Director, Insight & Program Design
AfterCollege
Design
Sacramento, CA, USA
USD 125k-140k / year
Posted on Apr 29, 2026
About Change CraftChange Craft is a strategic communications and program design firm that helps mission-driven organizations translate complex ideas into clear strategy, compelling messaging, and actionable programs. We work with public agencies, nonprofit organizations, foundations, coalitions, and other partners to design, implement, and communicate initiatives that create meaningful public impact.About the RoleChange Craft is seeking a PhD-level research and strategy leader to serve as Director, Insight & Program Design. This role is ideal for an experienced applied researcher, evaluator, strategist, or social impact leader who can turn evidence, stakeholder insight, behavioral understanding, and program context into practical strategies that guide campaign development, program design, and client decision-making.Reporting to Dr. Dana Wagner, the Director will lead high-level research, insight generation, program design, and strategic advisory work across client engagements. The role requires both intellectual rigor and practical execution: the ability to design research, synthesize complex information, facilitate strategic thinking, and produce clear recommendations that clients and internal teams can act on.The strongest candidates will bring advanced research training, excellent judgment, strong writing and presentation skills, and a demonstrated ability to work across interdisciplinary teams in a fast-moving consulting or client-service environment.What You’ll Be Responsible ForResearch, Insight, and AnalysisLead qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, and desk research efforts that inform strategy, program design, messaging, audience understanding, and decision-making.Develop research plans, interview guides, surveys, synthesis frameworks, landscape scans, literature reviews, and other insight-generation tools.Translate research findings into clear strategic implications, actionable recommendations, and practical next steps for clients and internal teams.Identify patterns across data, stakeholder perspectives, policy environments, audience behavior, and implementation realities.Ensure research outputs are methodologically sound, ethically developed, and appropriate for the intended use.Program Design and Strategic AdvisoryDesign, refine, and support programs, initiatives, campaigns, and interventions grounded in evidence, audience insight, and implementation context.Help clients define problems, clarify goals, identify priority audiences or stakeholders, and select feasible strategies.Contribute to theories of change, logic models, strategic frameworks, implementation plans, learning agendas, and evaluation-informed program structures.Advise clients and internal teams on how to align research, strategy, communications, and program execution.Bring a systems-level perspective to complex social, behavioral, organizational, and public-sector challenges.Client and Team LeadershipServe as a senior thought partner to clients, helping them make sense of complex information and move toward clear decisions.Lead or support client meetings, discovery sessions, strategic workshops, presentations, and working sessions.Partner closely with communications, creative, project management, and leadership teams to ensure research and strategy are translated into usable deliverables.Provide guidance, review, and mentorship to team members contributing to research, synthesis, strategy, and program design work.Maintain a high standard of quality, clarity, and practical usefulness across all client-facing deliverables.Writing, Deliverables, and Thought LeadershipDevelop high-quality written deliverables, including research memos, strategy briefs, insight reports, recommendations, frameworks, presentation decks, and client-ready narratives.Create concise, polished materials that communicate complex ideas clearly to executive, policy, technical, and non-specialist audiences.Contribute to proposals, scopes of work, methodologies, case studies, and other business development materials as needed.Support internal learning, knowledge management, and thought leadership related to insight, program design, evaluation, and strategy.What We’re Looking ForRequired QualificationsPhD or equivalent advanced doctoral training in a relevant field such as public health, psychology, sociology, education, communications, behavioral science, political science, public policy, social science, evaluation, or a related discipline.Significant experience leading applied research, evaluation, strategy, or program design work in a client-facing, consulting, nonprofit, public-sector, philanthropic, or mission-driven environment.Strong command of qualitative and/or mixed-methods research design, analysis, synthesis, and presentation.Ability to translate evidence and research findings into strategy, program recommendations, communications direction, and implementation guidance.Excellent writing skills, with the ability to produce polished, client-ready deliverables for senior audiences.Strong facilitation and presentation skills, including the ability to guide complex conversations and build alignment among stakeholders.Demonstrated ability to manage ambiguity, structure complex problems, and move work from exploration to actionable direction.High attention to detail, strong project judgment, and the ability to balance rigor with real-world constraints.Preferred QualificationsExperience working on public health, education, equity, early childhood, social impact, public policy, community engagement, behavior change, or systems-change initiatives.Experience in agency, consulting, research, evaluation, or strategic communications environments.Experience designing or evaluating programs for government agencies, foundations, nonprofit organizations, coalitions, or community-based partners.Comfort working across communications, strategy, creative, data, and project management functions.Experience mentoring researchers, strategists, analysts, or multidisciplinary project teams.Familiarity with human-centered design, behavioral insights, implementation science, participatory research, or culturally responsive evaluation.The Person Who Will Thrive in This RoleYou are rigorous without being academic for its own sake. You know how to make research useful.You can see both the big picture and the details that determine whether a recommendation will work.You are comfortable with ambiguity and skilled at creating structure, clarity, and momentum.You write clearly, think strategically, and communicate in a way that helps others make decisions.You are collaborative, low-ego, and able to work across disciplines with researchers, strategists, creatives, project managers, and senior leaders.You care about public impact and want your work to help organizations design better programs and make better decisions.Compensation and BenefitsThe salary range for this full-time Level L08 role is $125,000 to $140,000 annually, commensurate with experience, qualifications, and location. Change Craft offers a remote work environment and a collaborative, mission-driven team culture. Additional benefits and employment details will be discussed during the interview process.Location and Work AuthorizationThis is a remote, U.S.-based role. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States.How to ApplyTo apply, please submit your resume or CV and a brief cover letter explaining your interest in the role and your experience leading applied research, insight generation, evaluation, strategy, or program design work. Selected candidates may be asked to provide relevant writing samples or examples of client-facing deliverables.Equal Opportunity StatementChange Craft LLC is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. If you’re ready to join our team of change makers and take the first step in a new exciting career, we’d love to talk! For more information contact us at careers@changecraft.com for more information about what it’s like to work with us, and the rewarding work experience we offer to our team members.Location: Sacramento, CA. Status: Full-timePay Range: $125,000 - $140,000 per yearRate Level: L08Benefits: Benefits include generous health plans for medical and mental health services, dental, and vision; paid time off; life and short-term disability insurance.Holidays: In addition to paid sick time off and paid vacation time off, Change Craft also offers 18 observed company holidays and civic engagement days including an annual winter break at the end of the calendar year. Travel: 10-20% Travel frequencyPost Date: April 28, 2026 | Target Hiring Timeframe: 1-3 weeksThe Fine PrintPhysical Requirements:Able to remain in a sitting position for prolonged periods of time for the performance of duties. Able to read from a computer, laptop monitor, or tablet for a full workday and for long periods of time (typically 8 hours) including fonts of various sizes from a variety of sources. If working from a the office location, able to stoop, bend, reach, climb stairs, and move freely throughout the building. Able to travel nationwide as needed to meet with clients, coworkers, or attend meetings and seminars. Must be able to move boxed work documents, up to 40 pounds, in and out of office for travel by car and by air.The Application ProcessAll applications must be submitted through Change Craft’s job posting system where all candidate submissions are being managed and tracked through one online careers system. While you may reach out for questions via email, we do not accept applications via email, mail, fax or in-person delivery. Please send questions to careers@changecraft.com. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status or on the basis of disability.PLEASE NOTE: All email correspondence that you receive from Change Craft will be sent through an ‘@changecraft.com’ email address. We recommend that you disregard any emails posing as authentic Change Craft accounts (e.g. @changecraft.com or other invalid, unauthenticated alternative). If you receive a questionable message from a Change Craft employee, you can verify the legitimacy of the message by contacting us at careers@changecraft.com.By providing a telephone number and submitting the form you are consenting to be contacted by SMS text message. Message & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out for further messaging.