Careers

CDI is looking for a Partnerships Associate to help bring constructive dialogue to more colleges and universities across the country. The Partnerships Associate's primary responsibility will be to identify prospective higher education partners, engage institutional leaders through thoughtful outreach, and generate qualified meetings that expand CDI's reach and impact.

The ideal candidate is early in their career and excited to build a foundation in partnership development, business development, and higher education. They are a strong communicator who enjoys connecting with people, researching organizations, and initiating conversations that lead to meaningful opportunities. Working closely with the Senior Vice President of Partnerships, the Senior Manager of Demand Generation, and the broader Partnerships team, they will learn how to identify promising institutions, personalize outreach, manage a healthy pipeline, and translate marketing interest into productive partnership conversations. This role requires a proactive, organized, and mission-driven individual who is energized by learning, open to coaching, and motivated by helping more campuses build cultures of inquiry, dialogue, and free expression.

This role reports to CDI's Senior Vice President of Partnerships and works collaboratively across the Partnerships and Marketing teams. As the successful candidate builds experience and demonstrates success, this position offers a clear pathway toward more senior business development and partnerships roles, with increasing ownership, responsibility, and opportunities to contribute to CDI's continued growth.

CDI is seeking a Senior Impact Researcher to lead and expand our evaluation and impact research efforts, helping us understand, measure, and communicate the effectiveness of our programs and initiatives.

The Senior Impact Researcher’s primary responsibility will be to own CDI’s evaluation agenda end-to-end, designing and executing impact and efficacy studies while building the measurement systems and analytical workflows that support rigorous, actionable research. This role will help advance CDI’s mission by generating evidence about how constructive dialogue skills are developed, how educational interventions create meaningful outcomes, and how organizations and institutions can foster healthier engagement across differences. Through rigorous evaluation and thoughtful interpretation of findings, the Senior Impact Researcher will contribute to both CDI’s organizational learning and the broader field of constructive dialogue.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in applied social science research and program evaluation, along with strong quantitative research skills and a commitment to public-facing scholarship. They will be responsible for leading all phases of evaluation work, from research design and measurement development through data analysis, interpretation, and reporting. This role requires a researcher who is equally comfortable conducting sophisticated analyses and translating findings into clear, accessible insights for university partners, funders, practitioners, and public audiences.

This role will work closely with CDI’s Research and Evaluation team, including the Senior Director of Research and Evaluation, Research Scientist, Senior Research Associate, and Senior Data Scientist, as well as colleagues across Product, Education, and Growth. Together, they will ensure that research findings inform organizational strategy, strengthen programs and partnerships, and contribute to CDI’s leadership in the fields of evaluation, dialogue education, and bridge-building.

CDI is looking for a Vice President of Strategic Communications to establish CDI as the leading national voice on constructive dialogue in higher education and translate that visibility into audience growth, organizational credibility, and mission impact.

The ideal candidate brings deep experience in strategic communications, strong relationships across national and higher education media, and a track record of building organizational reputation in complex, politically sensitive environments. They will lead CDI’s communications strategy, earned media efforts, and narrative framework; build executive visibility through op-eds, media placements, and conference keynotes; provide editorial leadership for CDI’s newsletter, blog, and organic social channels; and partner across Research, Marketing, and Partnerships to connect visibility to organizational impact.

This role will report to CDI’s Chief Growth Officer and work closely with CDI’s Executive Director and leaders across the organization to strengthen CDI’s reputation, expand its influence, and ensure its ideas reach key audiences across higher education and beyond.