Senior Director, Project Management and Execution

About JFF:  

Jobs for the Future (JFF) is a leading national nonprofit focused on accelerating the alignment, transformation and reimagination of the American workforce and education systems to to achieve equitable economic advancement for all. 

Uniquely situated at the intersection of education and workforce, for nearly 40 years, JFF has led the way in designing innovative and scalable solutions to ensure that all Americans have the skills, resources, and credentials they need to achieve economic advancement. JFF works with partners across the field to improve labor market outcomes for youth and adults—particularly for individuals who face barriers to economic mobility and populations that have been historically denied opportunity.  

JFF operates at the national, state, and local levels to bridge education, workforce, and policy within regions of all sizes. The organization employs a staff of more than 300 across the U.S., both fully remote and in offices in Boston (headquarters); Washington, DC; and Oakland, CA. The organization has a $105 million operating budget and is on a path of continued scale and impact. JFF has developed powerful partnerships and networks across the public, private and non-profit sectors and is funded by dozens of leading government agencies, foundations, and corporations. JFF’s work is guided by a set of five strategic priority areas.  

Learn more about JFF and join us as we build a future that works.  

About the position:  

JFF is experiencing a period of unprecedented growth and is strategically organizing both to scale its impact and to support the wellbeing of our staff. As a result, we've recently created several new positions and departments to build a solid foundation for growth in support of our mission to drive equitable economic advancement for all.  The Senior Director, Project Management and Execution (PME) will lead a newly formed PME team within our Solutions Design and Delivery (SD&D) group. Leading an expansive team, and working collaboratively with leaders across the organization, the Senior Director will ensure high-quality project delivery across all projects through deploying expert staff and consistent tools, processes, and methodologies. 

The Senior Director, PME will over time hire, build, and oversee three teams: 

• Project Management: a team of experts at the Manager or Senior Manager level who will be deployed to projects across the organization through the resource management process and will also provide project management training and set-up for smaller projects that don’t need dedicated support. The PM team will employ JFF’s standard PM Playbook and enterprise PM tool, Asana, to support consistent and high-quality management of JFF’s 150+ active projects. 
• Government contracts: a small team responsible for providing specialized project and contract management support for large and small federal and state contracts. 

• Service Line Activation: a small team responsible for designing playbooks/processes, training, and quality assurance measures to professionalize and standardize best practice ways of offering key service lines (delivered across JFF’s programmatic domains). This is an exciting developing strength for JFF and offers a lot of opportunity for creativity and leadership. 

Reporting directly to the VP, Solutions Design & Delivery, the Senior Director, PME will work closely with the Senior Director, Resource Management and Senior Directors of the Field Implementation Team to design and implement new systems and processes, while bringing others along as the organization adapts to a new way of working. By building and scaling a well-functioning resource management function, this person will play a critical role in enabling JFF to further its impact in the field. 

What you'll do: 

Build, lead, and scale the Project Management & Execution team 

• Provide leadership by clearly communicating team vision and a set of clear expectations for team members 

• Provide accountability and coaching for team members toward high performance and growth 
• Ensure a learning culture, within the team, that encourages innovation, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement 
• Support the long-term career development of team members through co-creation and support of individual development plans 
• Embody JFF’s commitment to DEI, including an ability to manage across lines of difference 
• Cultivate trust, connection, and cohesion with the team and individual team members 

Oversee Project Management and Execution across JFF 

• Develop and implement effective project management processes, systems, and tools that meet the needs of the Solutions Practices and Centers,  JFFLabs, and other teams 
• Ensure formalization and consistency across all project management methods and tools across JFF and hold the team accountable to high standards of execution and customer service 
• Provide guiding leadership for staff in implementation of core projects, ensuring alignment with overall JFF strategy and effective leveraging of resources and methods across projects within JFF and JFFLabs 
• Ensure seamless operations for the government contracts team to provide specialized project and contract management support, including compliance for state and federal contracts. 
• Build a new capacity and develop standardized ways of delivering commonly delivered services in a high quality, impactful way 

Provide strategic leadership within the Solutions Design & Delivery Group 

• Collaborating closely with the Resource Management and Field Implementation leads to ensure all projects are delivered with excellence 
• Provide overall vision and strategic guidance to all members of the Project Management and Execution team 
• Build and maintain partnerships across teams to leverage assets and improve impact on the field 
• Together with the VP, SD&D, other VPs, and Shared Services eads, continually evaluate innovative technology and reporting capabilities to meet evolving business planning and project management needs
• Enable JFF to move quickly into this new operating model  

Who you are:   

• You bring 10+ years of experience with success leading a project management function, preferably in a consulting or professional services environment or a government contracts context; familiarity with the context with workforce development and education is helpful 
• You are an experienced people manager and can coach, mentor and support career development for staff 

• You have familiarity with, and understanding of, effective project management tools and technologies that enable organizations to be agile and flexible   
• You are capable of building successful and trust-based relationships across teams and at various levels 
• You have a high proficiency with technology, and can identify and implement necessary tools to support project management and execution 
• You are able to identify, implement and train others on new tools to ensure their consistent use 
• You can work creatively and analytically to balance multiple priorities, tasks, and sophisticated issues using logical and efficient processes  
• You are skilled at anticipating bottlenecks, making trade-offs, and balancing strategic priorities, people, and impact versus technical constraints  

• You exercise good judgment in selection methods, techniques and evaluation criteria for sophisticated, complex issues that may require in-depth evaluation of variable factors 
• You possess high energy and passion for JFF’s mission and the ability to apply JFF’s core values to all areas of your work 
• You model inclusive leadership, working effectively with colleagues from a diverse range of backgrounds, and building and stewarding an organizational culture that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion 
• You build positive, effective, collaborative cultures and teams wherever you work 

You are a curious and adaptive learner, with a willingness to take in new information, perspectives and data to inform your work  

• You demonstrate a growth mindset and a desire to continuously improve in your work  
• Familiarity with the context with workforce development and education is helpful 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at JFF:  

JFF is committed to sustaining a diverse community with a work environment that is welcoming, respectful, and encouraging to all. JFF fosters a culture of inclusion that celebrates and cultivates diversity along multiple dimensions, including race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, socioeconomic status, religion, ability, culture, and experience. As part of our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, JFF strongly encourages people impacted by the criminal legal system to apply. 

To apply:  

As part of your application, please include your resume and a thoughtful cover letter addressed to our talent acquisition team, outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position.  

Positions at JFF are not eligible for employer-visa sponsorship or open to F-1 student visa holders.  

All JFF employees are required to be fully up to date on their vaccinations against COVID-19, unless a medical or religious exemption has been requested and a reasonable accommodation approved.   

JFF offers a competitive salary and benefits package, commensurate with experience and skills.