Policy Analyst - TSNE

The School and State Finance Project (schoolstatefinance.org) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit policy organization that works collaboratively with policymakers, communities, and other key stakeholders to develop data-driven solutions that ensure all public-school students receive equitable education funding that supports their learning needs.

Our Mission: To eliminate racial and economic disparities in Connecticut education funding.

Our Vision: All Connecticut students have equitable funding, access, and opportunities — no matter their race, socio-economic status, learning needs, or zip code.

Since our founding in 2015, we have secured an additional $526 million in need-based funding for Connecticut students, directly engaged nearly 15,000 community members, and led the effort to implement a comprehensive, student-centered funding formula.

We are an independent and trustworthy source of high-quality research and accessible analysis and serve as a bridge between those who demand equity for all students and the elected leaders who are charged with making policy.

Although not a member-based organization, the School and State Finance Project actively works with a diverse group of stakeholders and communities across Connecticut. The School and State Finance Project aims to serve as a trusted resource for state and local policymakers, school district officials, community leaders, and all people looking for transparent, accessible, and approachable information about education funding and state finance.

The School and State Finance Project is a fiscally sponsored organization of TSNE (tsne.org).

Reporting to the Deputy Executive Director for Data, Policy, and Special Projects, the Policy Analyst will research and help develop policy proposals that advance the Project’s goal of creating a more equitable, transparent, and unified school finance system, and address the State of Connecticut’s longstanding state fiscal and budgetary challenges.

The ideal Policy Analyst will have outstanding research and writing skills, a familiarity with public finance and education policy, the ability to make complex information easily digestible to broad audiences, and experience writing grant applications. The individual must be tactful and able to work with individuals and organizations who have diverse perspectives that may not always align. The Policy Analyst should be passionate about fixing how schools in Connecticut are funded and the structural issues at the heart of Connecticut’s fiscal picture.

Essential Functions

• Writing research and policy briefs to identify best practices and solve challenges to developing an effective and efficient school finance policy solution that could be successfully implemented in Connecticut
• Working in collaboration with members of the organization’s Data and Policy teams to manage research projects from end to end, including developing research questions and designs, collecting and cleaning data, analyzing data, analyzing policy, surfacing best practices, and presenting findings through written reports, presentations, web tools, and data visualizations
• Writing memos and other publications to communicate findings and recommendations to a variety of stakeholders interested in school finance and Connecticut’s fiscal picture
• Reviewing current academic and policy research on education finance and public finance to translate findings into state-level policy recommendations
• Gathering documentation and supporting grant applications for the School and State Finance Project to formally seek funding to support the organization
• Executing and communicating well-defined analyses in an independent manner
• Documenting tasks, methods, data, and findings to a high level of precision, and ensuring accuracy and efficiency in all work
• Collaborating with external stakeholders on research and analysis to further organizational reach

We will consider exceptional candidates who demonstrate a strong combination of the specific qualifications and skills described below.

• A graduate degree in public policy, economics, business administration, statistics, or a related field from an accredited university, and must have at least two years of experience in an environment related to public policy
• Expertise in public policy, public finance, or education policy
• Experience with quantitative and qualitative policy analysis
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills, including the ability to communicate complex, technical information to non-expert audiences
• Commitment to credible and independent policy research and analysis, and attention to detail and accuracy

Special Requirements

• Ability and willingness to travel throughout Connecticut
• Must pass CORI/SORI background check

Don't meet all the qualifications? That’s ok! Studies have shown individuals — in particular those who are women, people of color, LGBTQIA+, or have a disability — are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single condition. Our organization is dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive culture of belonging, so if you're excited about this role but your experiences don't match every qualification exactly, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or another role in our organization!

Application Closing Date: January 10, 2025

Position Start Date: February 10, 2025

Physical Demands/Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those for this position. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. Work is performed in an office environment and in close proximity to other workers.

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is required to:

• Handle, or feel objects, tools or controls;
• Reach; traverse; sit (usually for longer periods of time); occasionally ascend/descend; and position self (to) move;
• Occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds;
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate;
• Job is not subject to significant occupational or environmental hazards;
• Likelihood of personal injury would be relatively slight;
• Environmental and work hazards are not present to a measurable degree.

Compensation and Benefits

Location: Work will be primarily performed hybrid: remote or at the organization office at 316 North Main Street, Suite 3, Southington, CT 06489. A presence at school districts, stakeholder offices and the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford, CT may also be required for legislative/stakeholder meetings

Compensation: The salary range for this position is $70,000 - $75,000/yr. and is commensurate with experience

Schedule: Regular full-time, 37.5 hours per week

Benefits: This position is eligible for a full benefits package including:

• Generous Paid-Time-Off (PTO): twelve paid holidays, three weeks of vacation, one week of personal holiday, and ability to accrue up to 487.5 hours of health leave time for benefited staff.
• 80% Employer-paid, offering some $0 deductible Health Insurance through Harvard Pilgrim along with several low-deductible plans;
• Low-cost Guardian Dental and Vision.
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) for Health and Dependent Care.
• Employer-paid Life, Long- and Short-Term Disability Insurance.
• Employer-paid Pension and Employee-paid 403b plan through TIAA.
• ...and more!

Organizational Commitment to Equity

The School and State Finance Project was founded with the mission to mitigate inequity in education funding and provide opportunities to Connecticut’s public-school students no matter their race, ethnicity, community, or background.

We recognize that within this work, systemic racism plays a powerful and harmful role in the creation of inequitably funded school systems and the outcomes of students. We also recognize this same systemic discrimination is deeply intertwined in our state’s economic policies.

We are committed to explicitly addressing how systemic racism and racial injustice intersect with our work. We will consciously use the independence and self-acknowledged privilege of our organization to call for equity and fairness in all facets related to our mission and will actively listen to — and collaborate with — the historically underserved and disenfranchised communities we are working to strengthen.

We continually work to ensure this commitment is reflected in the diversity of our staff, the data we analyze, the policies we develop, and the conversations we have with policymakers, stakeholders, and community members across Connecticut.

We know as an organization, and as individuals, we will always have learning to do, room to grow, and ways we can be better allies. We hope you join us in this commitment to build a more equitable state for Connecticut’s students, families, and communities.

TSNE/SSFP strives to achieve excellence through a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment that embraces all of our individual and collective differences. Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Middle Eastern and North African, Bilingual and/or Bicultural candidates, and LGBTQ2SIA+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We value and honor the unique talents, learning styles, and lived experiences of each individual that enrich and strengthen our workplace culture, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer.

All employment conditions are based on an individual’s performance and job qualifications. TSNE/SSFP prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, creed, color, religion, native language, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, parental status, pregnancy, race-based hairstyles, or any other protected characteristic stated by federal and state law. Regardless of any class’ protection under the law or lack thereof, TSNE/SSFP celebrates diversity and values the strengths that come with having a diverse team of employees. It is represented in our workplace culture, and it is who we are.

TSNE/SSFP's EEO statement extends to volunteers, interns, contractors, vendors, and clients.