Employee Ownership Research Consultant

Project Equity empowers employees to become owners of the businesses where they work. We do this by raising awareness of employee ownership (EO) as a business succession strategy, conducting business outreach and education, and providing direct support for both business owners and employees in their transition to EO. Since our inception in 2014, we have successfully educated over 15,000 business stakeholders on employee ownership as a succession strategy, counseled more than 1,100 businesses, and provided transition and post-transition technical assistance to more than 100 companies representing over 2,000 workers. Over the ten years since our launch, Project Equity has become a national leader in the movement to harness EO to address income and wealth inequality, honor business owners’ legacies, and sustain vibrant local communities.

About this project

Broad-based EO has emerged as a transformative strategy to boost incomes and build wealth for working people, including low- and moderate-income workers and workers of color. But as EO gains momentum across the country, questions remain about its specific impacts on Black communities: To what degree are Black workers currently benefiting from EO? What barriers do Black business owners and owners of businesses with substantial Black workforces face in transitioning to EO? And what policy solutions are needed to unlock the full potential of EO for Black communities? Addressing these gaps in our understanding is at the heart of our latest collaborative research effort.

Led by Project Equity in partnership with scholars from Morehouse College and the University of California, Riverside, the “Increasing Black Income and Wealth through Employee Ownership” project aims to identify policy levers to advance EO as a powerful intergenerational wealth-building strategy for Black communities and a tool to narrow the racial wealth gap. With generous financial support from the Policies for Action program and the WorkRise Network, each of the three project partners has a unique role in moving this collaborative effort forward:

• Understanding the Impact: Our partners at the University of California, Riverside will use longitudinal data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to assess the benefits of EO for Black workers primarily in the ESOP model where data is available.
• Identifying Targeted Strategies: Through surveys and interviews with Atlanta business owners, employees, and worker-owners, the Morehouse College team’s research aims to identify perceptions of and barriers to EO and shed light on strategies that may help catalyze the growth of EO within Black communities.
• Crafting Policy Recommendations: Project Equity will leverage policy research and  findings from our partners’ research to develop a range of policy recommendations aimed at fostering the creation of more employee-owned businesses in Black communities, informed by best practices from the public and private sectors.

This collaborative effort builds on Project Equity’s ongoing partnership with Morehouse College, which has already yielded two groundbreaking reports on using EO to close the racial wealth gap and strategies to advance Black employee ownership, as well as our Black Employee Ownership Initiative, focused on strengthening and tailoring Project Equity’s programs to better reach Black workers and business owners.

The project kicked off in early 2024 and will continue through the summer of 2025, when we anticipate releasing a final report with our joint research findings and policy recommendations.

About this opportunity

Project Equity is seeking a Consultant to help lead our “Increasing Black Income and Wealth through Employee Ownership” project. The Consultant will play a pivotal role in carrying out the project by providing strategic guidance, subject matter expertise, and thought partnership to the collaborative research team. The Consultant will work closely with Tyler Rivera, Project Equity’s Manager of Policy & Impact and full-time project manager for the project, to facilitate effective communication between partners, support the coordination of our research efforts, and ensure project milestones are met. They will also provide subject matter expertise on policy solutions to advance Black economic mobility and help to guide the creation of policy recommendations aimed at expanding Black EO. Finally, the Consultant will engage our partners at UC Riverside and Morehouse, as well as the project’s Expert Advisory Board, to review research findings, develop high-quality research deliverables, and craft a dissemination strategy to maximize the project’s impact.

Project Equity will work together with the Consultant to determine a scope of work based on their particular skills, experience, and qualifications. Specific responsibilities may include:

Project Oversight and Management

• Support Project Equity in coordinating efforts with our Morehouse and UC Riverside partners to ensure project milestones are met
• Facilitate effective communication and information flow between all partners
• Support, and potentially oversee, overall project management.

Strategic Leadership and Thought Partnership

• Contribute strategic leadership and direction for the overall project
• Offer thought partnership and guidance to the Morehouse and UC Riverside teams around their work, especially to ensure the research aligns with project’s EO focus and objectives
• Foster collaboration across the project team to ensure alignment and cross-pollination of research goals and findings

Research Direction and Policy Expertise

• Collaborate closely with project manager to ensure the policy research aligns with the project’s objectives and timelines
• Offer direction and support to project manager in conducting thorough research on policy components relevant to the project
• Partner with project manager to identify and conduct interviews with key policy stakeholders to get feedback on hypotheses and research findings
• Provide expert analysis of how policies can be implemented and adapted to support Black economic mobility and racial equity
• Contribute to the development of policy recommendations to support Black EO

Development of Research Deliverables

• Support the development of research deliverables, possibly including policy recommendations, policy briefs, case studies, and a final report
• Facilitate the framing and conception of a collaborative report in partnership with the Morehouse and UC Riverside teams
• Contribute to the collaborative drafting and editing of research deliverables with project manager and partners
• Engage the project’s Expert Advisory Board in reviewing and sharing feedback on research deliverables
• Ensure that research deliverables are high quality and effectively communicate the project’s key findings and policy recommendations

Research Dissemination

• Contribute to the development of a dissemination strategy for the research deliverables
• Collaborate with the Morehouse and UC Riverside teams to identify public forums in which to present the project and engage the field around the research
• Engage key partners, allies, practitioners, researchers, advocates, and policymakers around the research to maximize the project’s impact

Details of role, including contract length and compensation, will be determined based on the Consultant’s qualifications and the agreed upon scope of work.

Qualifications we’re looking for

Educational Background

• Advanced degree in Public Policy, Public Administration, Economics, Sociology, or a related field (Ph.D. or Master’s degree with significant experience)

Professional Experience

• Experience in leading and managing multi-stakeholder research projects
• Strong background in policy research, analysis, and advocacy, with a focus on racial equity and economic justice
• Prior work experience in policy development and analysis
• Prior research or work experience in employee ownership (strongly preferred)
• Proven track record of publishing high-quality research outputs

Skills and Competencies

• Exceptional leadership and project management skills
• Strong analytical and research skills
• Excellent writing and communication skills
• Detail-oriented
• Capable of overseeing multiple aspects of a complex project
• Collaborative and able to work effectively with diverse teams
• Commitment to racial equity and economic justice
• Ability to work in a remote environment

Project Equity is an independent operating project of the nonprofit umbrella organization, Multiplier, a nationally recognized nonprofit with a growing portfolio of innovative initiatives that conserve and protect a sustainable and resilient world (www.multiplier.org) 

Multiplier and Project Equity celebrate equity, inclusion and diversity and are committed to building teams and partnerships that represent a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. Multiplier and Project Equity are also committed to providing an environment of mutual respect that is free from discrimination and harassment. Multiplier and Project Equity prohibit discrimination in its governance, programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, marital status, amnesty, status as a covered veteran, because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from public assistance, or for any other non-merit based factor.

To apply

Please email a resume/CV and brief letter of interest to tyler@project-equity.org by Tuesday, July 9, 2024 at 11:59pm ET. In your letter of interest (approximately 1-2 pages in length), please describe your relevant experience and qualifications, interest in the project, how your background and skills align with the key responsibilities outlined above, and how you learned about this opportunity.