Director, Job Opportunity Investment Network

Posted by on April 18, 2011

Director, Job Opportunity Investment Network
Posted on: April 7, 2011

Posted by: United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania

The Job Opportunity Investment Network (JOIN) is seeking an entrepreneurial, strategic, and energetic Director to lead the initiative going forward. JOIN is a collaborative of public and private funders that aims to enhance the workforce system in Greater Philadelphia to better meet the needs of workers, employers, and the regional economy. JOIN realizes this vision by investing in and advocating for industry-led job training programs that prepare low-wage workers for high-demand, mid-skilled positions. The Director leads JOIN’s strategic planning, budgeting, fundraising, communications, and advocacy efforts and manages JOIN’s grantmaking and consultants.

Over the last two years, JOIN built a track record of success and developed strong relationships with government, non-profit, business, and philanthropic stakeholders. In recognition of its wide-ranging impact, JOIN recently received a Social Innovation Fund grant to implement a $2.4 million project that will help over 1,000 lower-skilled adults advance in their careers. As JOIN looks to the future, it seeks a Director who will build on this strong foundation to drive systems change. Since JOIN has been more focused to date on demonstration projects than on systems change, the new Director will be charged with developing JOIN’s systems-change strategy and raising additional resources to support it.

This Director will be based at the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, which serves as the collaborative’s lead administrative partner.

Qualifications include: Bachelor’s Degree, graduate degree (preferred). A minimum of five years of relevant work experience; experience managing complex, multi-component programs, organizations, or initiatives with demonstrated competence in budgeting, financing, and program design. Direct experience in the workforce, human capital or economic development fields. (For a complete review of the qualifications/job description, please visit us at: http://www.uwsepa.org career section).

Primary Responsibilities:

•Lead all aspects of JOIN operations, including strategic planning, grantmaking, budgeting, fundraising, and advocacy efforts.
•Act as the primary spokesperson of the collaborative.
•Direct a strategic planning process in collaboration with the Investors Committee that will set JOIN’s priorities for the future beyond JOIN”s Year 4 (which ends in September of 2012). JOIN anticipates a heavy emphasis on systems change.
•Lead JOIN’s advocacy efforts, working closely with the Pennsylvania Fund for Workforce Solutions.
•Coordinate capacity-building workshops for workforce development practitioners in the region.
•Manage JOIN’s federal and philanthropic grants, ensuring timely and accurate reporting of participant-level data and financial statements.
•Collaborate with JOIN grantees to ensure their programming matches JOIN’s strategy and is constructively responding to evaluative feedback.
•Closely coordinate with Public/Private Ventures to ensure JOIN’s evaluation matches the goals of JOIN investors and the needs of JOIN grantees.
•Work closely with the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania’s finance staff to administer the annual budget and ensure sound accounting practices.
•Liaise with the National Fund for Workforce Solutions around program effectiveness, technical assistance, monitoring, and the strategic planning process.

The successful candidate possesses the following characteristics: highly collaborative, entrepreneurial and energetic personality. S/he has a decision making style that balances the need to build consensus with making decisions quickly and efficiently.

For consideration, please respond with a cover letter and resume to United Way of Southeastern PA, 1709 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or e-mail to: HRC@uwsepa.org. Resumes without a cover letter will not be considered. No phone calls. EOE