Senior Manager, Upward Mobility

Washington, DC 20017

• Salary Range: $86,300.00 - $116,800.00 Salary/year
• Position Type: Full Time
• Job Shift: Day
• Education Level: 4 Year Degree
• Travel Percentage: None

About the Organization:

The Capital Area Food Bank works to address hunger today and create brighter futures tomorrow for more than a million people across the region experiencing food insecurity. As the anchor in the area’s hunger relief infrastructure, the food bank provided more than 60 million meals to people in need last year, by supplying food to hundreds of nonprofit organizations as well as directly to the community. Creating long-term solutions to food security requires more than just food: it includes addressing the root causes of food insecurity by partnering with organizations that provide critical services like job training programs, health care, and education. To learn more, visit Food Bank for the Washington, DC, Region | Capital Area Food Bank.

Description:

The Senior Manager of Upward Mobility plays a critical role in advancing the Capital Area Food Bank’s mission and strategic priorities by managing and growing CAFB’s Upward Mobility work, a portfolio of programs that address food insecurity among college students and other populations pursuing economic mobility. The program’s mandate is to help the students and workers it serves move from food insecurity and low-wage jobs to food security and living-wage careers. Over the next three years, CAFB aims to scale its Upward Mobility work dramatically, serving twice as many students, and the Senior Manager is central to that growth. The role pairs two primary responsibilities: running the program with rigor and attention to detail and building the partnerships and resources that will sustain and expand it. The Senior Manager will work with college and university leaders to deepen their own investment alongside CAFB’s, engage employers as stakeholders in student success, and cultivate public-sector support for the program. The Senior Manager will also design and test innovative models of food access for students, while preserving the program’s proven impact on student success.

The Senior Manager brings a perspective drawn from higher education or workforce development and combines the entrepreneurial instincts of a partnership builder with the discipline of an exceptional program manager. Working closely with the Deputy Chief, the Development team, external partners, and community stakeholders, the Senior Manager is a strong team player and relationship-builder. The Senior Manager is skilled at synthesizing complex information, developing recommendations, and communicating progress and results to internal and external audiences. The role requires sound judgment and the ability to work effectively across departments and levels of the organization, including presenting the team’s portfolio to senior leadership, the Board, and public audiences as appropriate. The Senior Manager will also help position CAFB as a thought leader in upward mobility and higher education basic needs through conference presentations, white papers, and by monitoring trends and emerging practices in the field.

Essential Functions:

Partnerships & Resource Development

The Senior Manager cultivates the relationships and resources that allow CAFB’s Upward Mobility work to scale, working in partnership with the Development team and alongside the Deputy Chief in high-level engagements.

• Serve as the primary relationship manager for CAFB’s college and university partners, which span virtually every institution of higher education in the DMV, listening closely to each partner’s needs and priorities and working through institutional leadership, processes, and approval structures to advance shared priorities and turn commitments into action.

• Cultivate lasting partnerships by keeping stakeholders engaged and satisfied, sharing data on the program’s impact, and celebrating successes together.

• Engage college and university leaders to deepen institutional investment in the program, including support from operational budgets, college foundations, and collaborative fundraising initiatives.

• Identify and cultivate private as well as state- and county-level public-sector funding opportunities, surfacing qualified opportunities for Development to pursue, and partnering with that team on grant proposals, cultivation, and stewardship.

• Build partnerships with employers that position them as stakeholders in student success, and explore creative, mutually beneficial ways for employers to engage with and invest in this work.

• Contribute to the conversations where employers, colleges and universities, and public agencies discuss student success, and demonstrate how CAFB’s work is an essential foundation for the outcomes they are investing in.

• Prepare for and help lead strategic conversations with senior institutional and public-sector decisionmakers.

Innovation & Scale

• Design and test innovative models of student food access that preserve impact but take advantage of CAFB’s economies of scale.

• Develop strategic frameworks, business cases, and recommendations to guide decisions about new and existing initiatives.

• Set goals and milestones that move the department toward serving twice as many students within three years.

• Analyze program performance and translate findings into recommendations for program refinement, continued investment, scaling, or discontinuation.

• Direct the growth of the Upward Mobility portfolio and institutionalize the program through sustainable funding, defined operating practices, and demonstrated outcomes.

Thought Leadership

• Own program evaluation, including developing and implementing evaluation strategies, leading academic and program data collection, and analyzing findings to assess effectiveness, outcomes, and potential for scale.

• Represent CAFB at conferences and in coalitions, presenting on upward mobility and higher education basic needs.

• Author white papers, briefs, and other publications that draw on program data and evaluation findings.

• Monitor trends and emerging practices in higher education for basic needs and workforce development and bring insights forward to inform CAFB’s strategy.

Program Management & Oversight

The Senior Manager ensures the program runs on time and with rigor, owning partner relationships, outcomes, and oversight while the Specialist manages day-to-day operations.

• Manage the design and implementation of programming serving college students, workforce development participants, and other populations facing food insecurity, as well as a small home delivery pilot, in alignment with priorities established by the Deputy Chief and organizational leadership, coordinating across teams to troubleshoot complex issues and keep the program on track.

• Develop, negotiate, and coordinate execution of MOUs with partner organizations and ensure partners deliver on the commitments needed to execute the program.

• Advise new and existing partners on program design, implementation, evaluation, and best practices.

• Oversee the disbursement and tracking of student supports, such as gift cards, ensuring accuracy, accountability, and compliance.

• Oversee grant management, including serving as project manager for restricted grants, monitoring budgets and expenditures, maintaining accurate records, coordinating with Finance and Development, and communicating results and spending to funders in a timely manner.

• Lead program reporting, including quarterly reports and partner convenings, and develop briefings, presentations, and recommendations that communicate progress and results to leadership, the Board, partners, and funders.

Team Leadership

• Supervise and develop Specialist, including setting priorities, delegating day-to-day operational work, providing coaching and feedback, supporting professional growth, and ensuring accountability for assigned work.

Other Duties as Assigned

Lead or support other high-priority projects and special initiatives as assigned by the Deputy Chief, including occasional research, analysis, pilot development, or cross-departmental planning activities.

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree (advanced degree preferred).

• 6+ years of progressively responsible experience in higher education, workforce development, or a related field working inside or alongside colleges, universities, workforce institutions, or employers.

• 3+ years of experience as a supervisor; demonstrated ability to supervise, coach, and develop staff.

• Working knowledge of the public agencies and programs that fund workforce development or higher education

• Experience identifying public sector grant opportunities in workforce development or higher education a plus.

• Demonstrated track record of building partnerships that produce tangible results, such as grant awards, shared investment, or institutional commitments, and comfort making a compelling case for partnership.

• Demonstrated experience communicating and collaborating effectively with senior leaders, Boards, college and university leaders, public officials, employers, and other high-level stakeholders.

• Exceptional program management skills and attention to detail, with the ability to keep multiple partners and workstreams on track while thinking strategically several years ahead.

• Demonstrated experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives from strategy through implementation and evaluation.

• Experience with program evaluation, performance measurement, data analysis, or organizational research.

• Advanced ability to gather, analyze, and synthesize quantitative and qualitative information, and to apply strategic frameworks and structured problem-solving to develop clear, compelling recommendations.

• Excellent verbal, written, presentation, facilitation, and listening skills, including the ability to distill complex information into concise insights for audiences ranging from frontline staff to executive leadership and Board members.

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, with the ability to build clear, polished analyses and presentations.

• Strong organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to prioritize multiple initiatives in a fast-paced environment.

• Ability to operate independently, anticipate needs, take initiative, and exercise sound judgment; strong professional presence, interpersonal judgment, and openness to feedback and continued growth.

• Demonstrated ability to identify overlapping interests and workstreams and bring internal and external teams together to coordinate efforts.

• Strong commitment to CAFB’s mission.

• Sensitivity and demonstrated ability to work effectively and professionally with diverse staff, populations, and communities.

• Ability to navigate the DC metro area to underserved communities.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to remain in a stationary position for extended periods

• Ability to operate a computer and other standard office equipment

• Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues and external stakeholders

• Ability to move throughout the office as needed

• Ability to occasionally lift and carry materials weighing up to 20 pounds

Compensation:

• $86, 300 to $116,800 annually
  

Schedule:

• Hybrid schedule available

• Example: Regular work hours are Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5:00 pm; with weekends or extended hours for special events

Application Process:

• Interested applicants must submit a cover letter, resume, and sign their application to finalize if applying through Paycom.

• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

• We do not accept walk-in applications or status updates for any positions.

• All Applicants must apply online. To ensure a fair and consistent hiring process, we kindly ask that applicants do not call, email, or visit our facilities to inquire about the status of their application. To check your application status, please log in to your Paycom Applicant account. If your qualifications match our current hiring needs, a member of our Human Resources team will contact you directly regarding next steps.

NOTE: Nothing in this job description restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Please access our website at Food Bank for the Washington, DC, Region | Capital Area Food Bank to learn more about Capital Area Food Bank and our employee benefits.