Senior Growth Strategy Specialist

American Institutes for Research (AIR) seeks a Senior Growth Strategy Specialist to support the organization’s strategic growth and revenue diversification efforts. This role plays a critical part in sustaining momentum, quality, and follow-through across prospective opportunities by operationalizing work shaped by the Growth Office. The Senior Growth Strategy Specialist coordinates inputs across teams, prepares pitch and follow-up materials, tracks opportunities and next steps, supports early pilots and incubation work, and ensures consistent use of Growth Office tools and processes. This role translates strategic direction into well-executed action, enabling opportunities to move forward efficiently and positioning AIR for long-term sustainability and impact.

Candidates hired for the position may work remotely within the United States (U.S.) or from one of our U.S. office locations. This does not include U.S. territories. The role requires regular domestic and international travel.

About AIR:

Established in 1946, with headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, AIR is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit institution that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance to solve some of the most urgent challenges in the U.S. and around the world. We advance evidence in the areas of education, health, the workforce, human services, and international development to create a better, more equitable world. AIR's commitment to diversity goes beyond legal compliance to its full integration in our strategy, operations, and work environment.

Responsibilities:

The responsibilities for the position include:

Opportunity Execution & Coordination

• Lead preparation of pitch materials, briefings, follow up content, and supporting documentation for prospective partners, funders, and clients.

• Coordinate with the Program Office and internal contributors to manage timelines, inputs, reviews, and handoffs for opportunities across the Growth Office.

• Track opportunities, funder and partner interactions, decisions, and next steps to ensure continuity, accountability, and follow through.

• Support opportunity progression by identifying risks, gaps, and dependencies and flagging them early.

• Develop and ensure consistent use of Growth Office tools, templates, and operating processes across opportunities and focus areas.

Market & Competitive Intelligence

• Conduct background research, landscape scans, and partner profiling to inform market and competitive intelligence.

• Support early pilots, concept testing, and incubation efforts for business development focus areas by coordinating activities and synthesizing insights.

• Synthesize partner input and market signals into actionable recommendations and next steps.

Operational Excellence

• Support and apply established processes to track goals, KPIs, and performance against growth targets.

• Partner closely with Business Development Operations to align execution with compliance, strategic pricing, and effective proposal management practices.

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with internal decision makers, including program leaders and cross functional teams.

• Share lessons learned, insights, and best practices from execution activities to support continuous improvement across the Growth Office.

• Contribute to a collaborative, transparent, and execution-oriented culture across AIR’s growth and development efforts.

Qualifications:

Education, Knowledge, and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree and 9+ years of experience in business, social sciences, public policy, technology, or a related field.

• Experience supporting business development, strategy, or complex, cross functional initiatives.

• Demonstrated exposure to non-government revenue efforts, including foundations, nonprofits, and/or commercial or industry clients.

• Experience supporting venture, start up, incubator, or accelerator style initiatives.

Skills

• Highly organized, detail oriented, and comfortable managing multiple workstreams simultaneously.

• Strong writing, synthesis, and coordination skills, with the ability to turn ideas into clear, actionable materials.

• System-oriented, with experience using tools, templates, dashboards, and tracking mechanisms to support execution.

• Effective communicator who can collaborate across functions, roles, and leadership levels in a virtual environment.

• Ability to work independently and collaboratively, prioritize objectives, and meet timelines in a dynamic environment.

• Strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

• Commitment to AIR’s mission, values, and long-term impact.

Disclosures: Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S. on a full-time basis. Employment-based visa sponsorship (including H-1B sponsorship) is not available for this position. Depending on project work, qualified candidates may need to meet certain residency requirements.

American Institutes for Research is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability. AIR adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo reference and background checks. AIR maintains a drug-free work environment.

ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE: If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process due to a physical or mental disability, please send an email to Taliba Boone at [email protected] call 202.403.5000.

Fraudulent Job Scams Warning & Disclaimer: AIR is aware of individuals falsely presenting themselves as AIR representatives. Fraudulent job scams seek to extract sensitive information or money from victims. To protect yourself, please be aware that AIR recruitment will only email you from an “@air.org” domain. Please take extra caution while examining the email address, for example [email protected] is correct and [email protected] is not a legitimate AIR email address. If you are unsure of the legitimacy of a communication you have received, please reach out [email protected]. If you see a job scam, or lose money to one, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) atReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can also report it to your state attorney general. Find out more about how to avoid scams atftc.gov/scams.

AIR’s Total Rewards Program, is designed to reward our staff competitively and motivate them to achieve our critical mission. This position offers the anticipated annual salary as listed. Salary offers are made based on internal equity within the institution and external equity with competitive markets. Please note this is the annual salary range for candidates that are based in the United States.

#LI-MP1 #LI-Remote

AIR’s Total Rewards Program, is designed to reward our staff competitively and motivate them to achieve our critical mission. This position offers the anticipated annual salary as listed. Salary offers are made based on internal equity within the institution and external equity with competitive markets. Please note this is the annual salary range for candidates that are based in the United States.

Anticipated Annual Salary Range
$145,000—$170,000 USD