Arena Careers

Project Manager

Remote, Full time (U.S. based)

The Project Manager role is a full-time position reporting to the Senior Director of Programs. The Project Manager is responsible for ensuring the smooth execution of our programs. This role involves tracking the progress of participating organizations, guiding them through various stages of the program, and ensuring they receive the necessary support to achieve their goals. The Project Manager will work closely with the Program Director to design and implement effective processes, manage communication among stakeholders, and continuously improve the overall program experience.

The future of social justice work is multi-entity. Over the last four years, New Left Accelerator (NLA), our 501(c)(4) and The Capacity Shop (TCS), our separate but affiliated 501(c)(3), have grown to be leading capacity-building providers serving the complex needs of multi-entity organizations.

Today, many of the most effective power-building organizations are multi-entity. They are using more than 501(c)3’s - often 501(C)(4)s, PACs, for-profit corporate structures, or other entities - to build power, increase their impact, and win. Progressive movements and state ecosystems are experimenting with innovative ways to make multi-entity power-building work possible at scale. As a result, the complex needs of the multi-entity field continue to grow.

Staff at these organizations seek access to multi-entity informed technical assistance to do bold work safely. We have met this growing need by working with leading multi-entity experts and innovative leaders in the field to build the financial, operational, and compliance infrastructure that power-building organizations need to maximize impact and do bold work in compliance with the law.

We prioritize partnering and collaborating with organizations that center the experiences and voices of marginalized groups at the intersection of race, gender, and class. To guide our internal practices and partnerships, NLA and TCS developed a set of core values including a commitment to create systemic change; deep collaboration with stakeholders and leaders to build power; sustainability within the progressive ecosystem; and a commitment to equity and work that address systemic oppression. You can read more about NLA and TCS vision and work in our Theory of Change.

The Role

The Project Manager role is a full-time position reporting to the Senior Director of Programs. The Project Manager is responsible for ensuring the smooth execution of our programs. This role involves tracking the progress of participating organizations, guiding them through various stages of the program, and ensuring they receive the necessary support to achieve their goals. The Project Manager will work closely with the Program Director to design and implement effective processes, manage communication among stakeholders, and continuously improve the overall program experience.

Responsibilities

Embed NLA Values in Project Management

• Engage in continuous learning as to how race, background, and experiences have affected us within systems of oppression, providing loving feedback, and building intentional accountability practices in all of our work

• Continuously seek opportunities to align programs, partnerships, processes, and systems with NLA’s core values

• Help NLA do the work of capacity-building differently by dismantling aspects of the dominant culture of nonprofit consultancy that often fail to value the diverse lived experience, expertise, and knowledge of community leaders

• Honor leaders' wisdom, building intentional learning into our external work, internal practices, and partnerships, and co-creating innovative solutions to emergent challenges

Program Management

• Develop implementation plan that executes the mutual contract between NLA and its partners

• Track the progress of organizations participating in our programs, including monitoring each group’s phase of work (onboarding, assessment, execution, and close out) and identify next steps to move them towards their goals

• In collaboration with the Senior Director of Programs, match groups with lead coaches based on their organizational needs and coaching expertise

• Lead or join check-ins with groups to track progress against mutual goals and to assess emergent needs as they arise

• Lead regular meetings with SMLs and lead coaches

• Balance the perspectives of NLA and Lead Coaches with the needs and wants of the participating groups, prioritizing an leader-centric approach

Process Documentation and Improvements

• Gather input from participating groups through debriefs and check-ins that inform improvements to program design and processes

• Create and maintain standardized templates for program processes, such as group onboarding, assessment materials, and meeting agendas

• Develop and implement project plans that define key results and initiatives and benchmarks and timelines to meet established objectives

• Continuously update relevant progress and information on planned objectives, results, and metrics in project management systems (e.g. Asana, Airtable) and identify resolution of issues and risks

• Identify and implement systems and tools (e.g. Google Suite, Asana, Airtable) that enhance the efficiency and user experience of our programs

• Collaboratively test change in long-term processes, adapting in real-time and making incremental changes

Stakeholder Engagement

• Match and support internal and external stakeholders working together to meet key results and initiatives

• Drive engagement of stakeholders to meet benchmarks and timelines, which may include routine check-in meetings, follow up emails and phone calls for support, scheduling coordination meetings, and training to facilitate adoption of new or improved project management systems and processes

• Mitigate problems as soon as they arise to ensure deliverables are met on time and with success

Skills and Qualifications

• Strong commitment to progressive values and NLA’s mission and organizational values that center racial, gender and economic equity and justice

• At least 5 years of relevant experience with progressively increasing responsibility

• Excellent and demonstratable project management skills that includes:

  • An understanding of various project management methodologies and how to incorporate them into improving program processes

  • Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage time and resources effectively with a range of projects at various stages

  • Strong process design skills, preferably with direct experience using collaborative tools such as Asana, Airtable and Google Suite

• Experience working in multi-entity non-profits, 501(c)(4)s, political campaigns, and/or other movement building organizations

• Experience with adult learning through designing and implementing training programs and/or curriculum. Must be comfortable facilitating training modules over Zoom.

• Excellent relationship building skills and ability to manage multiple, diverse stakeholders in a fast paced environment that is values-driven and team-oriented

• Flexibility and adaptability — ability to engage in independent and creative problem-solving in an organization in a growth stage; enthusiastic about taking advantage of unexpected opportunities

• Proactive problem solving: Proactively develop solutions to challenges, including by constantly looking at big-picture progress on the programs team, and by flagging any potential upcoming challenges in the organization overall.

• Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills, including experience leading and facilitating project meetings

• Ability and willingness to work in and contribute to development of an emergent environment of a growing start-up nonprofit where systems and processes are regularly evolving to meet the political moment.

• Continuous learning: There’s always more to know out there, and you’re hungry for it. You absorb information from your colleagues, your work, and from keeping up with your field. If something doesn’t make sense, you ask questions until it does, and you apply what you learn in your work.

Details

Title: Project Manager

Reports to: Senior Director of Programs

Direct Reports: 1; Project Coordinator

Hours: Full Time

Location: Remote (must live in the US); Some travel (1-2 times per year)

Compensation: $80,000-$92,000

Benefits: NLA offers a competitive benefits package available to all full-time employees including:

• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Short-term Disability, and Health FSA

• Flexible paid time off including vacation and sick time, 11 paid holidays, 1-week summer break, and 1-week winter break

• Parental leave

• Professional development stipend

• Working from home stipend

• Coming soon: Retirement plan with matching

Our Culture: We maintain an environment where our employees can learn and grow in the organization. We strive to foster a collaborative and transparent environment where everyone is encouraged to contribute to our processes, decisions, strategic planning, and culture.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Equal Opportunity Employer

New Left Accelerator and The Capacity Shop provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to 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. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Salary

$80,000 - $92,000 per year