Director of Data, Research & Impact (Volunteer)

Director of Data, Research & Impact (Volunteer)

Organization: Mentor A Promise (MAP)

Division: Data, Research & Impact

Location: Remote via Google Meet and/or New York City

Type: Volunteer (Unpaid)

About Mentor A Promise

Mentor A Promise (MAP) is a New York City–based nonprofit dedicated to supporting children and youth ages 5–18 experiencing housing instability. Through mentorship, literacy development, academic enrichment, social-emotional learning, creative expression, and community-centered innovation, MAP creates safe, consistent, and empowering spaces where young people and families can thrive.

As MAP grows, we are deeply committed to evidence-informed practice, ethical research, and meaningful impact measurement—not as performative compliance, but as a way to learn, improve, and remain accountable to the communities we serve.

The Role at a Glance

The Director of Data, Research & Impact is a senior executive leadership role responsible for shaping MAP’s research vision, impact strategy, and data governance across the organization.

This role exists to ensure that MAP’s work is:

• Thoughtfully designed
• Rigorously evaluated
• Ethically measured
• Responsibly communicated

—without reducing lived experience to numbers or stripping context from human stories.

This is not a compliance or reporting role alone. It is a strategic, intellectual, and ethical leadership position at the intersection of data, research, learning, and organizational decision-making.

Core Responsibilities

Research & Impact Leadership

• Define and lead MAP’s organization-wide research, evaluation, and impact strategy.
• Develop clear impact frameworks aligned with MAP’s programs, theory of change, and values.
• Ensure research methodologies are trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and community-centered.
• Balance quantitative metrics with qualitative, narrative-based evaluation.

Data Systems & Governance

• Oversee development and refinement of data collection, management, and reporting systems.
• Establish data governance standards, privacy protections, and ethical use guidelines.
• Ensure compliance with relevant data protection and confidentiality requirements, especially for youth and families.
• Guide responsible data sharing with funders, partners, and stakeholders.

Organizational Learning & Decision Support

• Translate research findings into actionable insights for leadership, programs, and strategy.
• Support continuous learning, reflection, and improvement across teams.
• Partner with Program, Education, Development, and Policy teams to align data with real-world decisions.
• Help leadership ask the right questions—not just collect more data.

External Reporting & Thought Leadership

• Oversee impact reporting for funders, partners, and public-facing materials.
• Support grant reporting and evaluation components in collaboration with Development.
• Contribute to white papers, research briefs, policy insights, or learning reports as appropriate.
• Represent MAP’s impact and research work in external conversations when needed.

Leadership & Professional Standards

• Build and mentor a small research and data team (staff or volunteers).
• Establish clear workflows, timelines, and quality standards.
• Check and respond to emails daily, with responses within 48 hours.
• Take responsibility for continuous improvement of research rigor, systems, and leadership practice.

How MAP Supports Executive Leaders

MAP treats data and research as tools of care, not control. In this role, you can expect:

• Clear executive authority and trust
• Close collaboration with Executive Leadership and Board-level stakeholders
• Respect for intellectual independence and ethical judgment
• Transparency around goals, constraints, and organizational realities
• Professional references and letters of recommendation
• Recognition of research leadership as mission-critical stewardship

Ideal Background & Expertise

• Advanced experience in research, evaluation, data analytics, public policy, social science, or impact measurement.
• Demonstrated leadership in designing and managing research or evaluation strategies.
• Strong understanding of ethical research practices, especially with vulnerable populations.
• Ability to communicate complex findings clearly to non-technical audiences.
• Comfort operating at both strategic and applied levels.
• Commitment to equity, dignity, and community-informed research.

Highly Valued (but not required)

• Advanced degree (PhD, DrPH, EdD, JD, or equivalent)
• Experience in education, housing, youth development, or social services
• Familiarity with nonprofit evaluation, funder reporting, or policy research
• Bilingual or multilingual abilities (Spanish or Haitian Creole a plus)

Commitment

• Volunteer role, approximately 5–10 hours per week
• Minimum 6–12 month commitment strongly preferred
• Remote collaboration via Google Meet, with optional NYC-based meetings
• MAP prioritizes sustainability, depth, and care over urgency or burnout

What You’ll Gain

• Executive-level leadership experience shaping impact and research strategy
• Portfolio-worthy accomplishments in ethical, mission-driven evaluation
• Collaboration with executive leadership, funders, and program innovators
• Professional references and letters of recommendation
• The opportunity to help ensure that MAP’s growth is grounded in learning, accountability, and truth

How to Apply

Interested candidates should apply directly through Idealist.

For any additional questions or concerns, please email us directly at hr@mentorapromise.org

Measure with integrity. Learn with humility. Lead with evidence that honors human experience.

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with our organization. At this time, our volunteer opportunities are limited to individuals who are based in the United States. This limitation is due to legal, safeguarding, data-privacy, and programmatic requirements associated with our work. We appreciate your interest in our mission and your understanding of these constraints.