Chief Technology Officer

About mRelief

mRelief is a tech nonprofit 501(c)3, that provides an easy-to-use platform through web and text messaging that helps people sign up for SNAP (food stamps) benefits. Our mission is to transform access to social services for the inherent dignity of all people. To date, we have connected more than 2.4 million families to social services and unlocked an estimated $1.7 billion in food benefits.

Our supporters include Google.org, the Families and Workers Fund, Y Combinator, the Walmart Foundation, and AARP Foundation, among others. Our partners include Share our Strength and the National Domestic Workers Alliance.

Job Summary

The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at mRelief is crucial for ensuring that mRelief continues to deliver impactful technology solutions that enhance the accessibility of social services. We are looking for a visionary leader who is passionate about leveraging technology for social good.

The CTO will play a pivotal role in steering the organization's technological direction in alignment with our mission and strategic goals. The CTO will lead our technology team, oversee the development and implementation of technical strategies, and ensure the creation of scalable, high-performing technological solutions that meet the needs of our clients and end users.

The CTO is responsible for the following:

Collaborating with leadership team to set a vision for mRelief’s technology

• Ensures we adopt a clear, compelling vision for what our technology will accomplish and how
• Builds commitment of SNAP eligible families, government leaders, and staff to the vision
• Ensures we adapt our vision to meet changing circumstances
• Represents mRelief during active sales and philanthropic discussions to ensure we meet technical diligence criteria

Building and supporting a strong technology team

• Oversees engineers, product managers and other cross functional teams supporting the successful delivery of social services technology products
• Leads the development of Work Plans and SMARTIE Goals to measure the success of individual contributors
• Supports the professional development of the team and ensures they have the support they need to do their best work
• Manages a team structure of 5 direct and 7 indirect reports, with the potential for increased management responsibilities as the team expands.
• Ensures mRelief works to retain top performers

Promoting a strong culture of empathy, inclusion, performance and learning

• Fosters a team environment and organizational culture that aligns with mRelief’s mission in partnership with the Executive Director.
• Embodies and advocates for mRelief’s mission, vision, and values in all decision-making processes.
• Displays empathetic and servant leadership, maintaining a strong connection with community needs and perspectives.

Implementing high-impact technology

• Works to understand the needs of our users, clients, partners and stakeholders
• Develops a clear product roadmap for the entire organization to follow
• Collaborates with other software developers on the creation of technology
• Oversees the monitoring and analysis of our technology
• Collaborates with the partnership team to ensure that partners and clients have the support they need
• Ensures timely delivery of all technical and product deliverables
• Dives into understanding the technical details and partners with the engineering team on creating technical solutions

Qualifications

A qualified candidate will excel in relationship-building, is results-oriented, and has strong technical and collaboration skills. You should have:

• Strong experience with Ruby on Rails
• Experience with React and JavaScript
• Experience with test-driven development
• Experience scaling web applications
• Experience collaborating with other software developers and designers
• Experience with technical management and building technical teams
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Experience building technology for low-income populations is a plus
• Experience with chatbots, text messaging, or AI is a plus
• Knowledge of SNAP policy issues and prior experience in a startup are both pluses but are not requirements

Day-to-Day Responsibilities:

• Managing individual contributors informing product management, design and data science at mRelief
• Ensuring the smooth functioning of mRelief technology
• Collaborating with the larger team on technology needs for partners
• Collaborating with the Data team to manage the data and reporting needs of the organization and ensuring that all partners have the data they need
• Monitoring our technology through Airbrake, NewRelic and Heroku
• Coordinating with our security consultant on security diligence for new partnerships
• Other duties as assigned by the Board of Directors.

Compensation and Benefits

Compensation depends on experience. mRelief is an equal opportunity employer, and we make a particular effort to recruit people of color to apply for open positions.

mRelief provides the following generous benefits package:

• Work from anywhere: mRelief is 100% remote, you can work/live anywhere in the continental United States. We’ll give you an annual remote-work stipend to support your at-home office and access to a coworking space near you using DeskPass.
• Health and wellness: mRelief prioritizes nourishment, so we offer healthcare coverage with PPO options, FSA accounts, vision, and dental benefits.
• Compensation: At mRelief, we are committed to salary transparency and opportunities for mobility. The salary range for this role is listed, and team members are evaluated annually with the opportunity for an increase in compensation and benefits. We also offer a 401K match of employee contributions.
• Work-life balance: New employees join the team with 15 days of paid time off and 10 days of sick time. Additional paid time off is accrued each year with us.
• Paid Parental Leave: New parents are given 12 weeks paid time off.
• Learning: We believe in a culture of learning, so mRelief offers all employees professional development opportunities to foster their growth and covers educational costs for continuing education.