About the Position

The Women’s Foundation for the State of Arizona (WFSA) has worked with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (the “Atlanta Fed”) to create a CLIFF Dashboard specific to the state of Arizona.

As we know some working families experience financial barriers to economic mobility. One significant barrier occurs when career advancement puts a family above the income eligibility threshold for public assistance programs. Due to the loss of these programs, career advancement opportunities can result in the family being financially worse off, or what is known as a benefits cliff. The Atlanta Fed’s Advancing Careers initiative conducts research on benefits cliffs and structural barriers to career advancement, and develops tools to support community and state efforts to improve economic security for families and meet the talent needs of businesses for a healthy economy.   This video provides further explanation of the Benefits Cliff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYqofBF_NBI&feature=emb_title

The CLIFF Dashboard, which reflects the Arizona landscape, is an interactive tool that depicts wages along select career pathways to indicate barriers presented by benefits cliffs. The CLIFF Dashboard also calculates the net returns to the taxpayer from career advancement. The tool has been customized to reflect local wages for selected in-demand jobs, local county-level expense data for various family formations, and application of state-specific public benefits.

WFSA is partnering with the Atlanta Fed to engage Arizona community partners and determine opportunities for changes in practices and policies that can increase opportunities for economic mobility through career pathways. This is accomplished by working directly with community partners to define the challenges and partnering on efforts to analyze and develop solutions through a Benefits Cliff Pilot Research Study.

The Research Intern will be responsible for conducting a research study with five (5) pilot partners on the feasibility and usability of the Benefits Cliff Dashboard. The intent of the pilot research study is to evaluate the usage of the dashboard by pilot partners, and to see how effective the dashboard is for partners in helping to move clients towards more sustainable careers without losing public benefits, and analysis on how the Dashboard can be used to impact system changes. Research activities will include:

1. Developing and enhancing research strategy, data collection tools, research analysis and reporting
2. Pre and Post Implementation surveys with weekly user evaluations (5 questions max)
3. One-on-One interview with pilot partners and clients throughout research implementation
4. Evaluation of the Pilot Research Study including:
   • documenting implementation plan and process
   • collecting data from survey tools and interviews
   • reporting outcomes
   • recommending improvements of the dashboard and future usability
   • evaluating pilot partners understanding and use of the dashboard,
   • evaluating pilot cohort’s ability to address the benefits cliff
   • analyzing the research findings and inform polices to lessen the cliff effect
   • writing the implementation and feasibility research report for publication
5. Additional research activities related to the Benefits Cliff Dashboard Pilot Research Study

The intern will have the opportunity to work with WFSA’s President/CEO, VP of Community Impact, Director of Research and Advocacy, Director of Communications, Director of Programs and other members of the team. We welcome students interested in a summer to early fall internship. The intern should be available to work 10 hours per week from end of May to end of October 2022 (16-week internship).

About the Candidate

• Master’s Degree Enrollment or Doctoral candidate in the field of study preferred
• Commitment to community development field
• Excellent research and writing skills
• Excellent computer skills generally, especially experience with Excel.
• Ability to analyze and summarize data efficiently and compellingly
• Excellent people skills
• Independent worker and a team player

To Apply

Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply immediately. At the Women’s Foundation for the State of Arizona (WFSA), we respect employee choice and privacy. Due to the nature of our work, WFSA may have in-person meetings and events. For the health and safety of our employees and community, we request employees be either fully vaccinated or follow the venue’s health/COVID-19 protocol which may include providing a negative test 1-day prior to the event.

WFSA strongly encourages people of color, LGBTQ individuals, people with disabilities, and members of under-represented communities to apply. WFSA is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, if reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the application or interview process, please contact us at wfsa@womengiving.org.

To apply, please email a complete application consisting of a letter of interest, resume, and 3 references to search@womengiving.org. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Applications will be considered until the position is filled.

Additional Details

Stipend:

WFSA will provide a stipend for the commitment to the research study.  Interns will have access to trainings offered by WFSA (which will not be included in the hours dedicated to the research study). Stipend amount for Doctoral candidate intern is $4,000, and stipend amount for Masters level intern is $3,600 for ten (10) internship hours per week, for 16 weeks.

Other Duties:
This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.