The Advisory Services Associate is an important individual contributor that supports and advances Root Cause’s work with clients. The person in this role will work closely with senior team members to actively support consulting clients. Associates contribute to our clients’ success and social impact through project management, research and analyses, client communications, and production of high quality deliverables with guidance from senior team members. Our work at Root Cause provides an opportunity for Advisory Services Associates to learn and grow, positively impact the future direction of our clients, and contribute to the strategic direction and organizational success of Root Cause.

This role is mostly remote with some required in-person days at our Kendall Square (Cambridge, MA) office location. Employees must be able to commute to the Greater boston area for all-staff meetings and for additional client work as needed. 

Project & Client Management: 

• Project management across multiple projects including: helping to develop, manage, and proactively adjust and communicate with team members around project work plans and timelines; using our project management platform, Asana, to develop and manage project work plans; preparing meeting agendas and materials; scheduling and event coordination; synthesis of notes for sharing with clients; follow-up communications; and organization of key project documents.
• Facilitate parts of internal and external team meetings.
• Support design and development of partner convenings.
• Participate in team discussions to frame key research questions, develop relevant insights, make concrete recommendations, and determine next steps.
• Develop productive relationships with project team members and support the development of client relationships.

Research & Analysis:

• Conducts primary and secondary research (interviews, surveys, focus groups, benchmarking, online searches, and review of literature/reports) to understand market trends, data, and evidence within a given fieldm best practices, and client positioning and value proposition. 
  
• Develop survey tools, interview guides, and other tools to frame research, gather data, and conduct analyses. 
• With support, review and analyze data and other research to make reccommendations for clients. 

Production of High-Quality Deliverables:

• With support, develop and finalize high-quality internal and external deliverables.
• Make recommendations around deliverable design and development based on understanding of client and project needs.

Organizational Leadership:

• Participate in internal Root Cause projects and support operational functions as needed.
• Represent Root Cause leaders in both internal and external communication.

DEVELOPING SKILLS

• Process Expertise: Begin to grow a skill set in “process expertise,” such as designing, facilitating, and leading working group meetings or external events and providing coaching and capacity building to clients.
• Project Leadership: With support, begin taking on more ownership of project work streams and componenets, such as making recomendations to the team around project strategy and direction including prioritizing actions and deliverables and building client relationships.
• Business Development: Begin to learn about business development at Root Cause, including building and strengthening relationships with clients and/or potential clients over time through project work.
• Marketing & Communications, Including Knowledge Development: Begin to learn about and support marketing & communications at Root Cause, including contributing knowledge content to Root Cause marketing efforts (e.g., field notes, case studies, webinars/podcasts, etc.).

Associates typically have:

• 1-2 years of professional work or internship experience (a mix of analytical, research, and direct service experience preferred)**
• Strategic thinker and programmatic doer (ability to understand the overall direction of a project and translate it into next steps for day-to-day work)
• Project management experience
• Ability to prioritize competing workloads
• Ability to take initiative and operate with autonomy; flexible and adaptable
• Strong research, analytical, writing, and presentation skills
• Excellent organizational skills; ability to multi-task with keen attention to detail
• Strong interpersonal skills; experience with multi-stakeholder communications; ability to ‘manage up’ and act as a accountability partner
• Creativity: ability to pivot and problem solve as circumstances change and new needs or information arise
• A growth mindset, strong interest in continuous learning and improvement, openess to feedback, and a sense of curiosity about what is possible in a given project and subject area
• Commitment to advancing racial and economic equity and social justice
• Demonstrated skill in using word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet software such as Google applications
• Experience with online survey tools (e.g., Alchemer) and other technology platforms (e.g., Asana)

** Applications with more than 1-2 years of work experience are encouraged to apply as we may have upcoming positions for those with additional experience and skills.

The starting salary for this role is $64,000 per year. Because we know that the practice of salary negotiation can contribute to pay inequities, this starting salary is non-negotiable.

Benefits are available for all employees and include: 

• Health (HMO & PPO available), Dental, Prescription & Deductible coverage 
• 401k with Employer Match, FSA and Dependent Care options 
• Monthly cell phone and internet stipend
• Remote-first work environment with access to co-working space (greater Boston area employees)
• Generous time-off policy

We expect that the hiring process will take approximately 4-6 weeks, though this is simply an estimate. Successful candidates will advance through a series of three interviews in which they will meet with different Root Cause staff members, demonstrate their skills and fit for the position, and have ample opportunity to learn and ask questions about our work and culture at Root Cause. Here is a high-level overview of the process:

1. The Root Cause team reviews your resume
2. Interview 1 phone screen: 30-minute conversation to assess your qualifications, learn more about Root Cause and the open position, and ask any questions you may have
3. You receive a short homework assignment to demonstrate your skills
4. Interview 2: 90-minute interview and homework assignment review, followed by a 30-minute meet and greet with Root Cause team
5. Interview 3: 30-60 minute final interview with Root Cause leadership
6. Root Cause team conducts reference checks
7. The Root Cause team reviews all feedback
8. The Root Cause team makes a final decision

Root Cause (www.rootcause.org) is a nonprofit consulting team that helps drive effective and enduring social change. Our mission is to empower communities to build, improve, and sustain social change initiatives that enable all people to thrive. Since 2004, we’ve helped over 400 nonprofits, public agencies, philanthropists, and other funders achieve their goals while advancing racial and economic equity and justice.

Learn more about our team, our values as an organization, how we work together, our compensation and benefits strucutre, and our committment to racial & economic equity and social justice on our careers page. 

Root Cause values the people who work for and with Root Cause – we build our organizational structure, policies, norms, and culture with our people at the center. Root Cause is an equal opportunity employer and believes that a key driver to the quality of any organization is a strong, explicit, and organiztion-wide commitment to racial and economic equity and justice. We encourage applications from all backgrounds to apply; all qualified applicants will be considered for employment. If you require reasonable accommodation(s) to participate in the application or interview process, please contact [email protected]