Senior Director, Program Delivery

Senior Director, Program Delivery

Preferred application deadline: September 11, 2023

Location: National (remote)

About Us

Our country's education and workforce systems are inequitable, failing to meet the needs of our most marginalized citizens. Historically, workforce education has led to low-wage jobs disconnected from ongoing higher education, which has created significant barriers for career advancement. At the same time, traditional higher education has increasingly become unaffordable for Americans from lower-income backgrounds while also lacking direct connection to the labor market. The consequences of these systemic failures are dire.

At Propel America, we believe a better system should and can exist. We believe high school graduates shouldn’t have to choose between forestalling income and accruing significant debt while pursuing a traditional college degree, or forestalling education and mobility for low-wage, entry-level work with few opportunities for advancement. Propel is building that better system: a Jobs-First Higher Education allowing young adults from low-income backgrounds to access an affordable and efficient pathway to a good job, propelling them into a choice-filled life.

By privileging both the needs of young adults and those of our employer partners, Propel America:

• Partners with employers to assess talent needs, create relevant training programs, and hire diverse, local talent for their in-demand roles.
• Recruits, guides, and supports young adults (18-24 years old), particularly those from low-income backgrounds, through a blended, technology-enabled career accelerator inclusive of a suite of products and supports (e.g., career exploration, cohort learning, one-on-one coaching, etc) to ensure fellows have what they need to be successful in their job interview, persist in the workforce, and a plan for ongoing education and career advancement.
• Partners with training and higher education organizations to offer in-demand credentials that allow young adults to earn college credits

To learn more about Propel America, please visit https://www.propelamerica.org.

The Opportunity

Propel’s Senior Director of Program Delivery is responsible for leading the delivery of Propel student-facing programs. This leader will play a critical role in ensuring that by 2025 we enlist 1,000 young adults to thrive in middle-skilled jobs with employer partners.The Senior Director will oversee all aspects of a fellow’s journey from acceptance to post-hire alumnihood. They will drive continuous improvement efforts to increase the efficiency in our service delivery and overall impact of our model. Tactically, the SD will:

• Program Delivery: Manage execution and daily operations of existing pathways programs, including managing program Coaches who interact with students on a regular basis to ensure completion
• Analytics: Leverage analytics to understand programmatic impact and opportunities for improvement
• Program Innovation: In partnership with the Chief Program Officer, launch new pathways informed by key signals from the market, leveraging a test-iterate approach to product development
• Technology Enablement: Oversee the implementation of durable skills coaching and support through technology enablement

The Senior Director will report to the Chief Program Officer and be a key member of the management team. They will manage and grow a team of 7 whose primary responsibilities include coaching and durable skills program delivery to ensure our fellows successfully complete the program and get hired into jobs. The ideal leader will have a relentless focus on innovation and impact, and will be energized by solving complex problems, creating efficiencies and scalable systems, and identifying opportunities to leverage technology in new ways.

Responsibilities

The senior director’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Program Delivery & Technology

• Holding the team accountable to key targets/priorities
• With client services team, build an account management process that ensures all fellows are hired upon successfully completing the Propel program, and that employers are positioned to support incoming talent
• Oversee the day to day implementation of Propel’s program delivery team, and build the systems and processes to support growing our impact to serve 1,000 fellows annually and achieve 80% hire rates, inclusive of:
• Manage a team that leverages technology to scale Propel’s model and support young adults in getting hired into upwardly mobile jobs
• Defines the business requirements for program’s technology needs and collaborates with technology to implement new technology solutions to advance program delivery
• Establishing a fairly standard process for how Propel coaches its students and support them through completion of the program
• Managing multiple cycles of program implementation, annually
• Managing and supporting the program delivery team to effectively facilitate durable skills development and Fellow coaching

Program Innovation

• Design and lead the implementation of new pathways in existing and new geographies
• Leverage rapid cycle experimentation, data driven innovation, and continuous improvement approaches to drive real time improvements in impact and efficiency across the program model and its delivery
• Establish highest impact levers to improve outcomes and increase efficiency across the program continuum
• Leverage program learnings to identify design needs
• Partner with the sourcing and admissions teams to ensure program strategy and execution efforts are incorporating real time learnings of the program model
• Develop a strategy to engage and work with alumni to further the goals of our program including the engagement of alumni to inform program modifications

Organizational Leadership

• Effectively manage and coaches others, developing them as thought partners and leaders in the organization
• Ensure program team is appropriately resourced - staffing and other needs met - to deliver ambitious outcomes
• Build a program team culture focused on Propel’s core values
• Hone the program team’s culture to value rapid test cycles and agility, so that we address challenges preventing Propel from achieving its intended levels of impact, efficiency, and scale
• Serve as a key member of the management team by elevating the impact of the program delivery team to help to inform overall organizational strategy
• Work cross-functionally to ensure that program delivery goals and objectives are clearly communicated

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong mission and values-alignment, including an equity orientation to advancing a Job-First Higher Education approach for our fellows, and experience with and knowledge of the population we serve.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong management and coaching skills
• Strong track record in managing cross-functional teams, leading teams through periods of high growth and change, and guiding high-level, enterprise-wide initiatives
• Experience leading rapid cycle testing or lean impact methodologies
• Preference for candidates who have experience in the healthcare industry and have supported program development and delivery in the health fields
• 8+ years of experience as a senior leader of a rapidly growing and evolving program delivery or operations team, with extensive experience and knowledge in college and workforce access and success space.
• Deep experience in operational efficiency and leveraging data and technology to enhance program and product development
• Willingness to travel up to 40% of the time.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and experience in navigating complex environments while leading and supporting others in achieving enterprise-wide priorities and goals

Compensation

The salary for this position is between $120,400-164,300 annually. We consider candidate experience and location when determining where a candidate may fall within that range. Propel America offers a competitive total rewards package including coverage of 90% of health insurance premiums, unlimited PTO, 401k contribution up to 5% of base salary, and a flexible work environment.

Interested in Applying?

Please submit your resume and cover letter. The application deadline to apply for this position is September 11th, 2023. After this date we do not guarantee review of submissions.

Propel America is an equal-opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

We encourage candidates from historically underrepresented backgrounds to apply.