Program Director, Safety Net Initiatives

Job Description

Program Director, Safety Net Initiatives

Location: San Francisco, Washington DC, or Remote

Code for America believes government can work for the people, by the people, in the 21st century. We build open source technology and organize a network of people dedicated to making government services simple, effective, and easy to use.

The Program Director of Safety Net Initiatives will take on a leadership role for growth and sustainability within the organization’s social safety net portfolio. The role will be responsible for putting shape to new and growing initiatives, especially nonprofit business development strategies and cross-sectoral partnerships that scale the impact of our social safety net work. The Program Director should have sufficient background in social safety net programs and technical facility with digital services to be a credible partner, along with an understanding of the on-the-ground realities of accessing or providing safety net services. This may include improving the delivery and outcomes of programs such as SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, WIC, LIHEAP, or the EITC. The role will collaborate day to day with the Program, Engineering, Product, and Design staff and work closely with external partners and government agencies.

The Program Director should be highly skilled at providing structure to new opportunities as they move from ideas to reality. They should be comfortable taking risks and navigating through ambiguity, while staying focused on delivering tangible results . The Program Director should know how to build out the processes, resources, and team configurations needed to launch or grow an initiative. The ideal candidate will bring knowledge about social safety net operations or policy; a bold vision for Code for America’s digital service delivery and partnerships to provide leverage for systems change; and humility and eagerness to provide leadership to cross-functional, independent teams.

This role reports to the Senior Director, Social Safety Net. The role will supervise program staff within a matrix structure, and must be able to stand-up new teams and support teams through transitions. This role may be remote or based in San Francisco, and includes travel up to 40% of time.

Responsibilities:

• Develop, maintain and grow relationships within Federal and State agencies to strengthen Code for America’s reputation as a trusted partner in safety net delivery.
• Develop, maintain and grow existing relationships with policy, research and community development organizations to strengthen Code for America’s collaborative strategic partnership approach.
• Align government and ecosystem partners around opportunities to scale impact and drive larger systems change.
• Develop pitches, proposals and contract agreements aimed towards sustainable nonprofit funding and revenue streams.
• Track and identify procurement opportunities related to social safety net technology
• Manage government contracts and philanthropic funding requirements including delivering on agreed upon scopes of work; writing reports; and sharing learning.
• Manage and coach program managers.
• Drive superb execution, anticipating staffing needs, risks, and the need for frequent and clear communication internally and with stakeholders.
• Be the voice of government partners internally and in product decision making and be fluent in communicating product strategy and priorities to government partners.
• Represent Code for America through writing, disseminating, and speaking at conferences, events, and in the field with the Code for America Network.
• Collaborate with product, partnerships and subject matter leaders to implement a theory of change for tech-accelerated advocacy and delivery-driven policy.
• Collaborate with the Programs team to engage and broaden learning for future work.

Requirements:

• At least 8 years of program or business development experience with increasing responsibility, ideally within government, social enterprise or the nonprofit sector.
• At least 3 years as a supervisor with a track record of leading teams to execution, ideally cross-discipline teams (such as product, research, or engineering).
• Strong process and project execution skills including program or project scoping and a commitment to responsive follow-through.
• Proven track record of cross-sector stakeholder engagement (public, nonprofit, private), ideally including data usage, policy, and business process implementation.
• Passion for the Code for America mission and vision for digital service delivery, and strong and persuasive values for the role of user-centered technology in government
• Politically astute and able to find common ground and build relationships across political differences, especially within a government environment.
• Familiarity with at least one of the major social service programs (such as SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, WIC, or EITC).
• Strong understanding of government service delivery and contract mechanisms.
• A compelling communicator with a can-do attitude, who is able to clearly explain concerns, reasoning, and decisions to internal teams and external partners.
• Thrives in a fast paced environment, gravitates towards continuous change, and happy to change their mind based on new information or constructive criticism.
• Willingness to travel up to 40% time and employ effective strategies for working remotely.

Leadership Competencies:

• Natural collaborator who values honesty and openness, builds relationships, seeks input, does not shy away from conflict, and facilitates decision-making.
• Servant leader that puts those closest to the issue first, seeks to serve instead of command, shows humility instead of brandishing authority, and looks to enhance teamwork to unlock potential, creativity and sense of purpose.
• Able to prioritize a direction, follow through, and make corrections to stay on track.
• Cares about end users and real people, and goes the extra mile to “get it right” for them rather than simply hitting performance goals.
• Comfortable working in a group environment that requires team building and mentoring.

Bonus Experience:

• Experience with government technology procurement
• Experience working with a social impact-focused product team
• Experience working in government
• Understanding of financial management and budgets
• Experience with agile product development and working in iterative planning cycles