Job Type: Full-time

Job Title:  Project Associate, Youth and Transition Services  

Position Supervisor:  Assistant Director of Practice 

Classification Level: Exempt 

Location:  Arlington, VA/ Hybrid (remote work optional) 

Position Timeline:  2-year, time-limited role - January 31, 2026 

APHSA represents leaders from state, county, and city human services agencies to advance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities nationwide. As a bipartisan membership association, we work with our members to generate pragmatic solutions grounded in lived experience with a lens for racial equity and belonging. With and through these members, we work to advance solutions centered on administering, overseeing, and aligning programs to provide access to food, housing, employment, childcare, community support, and other key building blocks.  

Join a team of dedicated, results-oriented professionals who are helping our members improve the well-being of individuals, families, and communities across the nation! Our team at APHSA needs a person like you who leans forward and feels comfortable engaging with teammates, thought leaders and partners.

Your direct supervisor and coach will be the Assistant Director of Practice. Your support will be the entire APHSA organization because we work best when we all work together!

Position Summary:

The Project Associate, Youth and Transition Services will lead APHSA projects and special initiatives focused on advancing improvements in the delivery of services and supports for youth transitioning from foster care through co-design between public sector agencies and people with lived experience.  The Project Associate will coordinate activities, ensuring APHSA and its partners meet timelines for deliverables, monitoring quality control of deliverables, and resolving barriers and issues in project implementation. The Project Associate will also play an active role in working with senior staff and project team members to connect insights and best practices from project work into APHSA’s broader portfolio focused on moving human services upstream through systems alignment and advancing a future state of human services that is led by people with lived experience. The Project Associate will also support development of a peer-to-peer community of practitioners that provide services and supports for youth in transition and elevate practice-level issues to inform APHSA’s national policy agenda. 

Major Responsibility 1: Support the continuous operation of APHSA’s projects related to youth and transition services  (40%).

• Support the development and management of detailed project schedules and work plans for project portfolio.
• Coordinate work activities of APHSA staff and teaming partners to ensure quality and timeliness of work products.
• Convene and facilitate internal and external meetings with APHSA staff, members, and partners.
• Support authentic inclusion and belonging for people with lived experience (PWLE) in APHSA projects, directly and in coordination with project partners sponsoring participation. 

Major Responsibility 2: Coordinate Development of TA and learning tools to increase and expand sector capacity (30%),

• Lead the development of a dedicated APHSA member peer space for practitioners committed to improving services for youth in transition and participate in broader APHSA member dialogues to integrate transition age youth issues into child welfare and human services topics
• Facilitate presentations and peer-to-peer sharing using APHSA platforms to disseminate learnings from project-based work to broader APHSA membership. 
• Create work products such as blogs, issue briefs, webinars, toolkits, infographics, and literature reviews related to child and family well-being.
• Develop and maintain peer support and learning tools, such as web materials, resource libraries, and case studies.

Major Responsibility 3 (20%): Support partnership development and collaborations.

• Establish working relationships with national, regional and community partners in fields such as child welfare, education, juvenile justice, workforce (WIOA youth), housing and children’s health to exchange ideas and explore opportunities for collaboration.
• Represent APHSA at partner events and stakeholder meetings related to child and family well-being.
• Maintain awareness of current developments in the sector and national dialogues related to services and supports for youth in transition, such as child care, child welfare, education, juvenile justice, workforce (WIOA youth), housing, economic supports, , and children’s health.
• Support funder relations, proposal development, and grant reporting as appropriate with supervisory guidance.

Other Duties 4: Perform all other duties as assigned (10%)

• Minimum of BA/BS degree and 2-5 years’ work experience. 
• Experience working directly with people with lived experience in human services, preferably transition-aged-youth.
• Proficiency in trauma-informed practices and an understanding of the varying physical, social, and mental well-being needs for people in the transition out of foster care and aftercare. 
• Advanced interpersonal and communication skills, including written and speaking. 
• Excellent judgment and creative problem-solving skills, including negotiation and conflict resolution.
• Ability to demonstrate bipartisan problem solving.
• Willingness to travel (up to 15%) as public health considerations permit.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Candidates with lived experience in transition-age youth services are highly encouraged to apply. APHSA will also consider candidates with at least 3 years prior experience in child welfare or related fields such as juvenile justice, youth employment, education, or out-of-school time programs either in government service at local, state or federal levels or in related roles in the business and non-profits sector. 
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with different stakeholders to achieve shared goals.
• Ability to quickly develop relevant subject matter expertise.
• Strong oral and written communication skills. Ability to facilitate and manage meetings is required. 
• Experience producing internal and external writing is strongly preferred. 
• Experience with public presentations is strongly preferred.
• Experience incorporating perspectives of multiple communities and knowledge of how concepts of structural racism and bias impacts underserved and underrepresented communities.

At APHSA, we value and support our staff's health, well-being, and future. Our benefit package is based on improving employee morale, which fosters a work environment where staff feel they can thrive and feel accomplished. Aside from basic benefits such as 100% employer coverage of health, dental, and vision insurance, we also offer additional employee benefits and perks like these:

• $250 work-from-home stipend
• 3% contribution to 401k or ROTH Plan
• Monthly Staples account allowance
• Hybrid work environment
• Additional discretionary holidays included with 11 paid holidays.
• Employee Appreciation gifts and an APHSA Swag pop-up shop
• 20 vacation days
• 15 sick/wellness days
• Disability insurance
• Life Insurance
• FSA (health, dependent, commuter)
•  Optional employee-paid benefits (legal, pet insurance, critical illness, accident)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Please submit a resume and cover letter.

This employer participates in E-Verify for employment verification.

The American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) is a bipartisan national membership association representing state and local health and human services agencies and the subject matter experts that help execute their mission to improve outcomes for people nationwide. APHSA's dedication to promoting diversity, racial equity, multiculturalism, and inclusion is clearly reflected in how we work and support our members. It is more than a commitment—it is the foundation of how we do what we do. We strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and recognize that building well-being starts with creating a space where our employees are comfortable bringing their authentic, unique selves to work. 

Building on our long-standing relationships with health and human services leaders, we focus on generating pragmatic solutions that advance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities.