Level: Full-time
Salary: $45,000 – $50,000
Benefits: 3% contribution to a 403b retirement fund, generous PTO and sick time, dedicated PD funds and time
Contact: email dataevalspecialist@bookharvestnc.org ; no phone calls
Requirements: resume, cover letter, contact information of two references, and sample(s) of data visualization;
applications will only be reviewed if they include all elements
Organization and Program Overview
Founded in 2011 and based in Durham, North Carolina, Book Harvest (www.bookharvest.org) is a
nonprofit organization that provides an abundance of books and ongoing literacy support to families and their
children from birth and serves as a model for communities committed to ensuring that children are lifelong
readers and learners. Our vision is of a world in which reading, learning, and access to information are considered
rights, not privileges, so that all children thrive.
To date, we have provided more than 1,450,000 books and literacy supports to children
and families in central North Carolina through programs that are innovative and informed by evidence.
Job Description
The job of Book Harvest’s Data and Evaluation Specialist is a new full-time position in our organization that works
with the Book Harvest team to develop strategies to measure what works in service to our mission and vision; and
who develops, designs, and implements effective data collection tools and analyses to advance Book Harvest’s
mission. Our programs are community-based and family centered, and we seek a robust, efficient, and nuanced
portfolio of qualitative and quantitative evaluation tools and processes to effectively measure outcomes that
demonstrate impact on early childhood literacy, book access, family engagement, and systemic transformation.
The responsibilities of the Data and Evaluation Specialist will help grow the culture of Book Harvest into one of
data-driven decision making and continuous quality improvement. He/she/they will coach staff to understand
and use data, metrics, systems, and reports to optimize program specific and organizational performance.
He/she/they will also develop relationships with local organizations and collaboratives to align Book Harvest
information with community needs, community demographics, intended outcomes, and selected measures.
Specifically, this position will have the following priorities: clean, organize, and analyze existing qualitative and
quantitative data; translate program outputs and outcomes; research and identify new measurement tools and
strategies that relate to early childhood literacy and parent engagement; train and support staff in
implementation and administration of new measurement methods.
The person in this position will need to work with program and communications staff to translate and summarize
outcome data into meaningful and compelling visualizations and reports to share with stakeholders including but
not limited to staff, funders, partner organizations, policy makers, and public and private leaders.
The Data and Evaluation Specialist reports to the Operations and Finance Director and works closely with the
Executive Director, Advancement Director, and Program Director in order to ensure all data needs are being met
in service of programmatic, fundraising, and organizational goals and vision .
Responsibilities
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following.
Data Organization
● Develop and deliver a best-in-class impact metric framework and internal data platform to evaluate the
performance and outcomes of the overall organization and individual programs.
● Create and/or advise on data infrastructure and implement any necessary moves of data from one
platform to another.
● Design and administer databases, dashboards, forms, templates, and reports.
● Troubleshoot system errors. Coordinate support and issue resolution processes with staff and vendors.
● Manage testing and approval of new functionalities.
● Develop a database owner’s manual/reference document.
Data Analysis and Reporting
● In partnership with the Executive Director, Program Director, and Advancement Director, evaluate
outputs and outcomes of all program components in order to assess the impact of Book Harvest’s work.
● Identify areas of improvement to ensure all programs are meeting desired outcomes efficiently.
Research and Outcomes
● Research and form best practices for future data collection and understanding.
● Provide direction on standards and methodologies for data collection within our programs, with an
emphasis on equitable and inclusive community-based practices.
● Analyze and create relevant data for external and scientific publications.
● Maintain close working relationships with vendors and consultants working on technology or outcome
related projects.
● Demonstrate the ability and experience to support external evaluation/research studies. (N.B. Book
Harvest has an external Randomized Control Trial evaluation that has been temporarily suspended due to
COVID-19. As future activities for this study unfold, the Data and Evaluation Specialist will take on
responsibilities related to it).
Staff Collaboration
● Produce internal data summaries, reports, grant statistics, geographic reports, and custom analyses as
needed. This may include quarterly reports.
● Work with the Advancement Director to produce data needed to fulfill reporting requirements for grant
reports and to create meaningful outcome-focused materials for donors.
● Work with the Communications Manager to transform data into infographics and visual representations
for use in internal and external communications as appropriate.
● Provide training and support to Book Harvest staff users.
Qualifications
The ideal Data and Evaluation Specialist comes to Book Harvest with a minimum of 3 to 5 years of experience in
the data analysis, research, or data science fields, or other applicable training. He/she/they must have a deeply
held and demonstrated understanding of the general non-profit environment and a specific commitment to Book
Harvest’s mission, vision, and values sharing our conviction that all children deserve easy, abundant, and
equitable access to the books and literacy supports that they deserve to succeed in school and in life .
Professional Experience
○ Bachelor’s degree in data science, data analytics or related fields (or equivalent in training and
professional experience).
○ Exceptional data analysis and visualization skills; familiarity with Tableau is a plus
○ Demonstrated understanding of database structures and relationships
○ Strong SQL skills and experience in dealing with large amount of real-world data
○ Proficient with at least one scripting language (Python, R, etc.)
○ Experience with creating and managing relational databases; experience in AWS is preferred
○ Ability to work on multiple projects and responsibilities concurrently
○ Excellent project management skills, experience with community-based outreach and
engagement and audience centric survey design
○ Knowledge of and experience with program evaluation methods including advanced research
designs, logic model development, qualitative and quantitative methods
○ Professional development time and funds are available for continued learning.
Professional Characteristics
○ Process- and operations-driven mindset.
○ Self-motivated initiative to learn.
○ Well organized, strong on follow-through, and attention to detail.
○ Demonstrated capacity and enthusiasm for teamwork and collaboration.
○ Exceptional interpersonal and customer relations skills.
○ Ability to handle ambiguity and nuance.
○ Excellent verbal and written communication skills, especially the ability to convey analytic content
verbally, visually, and in writing to non-technical team members
○ Personal qualities of integrity, honesty, credibility, and dedication to the mission of Book Harvest.
○ A commitment to active involvement in an anti-racist organizational culture.
We offer a competitive salary and benefits package and an engaging, purposeful workplace culture. Book Harvest
is committed to creating an inclusive work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All
qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender,
gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.
Book Harvest is committed to protecting children through its child safeguarding policies. All staff are subjected to
criminal background checks and are held to high standards of child protection.
If you are interested in applying for the position of Data and Evaluation Specialist, please submit a resume, cover
letter, contact information of two references, and sample(s) of data visualization to
dataevalspecialist@bookharvestnc.org . No phone calls, please.
The priority deadline for receipt of applications is Friday, February 19, 2021.
