| JOB SUMMARY: |
NORC is currently seeking a full-time Child Welfare and Adoption Specialist to join our child, youth, and family portfolio. This staff member will contribute to a child welfare project by (1) supporting states as they use technology to improve adoption processes; and (2) supporting the NORC research team in building evidence for the broader adoption and child welfare field. Travel (multiple trips per year) throughout the Central US will be required.
Location: This is a Hybrid role based in either our Chicago Loop or Washington, DC office, with a minimum of six days per month in the office. We are also open to applicants working remotely.
Qualified applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. We regret that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future.
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| DEPARTMENT:
Economics, Justice & Society Department
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The Economics, Justice, and Society delivers actionable research on critical social programs and issues, timely socio-economic trend data, and evidence-based solutions across a wide variety of topics from business dynamics to household formation. The department is home to NORC’s Center for Public Safety and Justice, Center on Behavioral Economic Analysis and Decision-Making, and three long-running flagship surveys – the General Social Survey, the Survey of Consumer Finance, and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. We provide insights into communities, households, businesses, and the nation through our expertise in income and poverty, household finance, youth development, victimization, law enforcement, religion, traffic safety, data governance, and other topics. We engage in policy analysis and evaluation research relating to social programs and issues, the economy and the labor force, transportation and traffic safety, and crime and law enforcement. We work with a diverse set of clients and partners, including policy-makers and data users in national, state and local governments, academia, and the press.
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| RESPONSIBILITIES: |
- Coach and support state agency caseworkers and supervisors on the improvement of adoption processes and the use of adoption recruitment and matching technology.
- Develop and deliver project-specific, standards, and related practices training to states participating in improvement processes for adoption practice.
- Provide ongoing individualized and group-based technical assistance, logistics support, and monitoring of state implementation, assessment, and improvement activities and progress.
- Serve as liaison and subject matter expert to state agencies, facilitating communication and delivering technical expertise.
- Support integration guidance, data collection, analysis, reporting, and evaluation of each pilot-site’s performance on outcomes.
- Contribute to research and evidence creation on the implications of implementation of technology enhancements in state child welfare agency adoption practices.
- Consistently develop, update, and deliver tailored trainings, instruments, resources, reports, summaries, presentations and documentation of best practices regarding state performance and assessment findings.
- Travel for onsite activities, including trainings, stakeholder interviews, and technical assistance (TA) and monitoring.
- Manage and develop interactive TA tracking systems and dashboards as necessary.
- Contribute to business development activities, including generating ideas and responding to requests for proposals (RFPs).
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| REQUIRED SKILLS: |
- Minimum of a bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of relevant experience or master’s degree with 3+ years of experience.
- Significant experience working directly for, or closely with, a state child welfare agency preferably in an adoption unit or job closely related to adoption processes.
- Knowledge and professional experience in child welfare with a focus on adoption, with expertise in child welfare policy and practice at the local, state, or federal level.
- Experience with child welfare data and data systems, data analysis, and interpretation of qualitative and quantitative data.
- Experience supporting technology implementation or practice change within a human services or child welfare setting (e.g., coaching, training, change management).
- Project management experience.
- Experience developing training materials and delivering training.
- Strong, effective written communication skills.
- Excellent oral communication skills.
- Ability to work effectively as an individual as well as part of a team.
- Strong organizational skills and high level of attention to detail; flexibility to manage multiple priorities, sometimes simultaneously, under deadlines.
- Commitment to confidentiality.
- Available for travel (multiple trips per year) throughout the Central US for several days at a time.
- Qualified applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. We regret that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future.
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| SALARY AND BENEFITS: |
The pay range for this position is $85,000 to $100,000.
This position is classified as regular. Regular staff are eligible for NORC’s comprehensive benefits program. Benefits include, but are not limited to:
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Generously subsidized health insurance, effective on the first day of employment
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Dental and vision insurance
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A defined contribution retirement program, along with a separate voluntary 403(b) retirement program
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Group life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance
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Benefits that promote work/life balance, including generous paid time off, holidays; paid parental leave, bereavement leave, tuition assistance, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
NORC is committed to equity and transparency in its pay practices. We publish salary ranges and benefit information for every job. The listed hiring range reflects what we, in good faith, expect to pay at the time of posting, though actual compensation may vary and may be adjusted over time. A candidate’s placement within the range depends on factors such as competencies, education, qualifications, experience, skills, performance, and organizational needs.
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| WHAT WE DO: |
NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, our teams have conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with us to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.
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| WHO WE ARE: |
For over 80 years, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications and groundbreaking research findings. But our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, and commitment to collegiality have remained constant components of who we are as a brand, and who each of us is as a member of the NORC team. With world-class benefits, a business casual environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which we’re known, and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the impact their work is making on a global scale.
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| EEO STATEMENT: |
NORC is an equal opportunity employer. NORC evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, sexual orientation, and other legally protected characteristics.
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