Manager, Workforce Systems

Position Overview

The U.S. Program and Policy (USPP) team develops policy, partnerships, and investments that expand economic opportunity in the United States. Working with government, business, philanthropy, and community partners, the team advances good jobs, economic mobility in distressed communities, job quality, equitable access to opportunity, and faster reemployment after displacement.

The Manager, Workforce Systems identifies and supports investments in scalable labor market solutions that advance USPP's priorities. The role combines labor market analysis, workforce funding expertise, capital mobilization, and partnership development to assess which models can grow and move into public or institutional systems. Reporting to the Managing Director, National Partnerships, the Manager works across workforce development, economic development, and education systems to translate strategy into partner-led testing, learning, and adoption.

Work Schedule: This role follows a hybrid schedule and is required to be in the office on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

Hiring Range: $134,000- $168,000. This represents the present low and high ends of the Foundation’s hiring range for this position. Actual pay will vary based on various factors, including but not limited to experience.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the design, testing, and refinement of workforce initiatives that advance USPP priorities and generate evidence for future investment and scale.
• Identify and assess investments that mobilize philanthropic, private, and public capital and apply a capital-mobilization lens across the portfolio.
• Assess the scale potential of partner models and pathways for replication or adoption within public and institutional systems, including solutions for worker transitions in sectors affected by AI.
• Analyze and help structure federal, state, and local workforce, education, and economic development funding so partner models can continue beyond philanthropic support.
• Build relationships across workforce organizations, employers, workers, funders, investors, intermediaries, and public agencies; represent USPP in relevant convenings and forums.
• Support coordination across education, workforce development, and economic development systems in priority communities.
• Analyze labor market data, policy developments, and emerging technologies to inform investments, learning agendas, scale decisions, and assessments of employment and job quality outcomes.
• Translate research and field insights into concise economic analyses, recommendations, briefs, and presentations for Foundation leadership.
• Manage assigned initiatives, budgets, risks, cross-team coordination, and external partners; support measurement and learning and translate findings into insights for future program decisions.

Education, Experience, and Skills

• Generally expected to have 7+ years of relevant experience in workforce development, labor market systems, economic development, public policy, or a related field; experience with workforce funding and program operations is strongly preferred.
• Bachelor's degree in public policy, economics, or a related field.
• Background applying knowledge of U.S. labor markets, workforce policy, economic opportunity, and barriers affecting distressed communities, including worker displacement and reemployment in the context of technological change.
• Direct experience with public workforce systems, funding streams, employer partnerships, or public agencies; experience combining workforce and economic development resources is preferred.
• Experience supporting investments that leverage philanthropic, public, and private capital;
• Experience using labor market data and other evidence to assess job quality, investment opportunities, or potential for scale, while managing complex initiatives with multiple workstreams and stakeholders.
• Track record of developing relationships across sectors, communicating clear recommendations to senior audiences, and representing an organization with external partners; ability to travel as required.

Competencies

• Action Oriented: Takes on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy, and enthusiasm.
• Collaborates: Builds partnerships and works collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
• Manages Complexity: Makes sense of complex, high-quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.
• Nimble Learning: Learns through experimentation when tackling new problems, using both successes and failures as learning fodder.
• Strategic Mindset: Sees ahead to future possibilities and translates them into breakthrough strategies.

About The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation that enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We make big bets to promote the well-being of humanity in food, health, energy, and finance, including through our public charity, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC). For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn and LinkedIn @the-rockefeller-foundation.

The Rockefeller Foundation offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that includes health insurance programs, tuition reimbursement and student loan repayment, a generous 401K, parental leave, and various forms of paid time off, all to help our employees feel energized, cared for, and engaged.

As an organization, we focus on six values to advance our culture and continue our success. We are dedicated to being Transparent, Optimistic, Accountable, Collaborative, Trusted, and Equitable. We expect all employees at the Foundation to contribute by developing their unique perspectives and talent, challenging conventional wisdom through evidence and reason, and amplifying marginalized voices.

The Rockefeller Foundation is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity and compliance with all federal, state, and local laws concerning employment discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act. To this end, the Foundation ensures equal opportunity to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, lawful alien status, physical, mental, and medical disability, veteran status, liability for service in the United States Armed Forces, or any other protected status.

The Rockefeller Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer.