Policy and Research Analyst

At First Five Years Fund* (FFYF), our mission is to ensure that all children, especially those from low-income families, have equitable access to a continuum of affordable, comprehensive, high-quality early care and education (ECE) to support their healthy development and help them reach their full potential. To achieve our mission, we work to sustain and expand bipartisan support for early learning, while identifying and advancing new and innovative ways to increase access to high-quality early childhood education for children from low-income families. With so many children from birth through the age of five living in poverty, there is a tremendous need for greater investments and policies that expand access to high-quality opportunities that lay the foundation for a healthy and productive future.

Reporting to FFYF’s Managing Director, Policy & National Partnerships, the Policy & Research Analyst is broadly responsible for conducting policy analysis and research, informing policy solutions, and developing resources to advance FFYF’s comprehensive federal policy agenda.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Assist with research assignments, including tracking, analyzing, and synthesizing scientific, economic, and political research on child care and early learning. This includes conducting basic quantitative analysis.
• Collaborate with the policy team to create short- and long-term resources aimed at Members of Congress and their staff, federal agencies, child care advocates, reporters, key opinion leaders, and FFYF funders. Resources include blogs, briefs, fact sheets, federal comments, Congressional letters, etc., that support FFYF’s mission of achieving greater federal investment in quality child care and early learning. This includes writing and editing content, collecting data, and managing detailed project tasks and timelines.
• Develop strategies to ensure that research findings and policy analysis are effectively communicated to partners, policymakers, and the public. Work closely with the communications team to ensure successful design and distribution of content.
• Monitor federal policy developments and issues, including tracking federal early learning bills and policy advancements to find opportunities for FFYF to amplify visibility and contribute to public discussion of early childhood education.
• Manage FFYF’s existing external-facing content, including updating webpages and resources to ensure accuracy and relevancy.
• Work closely with the Policy Manager to collaborate on and execute additional projects. Draft talking points, presentations, briefing materials and minutes, and perform other job-related duties as requested. Assume additional responsibilities as dictated by staffing needs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree preferred.
• 1-3 years of experience in public policy or related field.
• Strong oral and written communication skills; proven track record to articulate sophisticated ideas, thoughts and concepts clearly and effectively.
• Knowledge of policy, research, and data analysis required.
• Proficiency with Excel required.
• Knowledge of early childhood development and education, maternal and child health, federal government programs and systems and/or related policy work strongly preferred.
• Ability to organize complex tasks, prioritize multiple assignments, exercise independent judgment, and to remain flexible and adapt to changing needs and priorities.
• Ability to meet deadlines and develop and move projects forward with independence.
• Ability to think strategically and analytically with an ability to see the big picture while managing details.
• Ability to process and protect confidential information in a professional manner.
• Ability to travel independently and alone (to locations that may not be handicap accessible) and manage travel arrangements.
• Required to sit at a desk and focus on a computer screen for the majority of the day.
• Frequently required to talk and listen to other individuals.
• Must be able to use repetitive wrist, hand and finger movements to operate computers and mechanical equipment regularly.
• Must be able to lift objects up to 20 lbs. in weight.
• Regular attendance is a necessary and essential function.

Salary Range - $55,000 - $65,000

We recognize that few candidates might meet every single piece of knowledge, experience, or education listed here. Research shows that women and people of color, among many other historically excluded groups, are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. FFYF/Start Early is dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your qualifications don’t perfectly align with everything in the job description, we still encourage you to apply!

FFYF was founded to be singularly dedicated to early childhood issues – and, more specifically, federal ECE advocacy. FFYF is unique and effective because of our:

• Integration across the work

We employ three core divisions of labor – communications and public relations, policy and partnerships, and government relations and outreach – that are intentionally integrated, each playing a central role.

• Proactive, bipartisan consensus-building

We engage in strategic consensus-building and seek to guide productive conversations to protect the issue from polarization. We identify areas of agreement, as well as where to engage and push. We lead conversations with what is persuasive to entry in the moment, considering all relevant context. We meet people where they are and help them get to where we want them to be.

• Simultaneous short- and long-term approach

We create opportunities for strategic victories – great and small – that build toward our long-term goal, while employing careful discipline to ensure short-term political or policy victories do not compromise long-term support and funding for early learning and care from birth through age five.

• Proactive advocacy while responsive to Washington’s current/changing agenda

We strategically account for, and take advantage of, the external environment including the realities of the legislative schedule and the political environment.

To learn more about FFYF, please visit www.ffyf.org. (*FFYF is an independent project of Start Early.)

FFYF/Start Early is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to our core values by creating an inclusive environment for all staff.