Program Manager, Intermediaries for Scale
Organization Description
Tides is a foundation and nonprofit partner committed to building a world of social justice and shared prosperity. Founded in 1976, Tides’ works at the cutting edge of today’s biggest challenges, with a focus on equity and human rights; a sustainable environment; healthy individuals, families, and communities; and education. For more information, please visit www.tides.org.
Program Background
Since early 2019, Tides has been supporting and coordinating individual and shared capacity building needs for select organizations that are a part of Intermediaries for Scale (IfS), an initiative of the Postsecondary Success strategy at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). This initiative aims to develop a network of 13 intermediary organizations that will: serve as partners and guides to colleges and universities as they reduce college success disparities by race and income; promote continuous learning and improvement through the use of data; and identify, implement, and evaluate significant campus-level changes in policy and practice.
Intermediaries are currently focused on further strengthening their capacities to support colleges and universities focused on student-centered transformation. Over the last 18 months, Tides has been supporting capacity building for three intermediaries. We anticipate expanding our role to include shared capacity building for the full cohort of 13 intermediaries starting in July 2020. Tides’ role is to work with intermediaries and other initiative partners to:
- help intermediaries identify, prioritize and sequence capacity building needs;
- select and manage technical assistance consultants; and
- support learning across intermediaries and capacity building efforts.
We work closely with other initiative support partners, including Catalyst:Ed (IfS network manager and individual capacity building lead for select intermediaries) and AIR (learning partner).
Position Summary
The Program Manager will play a pivotal part in supporting individual and shared capacity building for the Intermediaries for Scale work at Tides. The position reports to a Senior Advisor on the Special Initiatives team and works closely with a consultant, who serves as a strategic advisor to Tides. This role will be responsible for overseeing day-to-day project management for technical assistance engagements and the capacity building strategy in general, supporting advisory group coordination, and liaising with BMGF and other initiative partners.
This is a new, full-time position anticipated to start late-July or early-August 2020 and last approximately 24 months, ending in June 2022. The position is contingent on grant funding, which is expected to be finalized in July 2020. Employment beyond the grant term is dependent on continued grant funding and project needs.
This position is based in San Francisco or New York in any anticipated return to work scenario. Full-time remote work may be considered for well qualified candidates, with preference for those located in the Washington, DC area. No travel is expected in 2020 due to the pandemic, and Tides will closely monitor the need for domestic travel beyond this year.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Project Management and Strategy Support - 45%
- Develop and manage project plans and workflow processes.
- Serve as a point of contact for technical assistance (TA) providers. Support vetting and selection of TA providers while applying a diversity, equity and inclusion lens. Lead RFP development, proposal review, and development and implementation of an onboarding process.
- Manage day-to-day coordination of TA engagements and providers, including overseeing consultant contracts and payments, and tracking technical assistance budgets.
- Manage scheduling, logistics, and follow-up for one-time and recurring meetings.
- Support participant communications, speaker coordination, and logistics for virtual and in-person events, such as trainings and workshops.
- Support grant management, including monitoring grant requirements and deliverables and drafting reports and other materials as assigned. Support Senior Advisor in overall budget tracking.
- Support the development of capacity building strategy and materials.
Advisory Group Support and Coordination - 40%
- Support the identification and onboarding of advisory group members for 3-5 advisory groups operating at one time.
- Develop advisory group roles and responsibilities and other guidelines and materials.
- Serve as a point of contact for advisory group members. Manage scheduling, logistics, and follow up for advisory group meetings.
IfS Partner Coordination - 15%
- Build and maintain strong working relationships with intermediaries and initiative partners, including BMGF, Catalyst:Ed (network manager/individual capacity building partner) and AIR (IfS learning partner), as well as other groups that may be involved in the IfS work over time. Serve as a point of contact for intermediaries and initiative partners.
- Support coordination activities, including participating in partner meetings and developing/contributing to coordination planning documents and activities.
- Elevate learnings and insights to share with initiative partners and inform strategy.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Personal alignment with Tides’ Vision, Mission and Approach (VMA) and organizational values of respect, equity, empowerment, accountability and creativity.
- Strong project management skills and ability to effectively prioritize and implement across multiple commitments.
- Understanding of nonprofit operations, including budgeting and expense tracking, compliance, and administration.
- Demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity within complex initiatives, able to hold and connect both the big picture and the details.
- Strong professional discretion, diplomacy and an ability to appropriately manage sensitive information.
- Ability to work effectively with people from different cultures, backgrounds and perspectives.
- Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to build rapport, especially in virtual settings, with internal and external stakeholders.
- Strong customer service orientation, with strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Excellent listening, writing, and presentation skills
- Demonstrated ability to work both independently and in close coordination with internal and external partners, operating with a strong collaborative mindset focused on achieving common goals.
- Experience using Salesforce, Docusign, Netsuite, Google Apps or other similar software applications and the ability to adapt to new software or tools.
Education and Experience
- B.A./B.S. or higher degree. Equivalent and/or work experience may be substituted.
- 4-6+ years of experience of relevant work experience in nonprofit or higher education operations/project management, client-focused consulting or other relevant roles.
- Experience managing contracts and vendors highly preferred.
- Interest or experience in higher education administration or policy, organizational development, and/or capacity building preferred.
- Professional, volunteer or lived experience in supporting first generation college students, Pell Grant recipients, non-traditional students, community college or transfer students, or students identifying as a member of historically underrepresented communities is particularly valuable.
Application Instructions:
Please submit a resume and a thoughtful cover letter online. Your cover letter should express your interest in working for Tides and your qualifications for the role. You may also share your detailed LinkedIn profile with us. Tides is an Equal Opportunity employer. We value diversity and inclusion and we look forward to reviewing applications from all who are qualified to apply.
Equal Employment Opportunity:
Tides is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage applications from women, people of color, and bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. Applicants shall not be discriminated against because of race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, marital status, or medical condition including acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related conditions. Also pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we encourage and will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Applications with Disabilities:
Reasonable accommodation will be made so that qualified disabled applicants may participate in the application process. Please advise in writing of special needs at the time of application.