Child Welfare is at the beginning of a transformational shift and we are working to accelerate it. To meet that need, we are growing and looking to add new energy and perspective to our world-class team. We are a group of people who are passionate about improving outcomes for the youth and families impacted by child welfare and fundamentally committed to co-creating solutions with them. This requires relentless curiosity and problem-solving, nimble adaptation, and striving to build an equitable culture both internally and in the world. If you want to work with leading social changemakers across the nation to innovate how change gets made, we want to meet you.
To learn more about the catalyst for our growth, click here.
Think of Us (TOU) is a research and design lab on a mission to fundamentally re-architect the foster care system as we know it, powered by the data, leadership and insights of people with lived experience. The most challenging social problems we face – homelessness, mental illness, incarceration, and human trafficking – share a common intersection point: foster care. That’s why we are sparking, driving, and co-creating a nimble, responsive foster care system that will ensure every person has the conditions from which to heal, develop, and thrive. We partner with leading organizations driving change across the national ecosystem – from the White House to local providers and agencies – to identify leverage points and build solutions.
TOU has raised $47M through the Audacious project for a five-year project to accelerate this field-wide momentum and drive nationwide, catalytic change around three key leverage points:
Our team members share a commitment to driving systems change through creative problem-solving, obsessive curiosity, and a love of quickly driving innovative, measurable, and impactful results.
Note: Most of our roles are fully remote. A select few are based in DC or LA, which will be specified in the job description if applicable.
At Think of Us, our team challenges itself to reimage – not just reform – the child welfare system so it truly supports children and families. The work is dynamic, bold, and urgent. And we’re committed to more than just our collective vision – we also care deeply about the “how.” Our team shares a set of core values that guide how we show up for one another and approach everything we do.
Children and families impacted by the system drive our work.
We work to transform – not fix - a broken system.
We identify and challenge imbalances of power.
We are focused on action, ready to take on the uncomfortable.
We settle for nothing short of transformative impact.
We lead with curiosity to bring new approaches to entrenched problems.
We admit our mistakes, lean into hard conversations, and look to constantly improve.
We strive to be humans that everyone – at TOU and beyond - wants on their team.
We provide generous health, dental, and vision coverage for you and your family. For full time employees, this means 100% premium coverage for you and 50% premium coverage for your dependents. We believe mental health matters as much as physical health. Sick days are yours to take, whether for a stomach bug or a mental health reset. Supporting you as a whole human is a priority.
We have a flexible time-off policy, to find the schedule that best meets your needs for rest and family time, so you can bring your best self to your work. We believe mental health matters as much as physical health. Sick days are yours to take, whether for a stomach bug or a mental health reset. Supporting you as a whole human is a priority.
We are a trusted partner across the national child welfare field. We work with the leading providers, advocates, and foundations across the country and partner with top state and federal lawmakers and administrators. Our work is regularly featured in major media sources such as PBS, the New York Times, The Economist, the Stanford Social Innovation Review and many others.
Select a team
I. Introduction
Think of Us was recently awarded $42.5M from a funder collaborative based on our proposal to make a family first system. We’re simultaneously launching a campaign to raise an additional ~$50M – towards this five year plan and naming this combined effort the $100 challenge to center lived experience in child welfare.
Think of Us has an existing communications team and lacks media relations expertise as it builds out its communications team. It needs to add capacity for a media relations expert to proactively seek earned media opportunities; support the communications team with responding to inbound media speaker engagement requests; and guide the organization and communications team with the finalization of foundational organizational messaging.
We are looking to bring on a temporary team member (3-6 months) to our media relations efforts and work with our existing team to finalize our core organizational messaging. This person will be responsible for advising Think of US leadership on media relations strategy, what opportunities are “newsworthy,” supporting the preparation of pitch documents, and supporting Think of Us with the finalization of its foundational and core messaging.
We are looking to finalize a partner to hit the ground running as soon as possible on an hourly basis. We anticipate the contract duration to be approximately 3-6 months with hours varying per week and month depending on the specific needs of the organization. The scope of work will include:
Proposals will be evaluated based on past relevant experience, short interview via Zoom, demonstrated ability to support reactive, proactive and crisis media relations efforts. Proposals should be submitted with billing terms that are on an hourly basis. Hourly rates should not exceed a $175 per hour.
Deadline for submitting proposals is June 19, 2023. Please submit a short proposal detailing your capabilities and past experience via PDF, Powerpoint or Word. Proposals should be submitted to angela@thinkof-us.org and accounts@thinkof-us.org. Please send any questions via email.
Think of Us is a research and design lab for the social sector. Led and guided by people who have been directly impacted by the child welfare system, we are a trusted partner across the field nationally. We publish groundbreaking research, work with cities, states, and tribes to co-design and implement solutions to long-standing challenges, and advise federal and state policy makers on effective, bipartisan solutions.
Find out more about us here.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
We’re committed to fostering a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Building a community within TOU where each person feels empowered to be their full selves. We believe the best way we can solve tough problems is to include individuals impacted by them.