Impact Evaluation Specialist

Chicago · Washington DC · Hybrid

Impact Genome

COMPANY BACKGROUND

Impact Genome (IG) is a fast-growing SaaS company on a mission to change how the world measures social change. We verify the real-world impact of government programs, NGOs, and nonprofits, helping them prove what works and why.

At the center of our work is the Impact Genome Registry, the first-ever database with outcomes and cost benchmarks from over 2.2 million social programs. Federal, state, and local agencies, as well as Fortune 500 companies, use it to track results, uncover “what works,” and invest where their dollars will have the greatest impact.

For nonprofits, we make evaluation fair, consistent, and less burdensome, so they can spend more time creating change and less time on reporting. Our mission: help the world shift from “giving money away” to investing in proven outcomes that create the maximum possible social good.

ROLE OVERVIEW

The way the world invests in social impact is broken. Help fix it.

Every year, billions of dollars flow into social programs across the country. Most government grant makers have no reliable way to know what’s truly working. Impact Genome is changing that: and we’re looking for a rigorous, curious evaluator to help lead that work.

We’re hiring an Impact Evaluation Specialist who knows what rigorous outcome measurement looks like from the inside. You’ve worked on the oversight or funder side: assessing what nonprofits and government programs report, not just producing those reports yourself. You can spot a weak theory of change, and you know how to bring organizations along without losing their trust.

This isn’t a support role. You’ll work directly with government grant makers to evaluate grant portfolios, coach nonprofits and government programs on measurement and reporting integrity and publish findings from the Impact Genome Registry – the most unique impact datasets in the sector. Over time, you’ll deepen IG’s point of view in the areas where your expertise is strongest.

We work across a wide range of social sectors. Candidates with deep expertise in any of the following areas are strongly encouraged to apply:

• Workforce Development & Skills Training: job readiness, skills gap, economic mobility, and employment outcomes
• Financial Inclusion: from financial access to long-term financial resilience
• Housing & Homelessness: from temporary shelter to permanent housing solutions
• Public Health: including mental health, reproductive health, addiction, healthcare access, and patient advocacy
• Education: including early childhood, K–12, post-secondary, and education policy
• Environment: climate resilience and adaptation, environmental justice, clean energy access, conservation, pollution reduction, and community sustainability
• Transportation: public transit access, mobility for underserved communities, infrastructure equity, and transportation safety
• Agriculture: food security, sustainable farming, rural economic development, farmworker support, and food access

If you want a role where your evaluation expertise directly shapes how public and philanthropic dollars reach the people who need them most, this is it.

ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Verify and pressure-test how nonprofits and government programs measure and report outcomes: assessing rigor, feasibility, and comparability across programs using IG’s Impact Verification™ protocols
• Partner with government grant makers to evaluate grant portfolios, surface what’s working, and sharpen how evidence drives investment decisions
• Turn complex program data into clear, decision-ready intelligence: reports, scorecards, and portfolio analyses that change how government grant makers allocate resources
• Coach and upskill nonprofits and government programs on evaluation design and outcome reporting, raising the measurement bar across sectors over time
• Publish original insights from IG’s dataset: briefs, reports, and presentations that advance how your sector uses evidence
• Contribute to IG’s point of view on the sectors you know best such as how programs are classified, how outcomes are benchmarked, and what the data is telling us that others haven’t seen yet

YOU BRING

• 4+ years of hands-on program evaluation or M&E experience with deep expertise in at least one social sector and meaningful time spent assessing what others report rather than just producing those reports yourself
• Experience working with government funders as you understand how public sector grant makers operate, what they need from evaluation, and how to translate findings into the accountability and investment decisions they make
• The ability to read an evaluation design and immediately known if it holds up (logic models, theories of change, data collection methods, outcome frameworks)
• Fluency in the program models, funding streams, evidence base, and key organizations shaping at least one social sector
• Credibility in front of senior government grant maker audiences and the coaching skills to bring a struggling nonprofit along without losing either one
• A self-starter orientation as you own things end-to-end, move without being pushed, and thrive when the path isn’t fully paved
• Alignment with IG’s core values: Passionate for Social Impact, Rigorous, Relatable, Commercial Minded, and Willingness to Challenge Convention

EVEN BETTER IF YOU HAVE

• Deep expertise spanning more than one of IG’s focus areas
• Direct experience inside a government agency, public sector grantmaking body, or oversight entity
• A track record managing evaluation across a portfolio of nonprofits and government programs: quality, compliance, capacity building
• Published work in the field: research, briefs, evaluation reports
• Advanced degree in evaluation, public administration, economics, public health, education, or a related field
• Experience with Power BI, Tableau, ArcGIS, or other data visualization platforms
• Comfort using AI tools as part of your analytical or research workflow and a thoughtful approach to doing so responsibly and ethically

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• $90,000 starting salary with potential for rapid growth
• Healthcare, including dental and vision
• Discretionary PTO & vacation
• 401(k) plan