Childcare Systems Analyst

Job Title: Child Care Systems Analyst

Report to: Systems Coordinator FLSA Status: Full-Time, Exempt

Department: National Systems Pay: $75,000

Location: Remote

Mission and Organizational Background

The mission of First Children’s Finance (FCF) is to grow the supply and business sustainability of excellent child care. Founded in 1991, FCF provides business and financial assistance to business owners and leaders in the field of Early Care and Education (ECE). To achieve our goals, FCF works on three levels: Individual Business Level, Community Level and Systems Level. FCF is a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Minneapolis that provides business development programs and/or financing to ECE providers in multiple states, with regional offices in four states: Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, and Vermont. For more information, see the First Children’s website at: http://www.firstchildrensfinance.org.

Job Summary

FCF’s National Systems team is seeking to add a Child Care Systems Analyst to our team to support our growing analytical work in support of ECE systems change.

FCF’s National Systems team provides research, consulting, and capacity-building services to child care systems leaders working to increase the supply and sustainability of child care businesses. We are seeking a curious and flexible systems thinker, with experience and commitment to using data to inform systems change. We strive to be a learning organization that embodies FCF’s values of innovation, equity, and capacity-building, and are seeking a team member that excels in fast-paced, collaborative environments.

The Child Care Systems Analyst will assist with developing and implementing research and evaluation plans across National System projects by generating, collecting, organizing, and analyzing data on policies, practices, funding streams, and trends. The Child Care Systems Analyst will work with FCF clients. This work includes supporting cities, counties, states, Tribal Nations, and other entities as they seek to assess the business side of child care. This position requires some travel and occasional evening and weekend work.

Essential Functions:

• Collaborate with the First Children’s Finance National Systems Team to develop, implement, manage, and communicate relevant and responsive data collection and analysis efforts. This work will support various system-level clients to assess and improve the business side of child care. This work includes:
  1. Support the development of research plans and proposals.
  2. Design and implement data collection and analysis efforts using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, including but not limited to, reviewing legislation, documents, and research, conducting surveys, interviews, and focus groups with various stakeholders; supporting data cleaning and manipulation of public and datasets and tools produced/owned by FCF and FCF partners/clients.
  3. Produce accurate and user-friendly reports, charts, and graphs for internal and external audiences that conform to FCF and client guidelines, standards, and best practices.
  4. Create, maintain, and update user documentation and internal process guides on data definitions, dashboard use, reports, etc.
  5. Learn and use new technologies, techniques, software, data types, tools, etc. as needed. Including but not limited to, customer relationship management systems, internal project management tools, survey platforms, data analysis tools, etc.
  6. Oversee some aspects of day-to-day project management including facilitating meetings, scheduling, updating project plans, communicating with clients, and ensuring deliverables are produced on time.
• Collaborate with the First Children’s Finance National Systems Team to develop and implement program evaluations to inform ongoing program improvement and measure impact.
• Provide training, consultative, and technical assistance support regarding data collection, analysis, dashboards, evaluation, and reporting to systems-change efforts in the ECE field.
• Present to external clients and partners related to data collection, analysis, and interpretation/application of findings.
• Collaborate with FCF clients and partners to understand their data needs and requirements, ensuring alignment with ethical and culturally competent data standards.
• Enter and manage time allocation reports and input client/partner/funder data.
• Participate in organizational and National System Team learning sessions to support continuous improvement efforts to enhance performance and efficiency.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification with at least 2 years of relevant experience (including but not limited to: public policy and administration, nonprofit program design and evaluation, research, evaluation, or consulting)
• Demonstrated experience with research, both document review and data collection methodologies
• Demonstrated excellence in written, verbal, and visual communications skills
• Demonstrated ability to work sensitively and effectively with adults of diverse educational, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds (including but not limited to child care business owners, families, community partners, and state, Tribal, and municipal executives)
• Proficient to advanced skills in the Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint

Knowledge, Skills and Ability:

• Strong skills in consulting with state and local government agencies, Tribal governments, small businesses, nonprofits and/or schools
• Skills and experience in program evaluation across a program lifespan (evaluation design, data collection, data analysis, communication of findings).
• Abilities to visualize, observe, and interpret diverse kinds of data.
• Abilities to think strategically, plan, implement, problem-solve
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of sensitive business data and information
• Working knowledge of ECE-related politics, policies, and funding streams at the local, state, federal, and Tribal level, or ability to rapidly attain this knowledge
• Bilingual communication skills strongly preferred, especially Spanish communication skills

Desired Attributes

• Open-minded, welcoming, accepting, and asset-based approach to all work
• A team player, partner, coach, and networker
• A curious, life-long learner
• Creative and resourceful in times of challenge or uncertainty
• A systems thinker, able to maintain a big-picture focus while attending to detail
• Open to accepting constructive feedback
• Organized, self-starter, multi-tasker

Work Conditions:

• Must be able to work on the computer for extended periods of time.
• Remote-work position with the expectation to report to the FCF National office in Minneapolis, MN for occasional meetings and travel regularly for in-person work across the country with states, Tribes, and territories.

Additional Notes

This job description represents the major functions of the position but is not intended to be all-inclusive. The incumbent is also responsible for taking direction from FCF representatives in completing projects or performing duties deemed necessary for the program and FCF success.

Benefits

Benefits include medical, dental, vision, life, disability insurance, holidays, paid time off, and paid family medical leave. Allowable travel costs are reimbursed.

Flexible work environment.

First Children’s Finance honors candidates’ time and effort in job-seeking by providing transparency regarding compensation. Creating transparency regarding salary information reduces the gender pay gap, and eliminates salary negotiation, which rarely benefits people of color or women. It is a value of our organization to support equitable hiring practices.

First Children’s Finance is an Equal Employment Opportunity /Affirmative Action Employer.