About U.S. Digital Response

U.S. Digital Response (USDR) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that helps governments and organizations respond quickly and efficiently to support the critical needs of the public.

Leveraging an amazing internal team along with a network of pro-bono technical expertise and modern, resilient technology, USDR addresses and uncovers solutions for common, systemic challenges that public servants are facing, leaving them better equipped to deliver services and support to millions of people nationwide.

We operate with humility and deep respect for our partners and believe that modern and resilient technology applied in the public interest can deliver people-centered services at the speed of need.

Since March 2020, USDR's projects have impacted 42M+ people in 37 U.S. states and territories. We've built deep partnerships with over 230 government and nonprofit partners, strong expertise across more than 300 projects, and repeatable processes to solve some of the most pressing challenges in order to help governments meet the critical needs of people today, while building digital resilience to stand up to the crises of tomorrow.

Learn more about our last year in our annual impact report, Demos not Memos in 2021: A Look Back (https://medium.com/u-s-digital-response/demos-not-memos-in-2021-a-look-back-ec770f29c5de).

About Our Unemployment Insurance Work (https://www.usdigitalresponse.org/program-areas/unemployment-insurance)

We want workers to access needed unemployment insurance benefits quickly, safely, and confidently.

To this end, USDR helps governments ensure equitable, accurate, and timely delivery of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits by using minimum-code technology and human-centered design. We understand the challenges governments face in administering benefits and are a trusted partner for workforce agencies across the country in their efforts to ensure all workers have access to this necessary lifeline.

USDR can also provide much-needed relief for workforce agencies through improved language access, including research and translation services to reach those with limited English proficiency.

Since April 2020, we have partnered with nine state workforce agencies and the Department of Labor to help streamline processes for both claimants and case workers, delivering benefits quickly to those who need them most.

About The Role

USDR is seeking an UI Program Advisor to support our UI Program product team. We are looking for someone to act as our in house UI expert who can help us build strong partnerships with state workforce agencies as we aim to make it easier to implement tools and services that increase the speed and equity of unemployment benefits delivery. Additionally, we would want the Advisor to provide practitioner input on the tools and approaches we are using in our UI engagements and products.

The UI Program Advisor will be responsible for working with new and existing partners and shaping USDR projects, while engaging the UI team and volunteer network to deliver on our partners' needs. This feedback loop will be essential as the team is also early in developing tools and services focused on improving language access.

You might be a good fit for this role if you've led policy or service teams in a state workforce agency supporting Unemployment Insurance, are an Unemployment Insurance expert, or a project or program manager with delivery or language access experience. The ideal candidate would reinforce our credibility in this broader domain while also connecting us with new potential collaborators and state agencies working in the space.

This is a contract position at 10-20 hours per week with an initial term of six months. The hourly rate will be $90 - 125 based on experience.

In This Role, You Will

• Build and maintain strong, credible relationships with government partners and key stakeholders in the elections ecosystem
• Provide outside guidance on critical government partner calls
• Provide input on key product decisions related to any of UDSR's UI tools and services
• Explore new opportunities to provide impact and support to new and existing UI partners
• Collaborate with government partners and USDR technologists to translate partner feedback into new features and impactful projects
• Represent USDR and the values of our Volunteer Oath (https://policies.usdigitalresponse.org/volunteer-oath) in your work.

Qualified Candidates Will Have

• Deep UI expertise from working with UI policies and modernization efforts with an understanding of the experiences for both UI administrators and applicants and perspectives of how these can be improved.
• A knack for hearing amorphous needs, rapidly empathizing, and translating those needs into concrete next steps.
• Strong work ethic, keen analytical and problem-solving skills, and the ability to manage complex projects and multi-task with excellent organization skills and a strict attention to detail.
• Strong communication skills across a broad set of cross-functional stakeholders, including complex external partners (such as regulatory bodies, government entities, large enterprise customers).
• A bias toward action with a solutions-oriented mindset.
• Strong interest in supporting equitable, effective access to public services using modern technology, design, and research practices.
• Anti-oppression knowledge and desire to work toward creating an organizational culture and project offerings that reflect that knowledge.

Skills and experience are necessary, but we hire on value alignment first, so if you feel you would be a good fit with us, still consider applying.

Application Process:

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the role is filled. USDR will conduct an application and resume review, followed by a series of interviews with various members of the USDR team. We are aiming to fill this role quickly.

Equal Employment Opportunity

U.S. Digital Response is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer fully dedicated to achieving a diverse staff. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and expression, and sexual orientation), disability status, protected veteran status, political party affiliation, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We encourage and welcome all interested potential applicants, regardless of background or prior experience volunteering with U.S. Digital Response, to apply.