Strategist

NationSwell is an executive membership community and advisory that helps leaders accelerate their impact. We support leaders of influential, purpose-driven organizations with the resources and scale they need to solve some of society's most pressing challenges. Our community and expertise supercharges their ability to meet the moment.

Our studio team is an award-winning hub of strategic consulting and creative services committed to helping our partners (aka clients) take their impact to the next level through strategy, storytelling, applied research, and Collaboratives (a proprietary approach to enabling cross sector collaboration and collective action).  Our sweet spot is distilling complex social and environmental issues into clear strategies and compelling stories to move influential audiences to action and drive impact.

Partners include progressive corporations, large financial institutions, leading philanthropies, and cutting edge nonprofits, such as AARP, Adobe, American Family Insurance, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Cisco, Google, Johnson & Johnson, KPMG, Nike, Omidyar, PepsiCo, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Schultz Family Foundation, ServiceNow, Starbucks, TENT, Toyota, Walmart, Wells Fargo and more. 

The opportunity

NationSwell is seeking a Strategist to join the NationSwell Studio team to research, develop, deliver, and implement innovative strategies, applied research, frameworks, events, campaigns, and collaborations – all with impact at the forefront. The Strategist on the team is responsible for delivering nimble, rigorous research and strategic ideas. This could include: researching best-in-class CSR programs for a cutting-edge corporation, analyzing the most effective ways to build trust within communities, interviewing cross sector stakeholders to develop philanthropic strategies, helping to develop an impact plan for a global foundation, drafting messaging to rally support for DEI amongst influential organizations, or supporting the development of a content series on American democracy.  

The Strategist role is rooted in the ability to research and analyze organizational and community needs, synthesize that research into actionable and value-add insights, and translate them into clear and compelling materials for clients. Ultimately, you are a passionate problem solver with a mind for details, a willingness to be nimble, and someone who is both a proactive self-starter and a collaborative team player. 

The salary for this position is $75,000-$85,000

Key responsibilities

• Play an instrumental role in designing research plans and leading the research phase of projects — such as interviews, focus groups, and desk research — to deeply understand the subject we're working on and translate knowledge into insights and strategy for impactful work.
• Co-develop the strategic frameworks for projects, ensuring the work is optimized to create social and/or environmental impact and to meet the goals of our partners.
• Build strong relationships and trust with partners, responding nimbly to needs as they arise, and making clear, proactive recommendations to the team on smart ways to achieve goals.
• Create clear, compelling presentations to play back research & strategy insights 
• Help define key audiences for impact strategies and campaigns, backed by quantitative data and qualitative insights.
• Support ad-hoc research & strategic needs (e.g. business development proposals, development of frameworks for research, etc.)
• Collaborate and work closely with a small team of strategists, project managers, and creatives.

Requirements

Successful candidates will:

• Have experience as a key contributor to research and analysis projects, and the ability to synthesize research findings into smart insights.
• Have experience bringing strategic visions to life at a nonprofit, foundation, or social impact company or have worked in consulting at a creative/strategic/design agency. 
• We are open to a range of prior work experience provided you have the right skills to respond to partner needs and be both a thinker and a doer (conducting research & insights, creating insights presentations, etc.).
• Thrive working on multiple projects at once – you can easily integrate into a new project and switch modes between deep ‘heads down’ work and client facing meetings.
• Know how to create deliverables – whether a notes document to capture a conversation or an insights presentation to partners, you can successfully create partner-ready deliverables that are rigorous and compelling, telling a story and making clear recommendations. 
• Proactive and forward-thinking — not waiting to be asked to do tasks but always thinking ahead and stepping up to move things forward, suggesting solutions to challenges.
• Have an innate curiosity – you enjoy working with and interfacing with many different types of people and organizations and are always asking questions to learn more.
• Enjoy working collaboratively and cross-functionally. 

Desired qualifications

• Experience working in social impact or in a consulting role, including: designing and deploying research (quantitative and qualitative), conducting strategic synthesis and creating recommendations, creating presentations and deliverables
• Strong research skills along with the ability to create deliverables (e.g. presentations)
• Understands the principles of human-centered design and HCD research methods

How to Apply:
To be considered for this opportunity, please submit your resume and a cover letter clearly articulating your relevant experience and interest in the role. 

Candidates can be based anywhere in the United States. There is an expectation that this person may travel 10% of the time, especially for research at the beginning of a project.

We look forward to reviewing your application and discussing how your expertise can contribute to NationSwell's mission.

Benefits

We know that having a positive team culture is essential to achieving our goals, so we put time and effort into making NationSwell an encouraging, energizing, and exciting place to work. We are proud to be a certified B Corp. Here are just a few of the ways we celebrate our staff and culture at NationSwell.

• Health and Wellness: Health, dental, and vision insurance, an EAP, HSA, FSA, and PelotonOne subscription
• Work-Life Balance: Unlimited paid time off and flexible schedules to encourage your work-life balance
• Giving Back: Paid time off for employees to volunteer for causes that matter to them and internal moments to celebrate it
• Transit: A fully-covered Citi Bike membership and pre-tax transit benefits to help you get to where you’re going
• Net Purpose + Culture Index: Measure of our employee’s sense of purpose and engagement with our Mission
• Your Savings: Employees are offered a 401k account, and we match a portion of each contribution

NationSwell is committed to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are dedicated to building a workforce that celebrates diversity and equity and believe that inclusivity plays an important role in our decision-making process, both in staffing and in work product. We are committed to a 360° approach to diversity, equity and inclusion: in our team, process and deliverables — centering impacted communities, ensuring diverse representation and holding ourselves accountable to goals.