Program Manager

Program Manager

 Job Description

PAVE Overview

PAVE (Parents Amplifying Voices in Education) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to connect, inform, and empower parent leaders to give families in DC a voice and choice in the vision for education in our city. In PAVE’s vision, parents are partners and leaders with schools and policymakers in developing a diversity of safe, nurturing, and great schools for every child in every ward and community.

PAVE parent leaders fight for an environment where the vision for education in DC is not created for families but rather with families, shifting and changing the dynamics of power so that communities and parents are partners in developing great schools. PAVE intentionally and constructively asks parents to engage in education policy in DC, opens opportunities for parents to lead and advocate, helps parents to understand the system, builds relationships between parents and those who are making and influencing education policy, and advocates on behalf of great school options and equitable supports for all children, regardless of sector.

In just eight years, PAVE parent leaders have significantly impacted the education system and policymaking in our city that should be a state. PAVE is a fast-paced, high-performing organization driven by a passionate team made up of nearly 6,000 parent leaders, 5 (and growing) full-time staff, and school, citywide, and national partners in educational equity. The standard at PAVE is excellence – in all that we do, all that we give, and all the spaces that we open for family and community voice.

The Role

Working in close collaboration with PAVE’s parent leaders, community leaders and elected officials, and PAVE staff members, the Program Manager will continue PAVE’s track record of achieving a wide range of policy and advocacy goals including:

●      Developing PAVE parent leaders’ informational power and leadership to become strong advocates for kids in the education system;

●      Achieving policy wins in the areas of school funding, facilities allotments, financial transparency, mental health, out-of-school-time programs, and other issue areas identified by parent leaders; and

●      Increasing the number of elected/systems leaders who commit to a parent-powered vision each year and the number of parent leaders in positions of power within the DC education system.

Successful candidates will share our vision for parents as partners and leaders in developing a diversity of safe, nurturing, and great schools for every child in every ward and community. The Program Manager is a mission-critical role, leading PAVE’s policy analysis and research, participating in coalitions and managing the execution of parent-driven advocacy campaigns, acting as the primary content developer around education policy and advocacy resources, and supporting the Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy on policy and advocacy related initiatives.  

Responsibilities

Lead Policy Analysis and Research

●      Research and track education policy topics relevant to the DC education system, synthesize and manage the dissemination of key findings.

●      Monitor national and local policy decisions and trends and evaluate how policies impact DC’s public schools (traditional and charter), e.g updates on public hearings, legislation, major system-level decisions or initiatives, etc.

●      Collect, aggregate, analyze data on parents’ experience and policy issue areas to inform the PAVE community (inclusive of system, school, and parent leaders), through surveys, focus groups, etc.

Support Parent-Driven Advocacy Campaigns

●      Coordinate advocacy meetings with partner organizations and/or system leaders.

●      Support the Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy in campaign strategy development, execution, and evaluation, including:

○      Coordinate advocacy opportunities for parents and partners;

○      Execute tracking of parent advocacy actions and initiatives;

○      Draft emails and other communication to parent leaders about campaign strategies and updates; and

○      Plan and execute high-impact rapid response campaigns.

●      Develop and support relationships with key elected officials, policymakers, and system leaders, with support from the Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy.

●      Track and map relationships in DC to inform and support parent-led advocacy work.

●      Support other advocacy opportunities related to the larger education landscape such as GOTV and canvassing projects.

Lead PAVE Policy and Advocacy Content Development

●      Manage the dissemination of policy and advocacy information/updates and differentiate messages for various stakeholder audiences (e.g. PAVE staff, parent leaders, partners/supporters, and policymakers).

●      Develop a parent-centered policy and advocacy curriculum, including:

○      A scope and sequence for a 10-month programming year;

○      Meeting activities that build community and culture, teach parents complex policy information in an accessible and engaging way, check for understanding, and celebrate the joy and excellence of PAVE parent leaders. 

○      Tools/resources to support equitable representation in parents’ campaigns

●      Create tools to gather feedback on and track the efficacy of materials and communication to various stakeholders and audiences.

●      Create resources that explain the education system and PAVE parent leaders’ policy priorities, including one-pagers, slide decks, fact sheets, etc.

Manage PAVE Policy and Advocacy Projects and Initiatives

●      Serve as the project manager for policy and advocacy projects and initiatives (i.e. execution of campaign strategy, survey/community engagement projects, parent-driven policy priority selection process, etc.).

●      Maintain policy and advocacy tracking and evaluation systems and use data to support continuous improvement (i.e. progress on strategic goals, meeting exit tickets, information in Salesforce database, etc.).

●      Support the Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy to disseminate findings including drafting language for grant reports, PAVE annual report, funder applications, contract proposals and other external facing needs.

●      Manage scheduling and follow-up for PAVE policy and advocacy events.

●      Oversee execution of operations for PAVE policy and advocacy events (e.g. printed materials, food, childcare, meeting space, technology, etc.).

Support the organization in other matters as identified and assigned by the Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy.

Qualifications

Concrete demonstrable experience and other qualifications include:

●      Experience:

○      5-7 years of full-time work experience;

○      Bachelor’s degree required;

○      Master’s or professional degree in public policy or related field highly preferred;

○      Adult training or instructional experience required;

○      Strong knowledge of government programs and systems impacting families with children, including demonstrated knowledge of DC K-12 education preferred; and

○      Experience involving policy analysis and working on successful advocacy campaigns and coalitions preferred.

●      Skills

○      Ability to quickly create high-quality and engaging content for adult learning and leadership development;

○      A track record that demonstrates a commitment to elevating parent and/or community voice;

○      Demonstrated experience with building systems and using data to manage projects and evaluate success;

○      Excellence in organizational management with the ability to build relationships, convene partners, and achieve strategic objectives;

○      Extremely organized, detail-oriented and strong project manager, ability to manage multiple projects at once;

○      Resourceful, flexible individual with strong time management skills and an ability to work independently and collaboratively on tight deadlines.

○      Past success working with communities, with the ability to cultivate existing relationships and establish new relationships;

○      Strategic instincts, good judgment, and ability to navigate complex differences with diverse groups/perspectives and build alliances to achieve results;

○      Persuasive communicator with strong written and verbal skills as well as excellent interpersonal and multidisciplinary project-management skills; and

○      Action-oriented, entrepreneurial, adaptable, community-centered and innovative approach to organizing and community engagement.

○      Engaging facilitator and presenter preferred;

●      Values

○      Unwavering commitment to excellence and data-driven evaluation;

○      A love of political history, philosophy, and strategy, both locally and nationally;

○      Strong understanding of and belief in addressing issues of equity and inequity in DC and nationally in education, and in other related policy areas (incl. housing, economic and workforce development, criminal justice, health care);

○      Willingness to work in fast-paced environments and do whatever it takes to reach ambitious outcomes; and

○      Passion, idealism, integrity, positive attitude, mission-driven, and self-directed.

Compensation

The salary range for a Manager role at PAVE is $85 - $135k annually, dependent on qualifications and experience.  PAVE employees are offered full medical, dental, and vision benefits at no cost to the individual, as well as a 401(k) plan with 4% match, and generous paid time off. A complete listing of PAVE benefits can be viewed at https://dcpave.org/careers/. 

Location

This position requires residence in the District of Columbia.  The Program Manager must be local in order to build deep connections and relationships with parent leaders, elected officials, school leaders, and other community stakeholders.  This position requires frequent work on nights and weekends to support the schedules of parents.

To Apply

Submit your resume and cover letter to jobs@dcpave.org.

PAVE employees are offered full medical, dental, and vision benefits at no cost to the individual, as well as a 401(k) plan with 4% match, and generous paid time off. A complete listing of PAVE benefits can be viewed at https://dcpave.org/careers/.