About Reformers Academy

Reformers Academy (RA) recruits, trains, and deploys policy-interested professionals into positions of influence that impact human flourishing in the education, healthcare, and human services arenas, equipping them to empower individuals and families and fight for the future of the next generation, our economy, and the American Dream.

Reformers Academy is building talent networks with our Health Reformers Academy (HRA), Education Reformers Academy (ERA), and soon launched Human Flourishing Academy (HFA).

As a growing organization, we have built practical policy training academies and networks for reform-minded working professionals who want to influence policy. We aren’t delivering ivory tower training programs, we are building a network of people working on the frontlines of policy debates and implementation. We are looking for a passionate, talented, and hard-working professional committed to this mission to join our team to assist with career advancement and placement of our talented alumni.

Core values as an organization:

  • Invested in people
  • Partnership-focused
  • Intent on continuous improvement and challenging the status quo
  • Built for change makers

About the Position

As a talent development organization, we find strong talent from across the country and train them. The Manager of Alumni Advancement and Placement will identify alumni strengths and areas of growth and assist them in taking their next career steps into greater influence. The Manager will take a strategic long-term approach and provide alumni with support throughout their careers.

We are looking to proactively place as many of our alumni as possible into key positions inside and outside government.

The right person loves to build connections, has a strong policy network, and can cultivate relationships across the states and in DC. This role oversees our internal systems, and matches graduates to potential employers offering impactful policy opportunities.

The Manager should understand “the science” of collecting the right information to make good matches of alumni with the right employment opportunities, but also “the art” of making the right matches for someone who is ideologically aligned with a future employer or who can make a difference given the political environment in a state.

The Manager should be willing to experiment with new approaches, refine our placement model, and drop what is not working. While this is a people focused role, the ideal candidate would be curious to learn more about fixing K-12 education, healthcare, and human services policy.

This role will also include collaborating with Senior Fellow contractors in the organization as well as working with allied organizations in the placement field to leverage the strength of each organization, and prevent duplication of efforts. As we add policy specific placement staff over time, this position will have room to grow.

Success means understanding our alumni well and being a trusted partner to allies who rely on strong talent to advance policy reform.

This position reports to the President of Reformers Academy. It can be executed virtually from anywhere within the United States.

Duties:

Fellows Focused

  • Lead organizational efforts to support and place alumni in positions of influence
  • Provide career coaching to fellows, as needed, to understand their career aspirations, skills, and areas of interest
  • Provide personalized career coaching in coordination with other Reformers Academy contractors and employees, including guidance on resume building, interview preparation, and job search strategies
  • Ensure fellows are well-prepared for the policy landscape and have a strong competitive edge in the application process
  • Work on skills-based assessments of fellows to assist with matchmaking with employers or career growing opportunities

Outside Partner Organizations Focused

  • Develop relationships with employers to understand the unique needs and openings at various partner groups to ensure a strong match for both fellows and employers
  • Provide employers with detailed candidate profiles, ensuring that both parties are aligned in terms of expectations, and strengths and areas of growth are shared
  • Maintain an up-to-date job bank of open positions
  • Track and manage the placement process, regularly communicating with both fellows and employers to resolve any issues that may arise
  • In the future, build out a marketplace of part-time and contract based work across allied organizations for alumni and partner organizations to work together

Reformers Academy Focused

  • Assist and coordinate recruitment efforts for Reformers Academy that overlap with relationships developed through placement efforts
  • Assist with the development and continued maintenance of Reformers Academy’s databases
  • Assist with and travel to two fellows fly-in weekends, one each in the Spring and Fall
  • Provide oversight and administration of alumni relocation assistance fund
  • Attend select events to build and maintain strong professional relationships
  • Stay up to date on trends, policy shifts, and emerging opportunities within state governments, think tanks, and the broader political ecosystem
  • Provide fellows with insights into the political and policy environment that will help them navigate their job search effectively
  • Assist with other mutually agreed upon tasks that can lead to successful talent placements.
  • Assist Reformers Academy leadership in budget discussion and future growth for the placement phase of the organization
  • Build out a fellows vetting process to ensure successful long-term matchmaking

Requirements

  • 3+ years of relevant experience
  • Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
  • A systems thinker
  • Determination to “close the loop” and get very busy people to respond to outreach
  • Excellent interpersonal skills, and a love of working with people
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Docs
  • Ability to travel as needed; approximately 10%

Preferred Skills

  • Proficiency in Airtable, Basecamp, Constant Contact and Mighty Network
  • Background in political appointments, at a staffing agency, or HR
  • Established network of policy wonks, think tank leaders, and contacts in government
  • Experience in career coaching, mentoring, or advising individuals on career paths, particularly in the public policy sector
  • For those familiar with Working Genius, we think the combinations of Discernment + Enablement (DE) or Galvanizing + Enablement (GE) or Discernment + Galvanizing (DG) may be good fits for this role

Compensation

Compensation will be based on experience. To that end, less experienced applicants would be looking at a range between $70,000-$85,000. More experienced candidates can expect a range of $90,000-$120,000.

  • Preventative health benefits are also provided.

Reformers Academy Core Values:

  • Invested in People First
    • We believe transformative change occurs when talented and strategic policy practitioners (inside and outside of government) drive it.
  • Partnership-Focused
    • Reformers Academy is movement-minded, meaning we seek to broaden and strengthen the pool of talent available to serve in key government roles (at the state and federal levels) and aligned reform organizations, such as think tanks and advocacy groups. We work daily to find ways that we can support – and not compete with – like-minded partners.
  • Intent on Continuous Improvement and Challenging the Status Quo
    • Our healthcare, education, and human services systems are routinely failing the very people they are supposed to support. These systems are dominated by legacy structures and players that do not easily innovate and are generally resistant to being held accountable for outcomes.
    • At Reformers Academy, we view the existing power structures with skepticism and encourage participants to be disruptive thinkers – challenging current norms and envisioning better paths forward.
    • As an organization, we are also introspective, regularly refining our methods and programming to continually improve and deliver the best possible outcomes for the people and organizations we support and serve.
  • Built for Change Makers
    • Our aim is to educate change makers who can skillfully operate and navigate the realities of the American political system and government structures—either inside or from the outside.
    • We also don’t tell our participants what to think; instead, we provide a firm policy foundation underneath their feet and frameworks for moving forward.

To Apply

Qualified candidates should submit the following application materials (in order) in one PDF document:

  • Cover letter including:
    • An introductory paragraph describing three distinct reasons you are drawn to Reformers Academy’s mission
    • Salary requirement, and if they differ from the ranges listed above, why you feel it is warranted.
  • Resume

Applications should be submitted to Talent Market via this link: talentmarket.org/apply-for-your-dream-job/.

Questions can be directed to Angela Hight, Project Manager at Talent Market, who is managing the search process: [email protected].

There is no application deadline for this position. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. This job will remain posted on our site until it is filled.

While we thank all applicants in advance for their interest in this position, we are only able to contact those to whom we can offer an interview. Only direct applications will be considered. No phone calls, please.

Talent Market is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting liberty by helping free-market nonprofits identify talent for critical roles. We provide consulting and recruiting services at no cost to 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations that clearly and directly focus on advancing the principles of economic freedom, free enterprise, free trade, free speech, property rights, rule of law, and limited regulation.