Illinois Ecosystem Manager

About Redefine Alliance:

At Redefine Alliance, we’re building an economy that works. For everyone.

We discover and back social entrepreneurs across the United States that employ people striving to overcome employment barriers like homelessness or incarceration.

These mission-driven businesses, called employment social enterprises (ESEs), exist because they see untapped talent in their communities for the strengths they hold, not the barriers they’ve faced.

That’s why Redefine Alliance invests in their businesses, so we can help push their impact further, faster. We pair our grantmaking with capacity-building support, create space for employment social enterprise leaders to learn together, and sponsor state and federal policies that help shift perspectives. Because we believe that our economy works best when it works for everyone.

Since 1997, Redefine Alliance has invested in over 360 social enterprises in 44 states and DC, helping over 157,000 people create a future where they can flourish.

About the Strategy Team:

The Strategy Team at Redefine Alliance helps the organization, in particular, program leads, the Executive Team, and board, articulate a compelling vision for Redefine’s long-term growth, and builds a runway for execution. This team owns or contributes significantly to major cross-cutting priorities and projects that span strategy, our 5-year learning agenda, and piloting new programs.

The Role:

The Redefine Alliance Illinois Ecosystem Manager is a place-based connector and operator responsible for advancing Redefine’s three-year Action Plan in Illinois. Specifically, in Illinois we’re focused on passing state legislation that would not only codify what an Employment Social Enterprise (ESE) is, but also center ESEs as critical community and commercial assets. In doing this, we’re aiming to help unlock preferred vendor opportunities and partnerships, so that ESEs and inclusive employers can scale and sustain their impact. Illinois is one of three pilot ecosystems and serves as a test bed for Redefine’s long-term ecosystem strategy.

The Illinois Ecosystem Manager will carry out and refine a pre-set 12-month action plan, which includes on-the-ground engagement with local partners, coordinating regional initiatives, surfacing insights, and ensuring the ecosystem’s activities stay on track toward ambitious three-year targets.

This is a highly entrepreneurial role at the heart of Redefine’s 2026-2030 strategy, ideal for someone who thrives operating under ambiguity and is energized by relationship building, systems change, and cross-functional problem solving. This is a benefited contract role through June 30, 2027, with the potential for extension to June 30, 2028.

The Responsibilities:

Advance policy and Coalition Strategy

• Partner with Redefine's policy team to align ecosystem activity with legislative priorities, advocacy opportunities, and key milestones
• Convene and strengthen IL RESET, a coalition of IL ESE leaders and likeminded partners advocating for policies and programs that benefit workers with employment barriers
• Identify and activate opportunities to build political and field-level momentum for ESE-supportive policy

Drive ecosystem and partnership development

• Serve as Redefine’s on-the-ground lead in IL, building and managing relationships with ESEs, employers, funders, and policymakers (this will require some travel and in-person meetings within the City of Chicago and state)
• In partnership with the Strategy team, execute targeted initiatives and experiments to grow and strengthen the ecosystem, and support the analysis and documentation of experiment learning.
• Identify and advance relevant opportunities (e.g., procurement opportunities, partnerships, fundraising opportunities, events) that would benefit either the local ESE community and/or Redefine’s strategic and fundraising efforts

Shape Capital Deployment to Support Ecosystem Growth

• Identify high-potential ESEs and inclusive employers for Roberts Impact Investing Fund (RIIF) investment opportunities
• Recommend deployment of ecosystem grant funding (starting '27) to unlock regional growth, partnerships or system-level progress
• Partner with grant-making and RIIF teams to inform investment decisions and strategic alignment and monitor the performance of funded projects on the ground.

Capture insights and ensure operational traction

• Track ecosystem progress against pre-set operating and impact metrics (e.g., ESE growth)
• Maintain and strengthen ecosystem data infrastructure via Salesforce CRM to support coordination and reporting
• Synthesize insights and learnings to inform Redefine’s ecosystem strategy, playbook, and future investments

The Qualifications:

• 5–7 years proven experience in community development, workforce development, public policy, employment social enterprise, or philanthropy in any of the previous sectors.
• Proven track record of building and managing relationships in Illinois with diverse partners, including community leaders, funders, policymakers, and employers.
• Familiarity with public (including current funding programs), philanthropic, impact capital flows into the workforce development sector, and an ability to identify opportunities to align funding with ecosystem needs.
• Expertise in convening groups or coalitions and facilitating alignment among stakeholders with differing priorities.
• Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous, early-stage environments, translating strategy into action through iterative, test-and-learn approaches.
• Comfort with data tracking and systems management (e.g., CRM tools like Salesforce) and using data to inform decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to work across sectors and align stakeholders from nonprofit, government, philanthropy, and/or private sector contexts.
• Strong communication and narrative-building skills, with the ability to tailor messaging to different audiences and support field-building efforts.

Join Us!

Please submit your resume and cover letter via Redefine’s applicant portal. A personalized cover letter is required; applications without one will not be considered. This is a benefited contract role through June 30, 2027, with the potential for extension to June 30, 2028.

The Culture

Every team member at Redefine Alliance has an impact, with the ability to influence and iterate on our strategy. We balance autonomy with collaboration, leading with learning, and innovation with expertise. We listen, ask questions, and challenge the status quo and each other to uncover solutions that move us all to a better tomorrow.

Redefine Alliance is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Our different experiences, backgrounds, and stories are our strength. We know that an equitable, inclusive, and diverse workplace makes us more effective, innovative and agile. We welcome and will consider qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, disability status or arrest and conviction history. EEO is the Law. Redefine Alliance welcomes all.

Position Location and Pay Range:

This position is based in Illinois with preference for the Chicago-land area. The salary range for this position is $91,275 – $114,093. The range will be adjusted according to candidate’s location.

• 13 paid holidays, Summer Fridays, and ample paid time off
• 16 weeks fully paid parental leave for birth parents and 8 weeks for non-birth parents
• A generous dollar-for-dollar retirement plan match up to 4% of your base compensation
• Opportunities to learn continuously by building your skills and broadening your perspectives at conferences, workshops, and more
• Competitive, comprehensive benefits package
• Flexible working schedules, support for big life events, and home office equipment for an ergonomic working space