Program Associate, Certification

Location: Chicago, IL or remote in the U.S.

Travel: 10%, dependent on need and public health considerations

Type: Full time

Application deadline: 5/16/24

Projected start date: 7/8/24

Description

When you think about elections, you might think about popular candidates, “I voted” stickers, and all sorts of paperwork and deadlines. But behind the scenes are thousands of election officials in state and local governments who are working hard to make sure ballots are counted and voices are heard. At a time when election officials are facing unprecedented challenges and scrutiny, they need support in order to administer secure and inclusive elections and build trust among the public.

As Program Associate at CTCL, you will help to develop a program to assess, recognize, and celebrate outstanding performance by election departments nationwide. As part of your work, you’ll collaborate with internal and external partners, including election officials and subject matter experts. You’ll report to a Senior Program Manager in the Government Services department.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate on program development - Work closely with teammates to assist in developing key elements of the certification program. Plan, draft, share, and revise materials. Prioritize equity in all contributions, supporting the certification program to
• be accessible to election departments regardless of size, technical capacity, or financial resources 
• center the needs of priority audiences - voters who are newly eligible, have limited English proficiency, live with disabilities, or are from communities that are impacted by the digital divide or historical disenfranchisement due to race.
• Engage key stakeholders - Coordinate with election officials, subject-matter experts, external partners, and internal teammates to support program development and implementation. Provide regular updates to stakeholders on the program’s development, operation, and outcomes.
• Research - Gather information about election administration and certification systems to help inform the Certification program. Synthesize findings and share learnings with internal and external stakeholders.

Qualifications

A successful candidate would have some experience in all of the following areas:

• Communication skills - You make complex concepts easy to understand through your speaking and writing. You communicate with others in ways that show you care about their perspectives.
• Critical Thinking - You can break down complex ideas to gain clear understanding. You propose practical, equitable suggestions to address challenges.
• Collaboration - You’re able to build relationships, work as part of a team, and solicit and synthesize feedback from a variety of stakeholders.
• Equity Consciousness - You have skills and experiences that help you understand people who face barriers accessing public services. For instance, you may be multilingual or have experience making products accessible and supportive to people with disabilities.

Knowledge of election administration and certification programs are pluses, but not requirements for this role.

About the Center for Tech and Civic Life

The Center for Tech and Civic Life is a nonpartisan nonprofit that connects Americans with the information they need to become and remain civically engaged, and ensures that our elections are more professional, inclusive, and secure. We do this by collecting and disseminating civic information to the public, connecting election officials with tools and training, and advocating for increased government funding for election departments across the country.

To date, we’ve published civic datasets that answer the questions “What’s on my ballot?” and “Who represents me?” which have been accessed over 250 million times. We’ve trained thousands of election officials, serving over 80 million voters, on topics like election website design and cybersecurity best practices. 

Benefits: 

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 15 annual vacation days, 2-week winter break, federal holidays, and sick time
• Flexible work schedule
• Annual employee allowance and professional development stipend
• Employer 401(k) contribution matching up to 4%
• Local coworking space stipend for remote staff

Application Process

• Follow the link to our careers site to upload your resume and answer some initial questions. (Only applications submitted through this careers site will be considered.) This should take approximately 30 minutes.
• We will email a status update to every applicant on Friday, May 17. Please check your spam folder if you don’t see an email from us. If you are selected to move forward in our process, we will invite you to submit a previous work sample, along with thoughts about your approach to that work, to demonstrate your qualifications.
• If you are selected to move forward to the final phases of our process, a video interview and reference check will be conducted to determine if you are the best fit for the position. The interview will take up to 1 hour.

The Center for Tech and Civic Life is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We encourage people of all races, colors, religions, national origins, sexual orientations, genders, sexes, ages, abilities, branches of military service, and political party affiliations to apply.