Working at the GPL

GPL Fellows

CLOSED: FELLOW POSITIONS - SUMMER 2024 COHORT

We seek to hire full-time fellows with a passion for improving government performance and solving social problems. Our Government Innovation fellows (see job description) play a crucial role in collaborating closely with government innovators to develop and test initiatives aimed at creating more just and effective service systems. These initiatives span diverse areas, including child and family well-being, criminal justice, homelessness and housing, and procurement. Fellows may provide support remotely to one or more jurisdictions or may be placed on-site with a government office or agency that is spearheading a project. Research & Writing fellows (see job description) focus on developing publications and other resources that elevate and spread insights from GPL project work to governments across the country. At least two years of professional work experience is preferred for these roles.

Potential locations for Government Innovation fellows include: Alameda County, CA; Chicago, IL; Denver, CO; Detroit or Lansing, MI; Frankfort or Louisville, KY; Jackson, MS; Miami, FL; North Carolina; Portland, Salem, or southern region, OR; Providence, RI; Seattle or Olympia, WA; South Carolina; Washington, D.C.; and remote locations (requires access to major U.S. airports for any travel). All Research & Writing staff works remotely. More information on locations and projects will be available during the interview process.

As part of the application, in lieu of attaching a cover letter, candidates are asked to answer the following three questions to allow us to learn more about their interest in the GPL and relevant experience. 

  1. Why are you interested in working for the Government Performance Lab? (125-word maximum) 

  2. Select one project from your personal or professional experience. Describe what you did to move the project forward, including the specific role you played and how you used one or more skills related to the ones used by GPL fellows. See the description of core GPL fellowship skills below. (250-word maximum) 
    Key GPL fellow skills include being able to use quantitative or qualitative data (including interviews and resident experience) to produce incisive hypotheses about what is not working, generate promising potential solutions, independently manage projects to meet their goals on time, develop trusting and professional relationships with others that advance the project, and produce high-quality written and oral deliverables that communicate complex ideas in clear, compelling ways. 

  3. Describe a concrete example of state and local government operations or services making a difference in residents’ lives (positive or negative). Personal experiences, whether from work or life experiences, will be weighted more than general observations. (125-word maximum) 

Questions? Read the Frequently Asked Questions for Fellowship Applications.

Unpacking the GPL Fellowship Experience
Watch a conversation with current GPL team members to gain insights about the fellowship experience.    

Fellowship Information Session
(Recorded for Summer 2024 Cohort)
Watch the recording

 

WORKING AT THE GPL

Policy analysts and community organizers, management consultants and social workers -- GPL team members put their skills to work helping governments tackle their hardest problems. Whether working to address chronic homelessness, connect families to services, or break the cycle of incarceration, GPL team members support innovative government leaders in creating solutions to serious social challenges and improving the way government works.  

Responsible for designing and executing projects supporting government leaders and agencies, our team members build policy area expertise, enhance their analytical skills, develop experience leading public sector teams, and manage initiatives that impact the lives of individuals in their communities. GPL alumni go on to leadership positions in the public and private sector, putting their GPL experience to use in government agencies, philanthropy, and service providers.

The GPL is a vibrant and values-driven community. We actively seek applications from candidates who demonstrate a commitment to building diverse and inclusive communities. Harvard University is an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to diversity and welcome people of varied backgrounds, cultures, experiences, and disciplines. We actively seek applications from people of color, women, the LGBTQIA+ community, military veterans, and persons with disabilities and underrepresented backgrounds.

Descriptions of government-facing positions with the Government Performance Lab can be found below. Links to employment applications will be posted above throughout the year as opportunities open. Please check back if no positions are posted at this time, and sign up for our quarterly newsletter to stay engaged in our work.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

We are working to incorporate DEI into our core operations in three main ways. First, we are resourcing and supporting a fellow-led DEI Task Force to advise and support ongoing DEI work and identify new opportunities to advance our organization’s DEI goals. Second, we are applying DEI principles to our hiring and recruitment practices to ensure that candidates with diverse backgrounds are able to join our team, advance, and thrive at the GPL. Finally, we aim to foster an organizational and management culture that supports staff in bringing their full selves and unique perspectives to our work. This includes training managers to bring cultural humility to our management practices. 

Fellow

Fellows typically work with state and local governments and are the backbone of the GPL's model for providing high-quality pro bono technical assistance and applied research support to governments. Fellows typically come to the GPL within a few years of completing a graduate degree in public policy, public administration, business administration, law, or related fields. Throughout the course of their fellowship, fellows guide significant performance improvement projects forward and receive training in skills including data analysis and project management. Previous fellows have led projects to reform city procurement, expand re-entry services to individuals released on parole, and improve the delivery of services provided to families interacting with the child welfare system.

Photo of Sherraine“All my work prior to the GPL has been client-facing in child- and family-serving systems, making change in individuals’ lives. I came to the GPL because I wanted to tackle some systemic challenges that were causing the problems my clients were experiencing in the first place. If you have lived or direct service experience, you have a richness in understanding what public systems look like on the ground. At the GPL, there is a willingness to listen to the expertise you bring to help direct and shape the projects we’re working on.” - Sherraine Ashley, Fellow

Sky Mihaylo"My team is leading a training program in data-driven performance management for homelessness Continuum of Care groups. We’re working with government staff but also with community-based organizations and individuals who have experienced homelessness themselves to develop their ability to work together to shape the homelessness response system. When you’re just looking at data in a spreadsheet, it’s easy to forget about who it represents. So, bringing together data analysts, service providers, and individuals with direct experiences of homelessness is powerful because everyone provides a unique window into how best to address homelessness.” - Sky Mihaylo, Fellow

Photo of Damonique

“At the GPL, we don’t just think about what government does, we think about what it could be. What could government mean to a community if there was more transparency, more equity, more trust? Both projects I’ve worked on at the GPL helped government to improve residents’ lives. In my criminal justice project, we were elevating the voices of residents who normally didn’t have a chance to be heard in order to improve safety in their own community. In my procurement work, we’re researching both how public services can be delivered in a more equitable way and how to increase opportunities for more diverse businesses to deliver those services.” - Damonique Sonnier, Fellow 

Photo of Kaitlin

"Before the GPL, I was working in foster care with families who had very deep child-welfare involvement. Coming from a direct service background, oftentimes you don’t have opportunities to be in the same rooms as the people who are influencing high-level practices or policies. In my GPL project, I recently briefed the state commissioner and a division head on our work to prevent families’ involvement in the child welfare system by supporting them before they are in crisis." - Kaitlin Tufts, Fellow 

Project Leader

Project Leaders drive forward GPL engagements with state and local governments and may oversee GPL fellows on intensive projects. Project Leaders may be former GPL fellows who have progressed within the organization or may join the GPL after multiple years of post-graduate work experience.

Photo of Lars“I’ve collaborated with the heads of departments, presented to governors’ offices, and briefed several mayors. As a fellow, you get the opportunity early in your career to be exposed to how high-level decisions are made and to make an impact on them. One of the first projects I led was supporting the State of Connecticut to implement procurement strategies in 2020 to meet pandemic economic recovery needs. At the end of the three- to four-month procurement cycle, I was able to see how my work helped deliver $150 million in funds and resources to communities that really needed it.” - Lars Benson, Project Leader

 

Assistant Director

Assistant Directors manage engagements with governments, overseeing a team of fellows administering technical assistance. Assistant Directors also spend substantial time on GPL enterprise activities, such as scoping new government engagements and training new fellows.

Gabriela presents in front of a slide deck“I used to work at a drop-in center for unhoused folks, and sometimes, people would get into arguments that we didn’t have the capacity to handle. We didn’t need the police, but we needed someone to come help de-escalate the situation; we needed an extra option to call for help. At the GPL, I lead a team that’s supported dozens of jurisdictions to create this alternative option. We’ve helped governments send unarmed responder teams trained in de-escalation to tens of thousands of 911 calls.” - Gabriela Solis Torres, Assistant Director of Criminal Justice

Program and Managing Directors

Program and Managing Directors lead the GPL's technical assistance practice, overseeing our engagements and supporting the professional development of our team members. As issue experts, Program and Managing Directors advise senior leaders in government on reforms in specific policy areas and develop new ideas for producing better results for social service programs and procurements.

Megan displays chart to colleagues"I began at the GPL in the fellow position, which allowed me to roll up my sleeves and take ownership over exciting, meaningful projects early in my career. I could not have guessed that two years out of a master’s degree in social work, I’d be deeply entrenched in my home state’s efforts to reduce recidivism, digging into analyses around safety in youth prisons and employment outcomes post-release, leading efforts to improve programs in correctional facilities statewide, and meeting weekly with agency leadership to brainstorm and support department priorities. Through these opportunities, I learned how to effectively collaborate with decision-makers in government to drive change, and I rely on this experience daily in my current role managing the GPL’s work to bolster child and family wellbeing. - Megan Toohey, Managing Director of Children & Families

GPL Alumni

An important goal of the Government Performance Lab is to train future government and social sector leaders. We’re proud that our government partners often hire and promote our fellows once their fellowship has finished. No matter where they go, our alumni put their GPL experience to work in leadership positions solving difficult problems. Read about some of our recent alumni in this blog post.

 

“Our GPL fellow was amazing. Halfway through his fellowship, I hired him directly to run some of our critical and high priority projects, and he had an immediate impact. He brought a high level of analytic and commercial ability that our agency did not possess internally, and he led the team that executed a very complex set of procurements.” — Brian Shortsleeve, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Chief Administrator, 2015-2017

 

GPL alumni have taken roles including:

Director of Performance Management, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Chief Transformation Officer, Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority

Chief Strategy Officer, RI Executive Office of Health and Human Services

Data and Analytics Manager, Boulder Department of Human Services

Economic Prosperity Programs Manager, Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development

Strategic Operations Consultant, Massachusetts Governor’s Office

Head of UK Government Centre for Social Impact Bonds

Senior Policy Officer, Results and Delivery Unit, Prime Minister Trudeau’s office

Director of Program Innovation, Center for Employment Opportunities

Director of Results-Driven Government, Laura and John Arnold Foundation

Management Consultant, McKinsey & Company

Program Director, Innovations for Poverty Action