Position: Program Manager, Progressive Governance Academy
Status: Full Time, Temporary (1 year) Exempt
Location: Anywhere in the U.S. convenient to regular travel
Deadline: Open until filled
Salary: $68,000 - $83,000 annually
The Progressive Governance Academy (PGA)─a joint project between State Innovation Exchange (SiX), Local Progress Impact Lab and re:power─supports values-aligned local and state elected officials to build power in partnership with their peers and with local values-aligned movement actors, while strengthening their skills in governance for a lifelong career in public leadership.
The anchor organizations that make up the PGA believe that elected officials are a critical partner in our movement work, but most local and state elected officials are not provided with the skills and tools they need to be successful, including collaborative governance skills. The PGA believes we can change this dynamic by training legislators to build the human and political capital and knowledge necessary to make bold community change and lasting impacts on public policy and electoral politics, ultimately improving our democracy and how each of us experiences it. Local and state elected officials are the constituency PGA works with, and also make up our trainer corps.
OVERVIEW
The PGA is a complex and deeply aligned cross-organizational project between re:power Fund, SiX and Local Progress Impact Lab, where each anchor organization has its own culture and constituency and differing needs and processes. The PGA is scaling up as well as adapting, and the Program Manager will play a key role in creating the circumstances for scaling and adaptation to occur. The PGA Program Manager will hold responsibility for planning and implementing PGA trainings, leading staff from multiple organizations in the planning and implementation process, and building and holding relationships with the elected officials in our PGA trainer corps. This includes responsibilities that require judgment, discretion, and collaboration, as well as responsibility for completing event planning logistics. PGA trainings are extremely adaptable, which means that no two trainings are alike. This role requires a person who can hold sometimes mutually exclusive details while still moving the project forward collaboratively. The Program Manager will become an expert in the PGA training experience.
While this role is housed at and participates as part of the program team at re:power, the PGA Manager is responsible for understanding the culture and constituencies of the other anchor organizations, and being able to move within and together across the organizations to achieve the program’s goals.
The Program Manager will work to implement and streamline the systems and processes that facilitate the PGA’s governance trainings and workshops for local and state elected officials, leveraging collective organizational resources to ensure the program’s growth. The Program Manager will independently identify and address changing program needs and opportunities for improvement. Having experience with the culture of local and state elected officials is required. This role also requires a significant amount of travel.
The PGA Program Manager is based at re:power and reports directly to the Director, Progressive Governance Academy.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES include (but are not limited to):
** Cross-Organizational Coordination**
Lead PGA events planning/logistical team, including staff from each of the three partner orgs, in scheduling and planning PGA trainings, sometimes in collaboration with additional external partners.
Ensure alignment and shared infrastructure between re:power, SiX, and Local Progress by developing and managing internal event planning and tracking systems that:
keep work products, documents, and information organized and easily found/accessed by staff from multiple organizations.
support the team’s adoption and use of these systems to track PGA events.
facilitate other team members being able to see the planning process and checklist in real time.
** Training Event Planning and Delivery **
Complete logistics for each training, ensuring that training logistics and processes are smooth from start to finish including travel bookings, trainer prep, documentation/materials, and follow up. Recognizing that each PGA event is unique, be able to efficiently collect necessary information about each training event’s needs early in the planning process, then adapt the planning process accordingly.
** Communication**
Exercise judgment to proactively communicate early and often with staff across all 3 anchor organizations. This includes always choosing the broadest and earliest interpretation of who needs to know and when, and being skilled at achieving consensus. This is particularly important since most team members only spend a portion of their time on PGA.
** Evaluation**
Gather feedback and evaluations to assess the impact of the program. Notice and communicate trends in evaluations to the team.
Develop systems in partnership with the PGA Director to track all necessary program info and to provide accurate program updates and reports to staff, partners, and funders on a regular basis. Collect photos, quotes, and stories to use in reports.
** Other**
Oversee any special projects assigned.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: The ideal candidate will have the following professional and personal qualities, skills, and characteristics.
Who you are:
Self-motivated and self-directed, innovative, detail-oriented, and creative – strong ability in operationalizing and executing bold vision
Approach the work with a growth mindset and an eagerness to give and receive feedback for continuous learning and improvement
Capable and comfortable managing up, down, and across multiple organizations.
Highly relational and diplomatic, with a strong belief in the importance of relationship-building for success, both internally and externally
Comfortable with nuance, complexity, and change
Focused on communications and familiar with the challenges of coalition work
Ability to change direction when needed, flexible
Committed to democracy and the belief that elected officials are a key partner in delivering positive community change
Have a sense of humor and find joy in principled struggle together!
Your experience and skills:
5+ years of combined experience in event logistics and planning or operations, with evidence of self-direction and innovation
2+ years of knowledge or direct experience working with elected officials and staff, and in partnership with diverse coalitions and communities
Experience using EveryAction, or aptitude for learning complex database tools and systems
Ability to learn new skills and figure things out on the fly
Tenacious and flexible attitude toward work to manage multiple projects simultaneously
Demonstrate a commitment to BIPOC leadership and to racial, social, economic, and gender justice
Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communications skills
Willingness to work non-standard hours, including weekends and travel
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
Compensation for this position is highly competitive, with a salary range of $68,000-$83,000 annually. This position has the opportunity to continue beyond 1 year upon annual review.
re:power offers a comprehensive benefits package with excellent health/life/disability insurance, including these and other employment-related benefits:
90% employer-paid health and dental insurance premiums for staff and their families;
100% employer-paid life and disability insurance;
Exceptionally generous and flexible paid time off;
401k retirement benefits with a 4% employer match;
FSA enrollment;
12 weeks of paid parental leave;
12 weeks of paid sabbatical leave after 5 years of FT employment.
APPLICATION DEADLINE AND INSTRUCTIONS
This position is open until filled, and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Please apply via this link.
re:power is an equal opportunity employer. We eagerly invite people of color, Native American and Indigenous people, immigrants, women, genderqueer and nonbinary people, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, and others to apply for all open positions at re:power.
re:power offers a lively and highly rewarding professional environment; we are committed to creating a world where our lived experiences, perspectives and ideas are fully represented and that starts first within our organization. This position can be located anywhere in the United States convenient to regular travel.
For more about our work, go to www.repower.org.