Finance, Accounting, Human Resources
- Research: Child Welfare, Child and Family Development, Tribal Evaluation
Send your resume and salary requirements. For research positions, also include a cover letter and writing sample.