Working With Us

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.

Various federal agencies with whom we contract require that staff successfully undergo a background investigation or security clearance as a condition of working on the project. If you are assigned to such a project, you will be required to obtain the requisite security clearance.

An affirmative action, equal opportunity employer, we value and actively seek diversity in the workforce. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected status under applicable law. We are committed to excellence and inclusion in our work and in our practice, and we encourage individuals of diverse backgrounds with multidisciplinary experience to apply. Browse our current opportunities below.

Senior Writer/Editor

This full-time position on our communications team is focused on developmental/substantive editing, copy editing, and writing. It is located in Arlington, VA; telework is possible.

Qualifications

Candidates are required to have a bachelor’s degree (master’s preferred) in English, writing, communications, journalism, or a related field and at least 10 years of experience as a writer/editor, including at least 3 years with a federal agency or contractor in health and human services—preferably related to children and families and/or evaluation.

Required Skills

Excellent skills in developmental/substantive editing, copy editing, and writing, with strong attention to detail
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Excellent organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel)

Required Experience

Supporting the development of a variety of products and documents (e.g., reports, briefs, fact sheets, articles, instructional documents, newsletters, blogs, websites, proposals)
Understanding complex information and translating it accurately into plain language
Ensuring products are clear, succinct, well structured, engaging, and effective
Ensuring products are free of errors and inconsistencies of grammar, usage, style, and formatting
Understanding and applying style guides, including GPO
Coordinating design and production and ensuring quality control
Working in a deadline-oriented, client-oriented environment

Responsibilities

Collaborate with teams, authors, and clients to understand projects and tasks, provide consultation, reconcile feedback, and address issues
Provide expert developmental/substantive editing, writing, and rewriting
Provide expert copy editing
Coordinate design and production, ensuring quality control and appropriate branding
Complete multiple tasks with a high degree of competence, independence, and initiative
Support development and implementation of communications policies, procedures, plans, and strategies
Support websites and social media as required
Support business development and marketing as required

Excellent salary and benefits. To apply, please submit a PDF resume and cover letter with salary requirements.

Apply

Desktop Publishing Associate

This on-call remote (variable hour employee) position on our communications team will support the formatting, design, and production of a variety of products and proposals. Candidates should be flexible and available to work weekdays and some evenings and weekends.

Qualifications

Candidates are required to have an associate’s degree (bachelor’s preferred) or equivalent combination of experience/training/certifications, plus at least 5 years of experience with document production and graphics, preferably with a federal contractor.

Required Skills

Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel), Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Acrobat DC), and CommonLook
Advanced proficiency in creating 508-compliant PDFs
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail

Required Experience

Formatting text and headings consistently by creating and applying Word styles and templates
Creating or formatting tables, graphics, charts, figures, infographics, and images using PowerPoint and InDesign
Creating or formatting automatic tables of contents, hyperlinks, sections, footnotes, citations, headers, footers, and page numbers in Word
Assembling/compiling documents into PDFs with bookmarks for navigation, including files created in various formats
Creating PDFs that meet Section 508 and WCAG 2.1 standards, including tagging, testing, and remediation using Adobe Acrobat DC, CommonLook, and keyboard testing
Adhering to brand and/or proposal specifications for fonts, sizes, spacing, colors, etc.
Coordinating with communications and proposal teams to meet deadlines and requirements
Ensuring quality control, including proofreading for formatting errors and inconsistencies

To apply, please submit a PDF resume and cover letter with hourly rate.

Apply

Research Associate

This full-time position in the Child & Family Development practice will support all aspects of early childhood research and evaluation projects, and work directly with funding awardees. Telecommuting available. Some travel required.

Responsibilities

Provide evaluation, CQI, and performance measurement TA to state awardees of federal funding and early childhood programs
Critically review evaluation, performance measurement, and CQI plans and reports and provide feedback to align with project guidance and best practice
Participate in the critical analysis of performance and outcome measures, identify issues or trends, initiate effective problem-solving, and develop improvement plans
Lead or participate in teams, drawing on experience, analytic skills, and technical knowledge
Design and conduct research and evaluation for state, federal, and private-sector projects
Apply rigorous analytic thinking to the collection and interpretation of qualitative and quantitative data
Engage in business development activities, including idea generation, grant writing, and responding to requests for proposals
Bring creative ideas to the development of proposals for new projects
Author reports, memos, TA tools, issue briefs, webinar presentations, and journal manuscripts

Required Qualifications

Ph.D. with 1-2 years of experience or master’s degree with 5+ years of experience
Advanced knowledge of research design and methods, both qualitative and quantitative
1-2 years of experience in CQI
Excellent written and oral communication skills, including group facilitation skills
Ability to collaborate and build strong working relationships with others, including working effectively as part of a team
Ability to provide TA to human services programs to build their evaluation, CQI, and performance measurement capacity
Strong organizational skills and high level of attention to detail; flexibility to lead and manage multiple priorities, sometimes simultaneously, under deadlines
Broad understanding of early childhood field (home visiting, child welfare, children’s mental health, two-generation programs) and policy issues

Preferred Qualifications

Advanced training in education, child or human development, family studies, sociology, public policy, psychology, or related field
Project leadership experience, including leading long-term project tasks and report writing
Professional CQI training or certification
Experience leading a learning collaborative
Experience developing measurement tools for early childhood research
Experience providing TA to human services programs to build their evaluation capacity

Staff members may be required to successfully undergo a background investigation or receive a security clearance.

Excellent salary and benefits. Email resume, writing sample, and cover letter with salary requirements.

Apply

Research Assistant

Areas of responsibility for this full-time position will include research, literature reviews, collection and synthesis of data, data entry, preparation of documents and reports, and meeting planning. This position is located in Arlington, VA.

Qualifications

Candidates are required to have a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree with at least two years of applied experience. Preferred qualifications include interest in child welfare and child-family social services; strong organizational and analytical skills; attention to detail; solid internet research skills; experience with Microsoft Office products (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, SharePoint) and quantitative/qualitative software; excellent written and oral communication skills; and ability to work effectively as part of a team and independently.

Excellent salary and benefits. Email resume and cover letter with salary requirements.

Apply

Business Development Associate

This full-time position will provide strategic vision and support for marketing and business development; support the production of key sections of proposals; and build, maintain, and manage the firm’s extensive collection of corporate qualifications, project descriptions, resumes, bios, proposals, and collateral marketing materials.

Qualifications

Candidates are required to have a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, marketing, business, communications, or journalism; minimum 3 years of previous experience (research and evaluation preferred); and prior experience with proposals for federal and state government agencies and foundations preferred.

Excellent salary and benefits. Email resume and cover letter with salary requirements.

Apply