Strategic Initiatives Director

Tipping Point Community•San Francisco, CA

18h•$193,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Strategic Initiatives Director builds and leads Tipping Point’s new funding strategies, including The Critical Decade and Sector-Focused Pathways. This high-level individual contributor drives strategy and external partnerships through influence rather than direct reports, and is accountable for the coherence and performance of each investment area, including its strategy, evidence base, and relationships with employers, public systems, funders, and conveners. The role also owns ecosystem-level investments, including direct grant funding, and works with the Policy Director and Senior Program Officers to identify, scope, and fund aligned projects. The Critical Decade is an intersectional strategy across education, employment, and housing for low-income young people ages 15–24, coordinating career-connected education, workplace training and experience, and housing stability. Sector-Focused Pathways connects to Tipping Point’s Employment portfolio and develops regional, sector-based pathways that connect low-income workers to quality jobs in high-growth Bay Area industries through employer-aligned training, work-based learning, and advancement supports. The Director develops and implements investment strategies, leads cross-functional work, manages external partnerships, commissions and applies research, and communicates progress and impact to organizational leadership, the Board, supporters, and other audiences. The position reports to the Senior Director of Grantmaking + Capacity Building and works across grantmaking, capacity building, impact, and operations teams. The position is hybrid. Staff are expected in the office Tuesday through Thursday; on Mondays and Fridays they may work remotely or from the office. Regular travel is expected within the Bay Area, especially Santa Clara County, with occasional travel to Sacramento and national convenings. The position is exempt and salaried, with an annual starting salary of $193,000; exempt employees are not eligible for overtime pay.

Requirements

Significant relevant work experience and a proven track record of building initiatives from concept through execution, including designing and testing new approaches before scaling.
Knowledge of or experience in Bay Area nonprofits, public systems, and systems change.
Expertise in workforce development, education, or housing.
Exceptional project management skills, including experience driving complex, multi-workstream strategies with many contributors and external partners; ability to self-direct and prioritize competing goals.
Demonstrated success leading cross-functional or cross-organizational strategies by building trust and alignment and moving colleagues and partners toward a shared timeline without a reporting line.
Experience building and managing employer or industry partnerships, or demonstrated ability to establish credibility with private-sector partners.
Comfort with ambiguity and strong analytical skills, including ability to act on incomplete evidence, learn new domains quickly, work with labor market and outcomes data, and adjust course as information emerges.
Strategic communication skills, including ability to translate complex work for employers, public officials, grantees, and funders and build alignment among them.
Commitment to Tipping Point’s mission and values and ability to represent the organization with the highest degree of integrity.
Core competencies: flexibility, exceptional communication skills, ability to work well on a team, and continuous problem solving.
Regular travel within the Bay Area, particularly Santa Clara County, and occasional travel to Sacramento and national convenings.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of or experience in Santa Clara County is strongly preferred.
Experience working at the intersection of two or more of workforce development, education, and housing is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Translate each investment area’s theory of investment into an executable plan with timelines, milestones, budget, and decision rights, and revise plans as evidence emerges.
Build systems and drive day-to-day execution for each investment area, including managing budgets, consultants, and research partners in collaboration with Program Operations, Senior Program Officers, and the Policy Director.
Identify aligned projects and organizations, conduct due diligence, and propose new investments to the Board with Senior Program Officers and the Policy Director.
Assess potential new investment areas with the Senior Director of Grantmaking + Capacity Building and develop first-phase plans for approved concepts.
Lead The Critical Decade and Sector-Focused Pathways, aligning internal teams and driving workstreams, dependencies, and decision points.
Convene and lead a working group for each investment area, set its agenda and rhythm, surface decisions, and ensure decisions are implemented.
Prepare analysis and materials for Chief Program Officer review, program committee engagement, and Board approval, and maintain strategy and learning documentation.
Serve as the primary internal and external point person for each investment area and build partnerships and shared accountability among partners with differing incentives.
Build and sustain relationships with public systems, employers, industry associations, peers, and co-funders, and identify opportunities for aligned investment.
Work with the Research + Innovation Director to ensure grantmaking produces evidence and outcomes, and use early-stage indicators to inform investment decisions.
Commission field assessments and analysis, translate findings into technical assistance and investment decisions with the Capacity Building team, and recommend discontinuing ineffective work when appropriate.
Communicate strategy, progress, and impact to Tipping Point leadership, the Board, supporters, and external audiences through updates, presentations, and written materials, in collaboration with Communications.
Serve as the program team’s point person for funder relationships related to each investment area and provide the Development team with current, accurate information.
Work with the Policy Director to structure investments that leverage public and employer funding and support long-term sustainability.
Perform other duties as assigned.