PROGRAM MANAGER, EQUITY FORWARD ANCHOR NETWORK

Santa Clara University • Santa Clara, CA

3d • Remote

About The Position

Reporting to the Vice President (VP) for Inclusive Excellence (IE), the Program Manager is a full-time (1.0 FTE) position responsible for the full range of executive and administrative support required by the VP. This key support position will work closely with the VP to ensure their daily workflow needs for the Equity Forward Anchor Network (EFAN) are effectively organized and efficiently delivered. The successful incumbent in this role will demonstrate a track-record for the timely completion of delegated and self-generated tasks, clear communication, keen attention to detail, and an emphasis on excellent service. This role will serve as a liaison between the VP and other EFAN stakeholders—both internal and external—and must therefore be able to work independently with little supervision, exercise good judgment, apply discretion, and maintain confidentiality. The mission of the IE division at Santa Clara University (SCU) is to empower and equip SCU community members, university units, and campus partners with the education and skill-sets to prioritize and incorporate equity and belonging into every aspect of living, working and learning at SCU. Led by the VP for IE, the IE division is comprised of seven units: Office of Equality Opportunity and Title IX, LEAD Scholars Program, Office of Accessible Education, Office for Campus Climate and Belonging, Office for Multicultural Learning, Office of the Ombuds, and the Multicultural Center.

The Equity Forward Anchor Network (EFAN) is a member network of higher education institutions in Silicon Valley collaborating to advance economic prosperity for all in Silicon Valley. The commitment comes from an understanding that higher education institutions are critical local economic and intellectual engines linked to the long-term well-being of their communities.The Equity Forward Initiative is a multi-sector movement to close the wealth gap in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. Higher Education is one of the four pillars convened by Silicon Valley Community Foundation to move this work forward.

The Program Manager for the Equity Forward Anchor Network (EFAN) will serve as a key operations linchpin. This role will be directly responsible for implementing programmatic strategy, project management, relationship management, reporting, communication and special projects, as assigned. EFAN is an equal opportunity organization and is strongly committed to racial and social justice.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree preferred
• 2+ years of full-time work experience in higher education, program or project management, government, consulting, public policy, nonprofit, philanthropy and/or related fields
• Knowledge of and experience with project management techniques and tools
• Experience in community outreach and/or engagement
• Superlative written, visual, and oral communication skills
• Experience working on collaborative teams with diverse expertise
• Experience with fundraising and funder relationship management preferred
• Experience in the areas of hiring/ leadership development, event planning, procurement, supplier diversity, and basic needs preferred
• Appreciation for the value of higher education; someone who brings a learning mindset to the work
• Passion for EFAN’s mission of driving change through collaborative anchor strategies
• Energetic self-starter who inspires others to do their best work
• Understanding of governments, nonprofits, and/or academia
• Problem-solver and change agent
• Highly ethical and trustworthy
• Proactive communicator
• Innovative and flexible
• Attention to detail and excellence
• Experienced in dealing with senior leadership
• Able to bring together public, private, and nonprofit organizations
• Collaborative and team focused
• Ability to navigate an ambiguous environment with excitement, enthusiasm, and empathy
• Excitement for solving problems as they are assigned to the team, as opposed to a desire to focus on one problem over long lengths of time

Nice To Haves

• Master’s Degree
• Experience with fundraising and funder relationship management
• Experience in the areas of hiring/ leadership development, event planning, procurement, supplier diversity, and basic needs

Responsibilities

• Work with Program Operations Lead to establish priorities as well as identify and resolve problems.
• Manage the development and execution of project timelines, coaching, technical assistance, and other capacity building tools and resources for member institutions.
• Define project tasks, timelines and activities to move working groups from ideation to action.
• Troubleshooting and resolving issues as necessary; this will include consulting with internal and external experts and will require the ability to navigate ambiguity, quickly learn new subject matter, manage relationships and interact with a broad set of experts, the public and community stakeholders.
• Build, manage, and maintain relationships with a broad set of stakeholders including the staff and faculty from other local academic institutions in the region.
• Foster ongoing buy-in and ownership of EFAN strategy and implementation with member institutions.
• Build relationships with innovative collaborators beyond the existing partnerships within EFAN.
• Meet on a recurring basis with a program funder to track progress and alignment with program goals.
• In-person attendance once a month at EFAN events or meetings.
• Compose and draft documents and correspondence for presentations, course handouts, grants, conferences, seminars, and reports; perform substantial editing and fact checking.
• Oversee and/or perform duties associated with scheduling, organizing, and operating complex conferences, seminars, and events, including arranging with vendors for services, overseeing the production and distribution of materials, administering logistics, and managing events within budget.
• Manage and maintain quality data on EFAN membership engagement.
• Create, maintain, modify, and/or ensure accuracy of content in various unit documents, displays, reports, brochures, social media, and/or websites.
• Create complex reports and spreadsheets which may utilize specialized software and systems.
• Oversee and/or process a variety of complex financial transactions; produce, monitor, and reconcile budget statements; research, identify, and resolve discrepancies.
• May assist with capital or special equipment requests and/or vendor selection.
• Strengthen the governance, membership engagement, and network collaboration capacity.
• Develop EFAN Operating Guide to provide shared guidance and transparency of EFAN membership roles, responsibilities, and resources.
• Define and track membership engagement, and resources needed to increase participation.
• Build governance capacity that ensures EFAN continues to meet the needs of the regions most economically vulnerable populations
• Identify areas of alignment among leadership to set new goals that help move equity forward.
• Advance priority projects in Hiring/Leadership Development; Procurement; and Basic Needs catalyzed by SVCF seed grant and supported by EFAN.
• Engage Working Group members to finalize work plans and commitments.
• Buildout infrastructure to support grant reporting and fiscal management.
• Amplify stories of new partnerships and knowledge exchange.
• Secure President/Chancellor commitment to Collaboration Agreements that affirms higher education member institutional commitment to moving equity forward through shared anchor strategies.
• Increase visibility and awareness of EFAN with a Round 1 ‘Lookbook.’
• Design, host and invite EFAN presidents, chancellors, and other key senior leaders to a briefing breakfast to orient and affirm Equity Forward Initiative and EFAN.
• Design and execute alignment of best practices across member institutions
• Analyze current best practices around equity within the priority focus areas and identify areas of alignment and difference across institutions.
• Onboard and manage a vendor to provide procurement baseline data analysis for all member institutions.
• Evaluate each member’s progress against the equity goals set at each institution.
• Cultivate the development of internal anchor strategy at each member institution.
• Provide guidance on best practices and examples for reference
• Aid in the development of written memos and materials that define strategy and department commitments.
• Measure and monitor progress at member institutions on their internal activities to meet goals identified within internal anchor strategy.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees with programs and resources designed to promote and sustain personal health care, well-being, and the financial objectives of our employees and families.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 1-10 employees