Washington, DC

Director of Programs and Evaluation, Fair Chance

The Organization

Fair Chance is a social change organization working to strengthen the sustainability and performance of community-based nonprofits to achieve life-changing results for children and youth living in poverty.  Each year we select a cohort of promising organizations to receive free comprehensive expertise in organizational management for up to two years.  Our capacity building consulting services – up to 350 hours per nonprofit – result in stronger organizations and significant and lasting benefits for the children they serve.  Since our founding in 2002, Fair Chance has engaged over 120 DC nonprofits, tackling issues from job readiness to health, literacy to homelessness. Together, we have reached nearly 80,000 children in DC’s neighborhoods of concentrated poverty and have laid the groundwork for geographic expansion.  For more information, please visit www.fairchancedc.org.

Position Overview

Fair Chance is seeking a Director of Programs and Evaluation to play an integral role as a member of the senior management team, helping lead and guide the organization’s signature capacity building program, outreach to potential applicants and strategic partners, and overall strategic direction. This position is responsible for overseeing the various programs of Fair Chance, providing leadership on program design and implementation, managing any change and needed modifications to the model, as well as assuring fidelity, quality and achievement of results.

The ideal candidate is an experienced nonprofit leader who brings a track record of success in organizational development, capacity building, supervision, evaluation, and model replication and is passionate about achieving outcomes through community-based organizations.  Familiarity with evidence-based practices for achieving youth development outcomes also beneficial.

The Director of Programs and Evaluation reports to the Executive Director and manages a team of 5+ professional staff and multiple support staff.

Organizational Management & Strategy

  • Serve as a member of the senior management team, working collaboratively with the Executive Director and other senior leaders to define and achieve organization’s overall strategic objectives.
  • Attend weekly Executive Team meetings to represent the Program Team, sharing program results, identifying strategic programmatic questions, and providing program analysis and recommendations on a regular basis.
  • With the Executive Team, work collaboratively to create the organization’s annual budget, monitor overall use of the agency’s financial resources, forecast future strategies and resource needs, identify potential challenges, and recommend reasonable adjustments.
  • Provide support and consultation to the Board Strategy Committee in creating, implementing, and monitoring plans for Fair Chance’s expansion to serve communities outside of DC.
  • Continue to refine and execute the strategy for deepening our relationships and efforts to build the sustainability of the nonprofit eco-system in DC.
  • Map out program activities and needed decisions on a 6-12 month basis and anticipate cross-team coordination on deadlines and deliverables.
  • Work with the Executive Director and other senior management to identify and respond to potential earned income opportunities with strategic partners and assess alignment with mission.

 

Program Management

  • Provide supervision and leadership for the Program Team including Program Managers, Capacity Building Specialists, and support staff.  Empower, motivate, share expertise, and mentor program staff to achieve the best possible results for nonprofit partners and the nonprofit sector.
  • Model and inculcate Fair Chance’s values through the building of trusting, respectful, and reciprocal relationships with community-based nonprofit leaders.
  • Assess and identify professional development needs and work with staff to identify reasonable opportunities for growth within budget.
  • Mentor and serve as a thought partner to Program Managers ensuring staff have the necessary resources at their disposal.
  • Provide support to the Program Managers implementing Fair Chance’s current suite of programs with quality and fidelity including the Pathways and Praxis programs, Impact Academy, and customized earned income engagements as per contract or grant agreements.
  • Working with staff, oversee the selection and orientation of nonprofit partners and the process of assessment and work plan development for each.
  • Provide leadership and oversight to Program Managers in identifying, agreeing upon, and implementing refinements to the capacity building model.
  • Identify and document requisite policies, systems, processes, and support mechanisms to ensure efficient and streamlined operations, quality program delivery, and replication, regularly refining these based on outcomes and feedback.
  • Identify technology solutions and upgrades to better implement program work, including a functional and accessible knowledge sharing system for capacity building resources and data base of nonprofit partners and potential partners.
  • Oversee implementation of services designed to engage Fair Chance alumni and support their ongoing sustainability including relationships with pro bono partners.
  • Provide leadership for the program at the annual Fair Chance Honors celebrating graduating nonprofit partners.

Monitoring and Evaluation

  • The goal for the Program team is to select a cohort of community-based nonprofits and provide them with capacity building support (adhering with fidelity to our model) that results in the 25% improvement of best practices in at least four of eight competency areas over the course of the program year. The Director of Program and Evaluation leads performance management efforts for the Program Team by promoting and enforcing the use of performance and process tracking. Work with staff members to develop annual work plans and goals, track and monitor progress towards goals, and provide guidance and coaching as needed.

·         Oversee and support Fair Chance’s current program evaluation and data collection protocol and the storage, analysis, and presentation of data to the Program Team to understand and refine the program model and to the larger Fair Chance team to assess the organization’s effectiveness.

·         Monitor partner satisfaction with the partnership experience and engage with partners as a third party when appropriate.

·         Conduct analysis and identify ways to incorporate learnings into regular staff meetings and to educate the board of directors around patterns of participants’ experience and outcomes during the program,

·         Work closely with Program and Executive Teams to regularly analyze data and trends, identify performance and impact gaps, and lead the development of proposed solutions to address them.

·         Work with the Development and Communications Teams on framing the story of Fair Chance’s results.

·         Support and inform work with consultants and staff to develop new data collection protocols for the future while monitoring and continuing to manage Fair Chance’s current data collection efforts.

·         Propose and assist in seeking funding for external evaluation validation of Fair Chance’s model.

·         Ensure ongoing upkeep and maximization of the Fair Chance outreach and partner database in Salesforce.

Community Engagement and External Relations

  • Serve as the primary interface for partner engagements, collaborations and community relationships.
  • Support and manage active collaborations, regularly assessing collaborations and publicizing results.
  • Work closely with the Communications staff to develop online communications and branding, highlighting the program model and partner success stories.
  • Elevate the organization’s brand through representation at conferences and presentations, and providing thought leadership through dissemination of learnings and publications.
  • Keep abreast of the latest trends and research on community-based nonprofits, philanthropy, youth development, and the nonprofit sector in general.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree preferred
  • Minimum of 8 years’ experience in organizational development in the nonprofit sector
  • Outstanding analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills
  • Clear understanding of performance management outcomes, consulting activities and capabilities needed to achieve them.
  • Ability to design and manage internal staff training for building consulting capacity.
  • Track record of successfully managing high-performing staff to deliver results that meet or exceed expectations
  • Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to community-based organizations and the nonprofit sector
  • Cultural competence, familiarity with racial equity terms, concepts, and strategies, and comfort in discussing the relationship between equity, poverty, and Fair Chance’s work.
  • Exceptional relationship-building, listening, coaching, and interpersonal skills
  • Collaborative and team-oriented working style
  • Ability to manage complex projects, engage in appropriate decision-making, and design and monitor effective processes.
  • An entrepreneurial and creative approach to problem-solving

·         Optimistic, energetic and passionate.  Belief in and passion for Fair Chance’s mission is essential.

Fair Chance is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  We value diversity — we are and want to continue to be people of multiple ethnicities, identities, perspectives, and life experiences.  We believe and respect how this strengthens our work.  Therefore, we are seeking qualified candidates from all backgrounds who believe in our mission and align with our values.

How To Apply

Please send resumes and cover letters to search@fairchancedc.org.  The position will be open until filled, but for best consideration, please submit by January 16, 2017.

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