Director of Evaluation

Position Summary:

The Director of Evaluation will assume a strategic leadership role, overseeing the direction, design, implementation, and maintenance of our research programs and evaluation department. Your primary responsibilities will include crafting grant proposals, aiding internal and external proposal writers for RFP’s and contracts for project funding, leading project design and execution, and actively participating in research and evaluation activities as required for the success of these initiatives (such as data collection, analysis, and report writing). You will also play a key role in staff recruitment and management, supervise team members working on research projects, handle budget development and management, ensure the ethical conduct of research, and engage in effective communication with key stakeholders regarding Blackstone’s research and evaluation endeavors. Furthermore, you will present findings to various stakeholders, including community representatives, State agency personnel, and members of the academic community, communicating insights through technical reports, presentations, and scholarly publications.

Key Responsibilities:

Client Relationship and Operations Management:

• Nurture and enhance client relationships in collaboration with the Associate Director, Evaluation Managers, and Evaluation Analysts.
• Strategically allocate projects to teams, ensuring equitable work distribution.
• Collaborate with the Associate Director, and Assistant Director to craft project scopes of work and budgets for funded proposals.
• Ensure smooth project transitions by informing evaluation managers about upcoming work.
• Lead project setups, including evaluation plans and IRB applications.
• Participate and lead as needed, relevant funder and project conferences and training sessions.
• Provide troubleshooting, supervision, and project management support.
• Conduct thorough reviews of all deliverables before sending to clients or funder submission.
• Supervise timely delivery of all deliverables and invoices.
• Mentor and train evaluation team members as needed.
• Collaborate with the CEO and Director of Operations to ensure synchronized operational decisions impacting company finances.

Business Development Opportunities:

• Aid in grant and RFP writing; identifying, selecting, and recruiting evaluators for proposal development.
• Offer constructive feedback on initial evaluation design phases and review final proposals before submission.
• Handle evaluation quote requests, collaborating with the Associate Director to develop estimates and lead follow-up communications.
• Manage responses to NSF and other proposal partnership inquiries, coordinating with proposal writers and reviewing evaluation plans.
• Assist proposal writers in formulating measurable goals and developing the evaluation plan, letter of commitment, and MOU.
• Maintain updated CVs, NSF and NIH-formatted biosketches, NSF Collaborators and Other Affiliations form, and NSF Current and Pending Support form.
• Monitor proposal submissions, track funding status, and keep corresponding files well-organized.
• Proactively seek out opportunities in technical areas of interest, overseeing associated business development teams.

Employee Management - Evaluation and Employees:

• Conduct interviews for all evaluation department positions.
• Provide orientation to new employees regarding their responsibilities.
• Supervise the training and support of new employees.
• Lead performance evaluations for evaluation department employees.
• Ensure all evaluations adhere to established company guidelines.
• Collaborate with Associate and Assistant Director of Evaluation to review performance evaluation forms for all employees prior to evaluation meetings.
• Facilitate discussions and resolutions for interpersonal concerns among employees.