Sr. Data Associate

Arlington, VA • Student Supports • Posted 04/25/2025

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WHO WE ARE

In 2020, 11.6 million children in the U.S.—16% of all children nationwide—lived in poverty, and those children were disproportionately children of color. Students living in poverty often have physical and mental health, social-emotional, cognitive, and identity development needs that schools are not equipped to support. Rooted in community for more than 45 years, Communities In Schools (CIS) strives to bring community resources inside public schools, where they are accessible, coordinated, and accountable. CIS Co-Founder Bill Milliken said, “It’s relationships, not programs, that transform children. A great program simply creates the environment for healthy relationships to form between adults and children.” 

Bill Milliken’s vision is alive through a strong network of trained CIS staff embedded in schools nationwide building support and relationships inside schools. Today, CIS serves over 3,500 schools, the overwhelming majority are Title I-eligible schools across two channels: (1) independent affiliates and (2) licensed partnerships. Grounded in the power of transformative relationships to unlock a young person’s potential, CIS has a national, research-based history of delivering local results that support improved student relationships with adults, better-quality relationships with peers, and increased engagement and sense of belonging. These outcomes lead to improved attendance, improved academic success, and improved on-time high school graduation rates. 

MISSION AND VALUES

Communities In Schools (CIS) is “all-in” for kids. It is our passion—it is our mission. At the National Office, CIS collaborates with local affiliate organizations to provide resources and create communities of caring adults who work hand-in-hand with educators to make sure young people have the tools they need to stay in school and achieve in life. We are the nation’s largest dropout prevention organization, and we achieve our mission by hiring bright, creative, and innovative team members who demonstrate a passion for what they do. 

‘Within the national office, we foster a culture inspired by our mission, our values of integrity, accountability, equity, collaboration, and excellence, and a commitment to Equity, and Inclusion. Our culture is centered on three core tenants:  

• We acknowledge contributions and perspectives. 
• We collaborate across roles and departments. 
• We honor a whole-person approach and encourage balance. 

We aim to create a psychologically safe environment where relationships matter, and mutual respect is paramount.  

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Sr. Data Associate will be part of the team providing technical support to the CIS network in the adoption and ongoing use of the data management system (CISDM). The Sr. Data Associate will provide technical assistance to data system users, contribute to the development of training resources, be responsible for supporting the team in system testing, and conduct annual data verification and analysis.

YOU SHOULD KNOW: This position is a three-year, term-limited appointment with funding secured through September 30, 2028. Continued employment is contingent upon the incumbent’s ability to consistently meet or exceed established performance expectations throughout the duration of the grant. Subject to the availability of additional funding, the individual may be considered for continued employment beyond the conclusion of the initial grant period.

PRIMARY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

End User Resources (30%):

• Develop training materials, user manuals and other digital resources that promote the use of CISDM (e.g., tip sheets, training presentations, “how-to” videos).
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to best support the network with webinars and virtual training.

Help Desk Support (25%):

• Provide professional end-user support for the Communities In Schools Data Management System (CISDM), which includes handling routine user and/or technical issues that can be fixed during a phone/video call or email communication.
• Provide clear documentation of issues escalated to the team analysts and track trends with respect to common issues/challenges and fixes.

Annual Data Collection (25%):

• Communicate with end-users during the completion of the annual data collection process.
• Verify data quality to ensure accurate analysis and reporting.

System Enhancement (15%):

• Provide user-informed quality assurance testing and documentation.
• Conduct front-end and minimal back-end testing of new and existing production in CISDM in collaboration with team members.

Data Analysis (5%):

• Prepare datasets for analysis and reporting (e.g., data cleaning, merging).
• Participate in network-facing webinars and other duties as needed.
• Support with internal dashboard reporting to various CIS departments.

SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE THE FOLLOWING SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable differently-abled individuals to perform the essential functions.

Required skills & qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree with 3-5 years of experience in a related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 2+ years’ experience of intermediate use of Excel to include organizing, filtering, sorting, aggregating, and data transformation.
• Experience working with data related to K–12 schools, students, or programs.
• Experience participating in user acceptance testing for system enhancements 
• Experience in providing technical assistance to new and experienced system users.
• Understanding of end user design and training/teaching methods.
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Strong content writing capability along with excellent proofing and editing skills.
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to call attention to inconsistencies and quickly identify solutions to problems.
• Demonstrated strength and proven track record in developing and presenting training.
• Exceptional problem solver with demonstrated logic and critical thinking skills.
• Ability to cross collaborate with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Demonstrate a user-first approach to product development, updates, and maintenance.
• Willingness to learn new systems and tools.
• Familiarity with Tableau or Power BI a plus.

TRAVEL

15%. This includes CIS national meetings, training, and retreats.

ABOUT US

CIS staff continue to work in a virtual environment; however, the national office is open and available for staff to use as appropriate. 

To ensure the health and safety of staff and job applicants, all interviews will be conducted by phone and/or video conference.

BENEFITS & PERKS

Work that makes a difference—the opportunity to contribute to an important mission!

Competitive and comprehensive compensation and benefits package, including:

• Five weeks of Paid Time Off
• Generous 403b Retirement Savings Plan contribution
• 10 Paid Holidays
• 90% of employee health care premiums paid by the organization
• Summer Work Schedule and Winter Break
• Employer-paid short-term and long-term income replacement programs, and much, much more!

Communities In Schools is committed to a workforce that is representative of the varied communities we are privileged to serve. We provide a work environment that does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, mental or physical disability, genetic information or any other basis protected by applicable law. CIS prohibits harassment of applicants or employees based on any of these protected categories. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

For more information on Communities In Schools please visit our website.