Sr. Manager, Program Innovation at Share Our Strength – Washington, District of Columbia

Since 1984, Share Our Strength® has led the fight against hunger and poverty by inspiring and organizing individuals and businesses to share their strengths. Today, through the No Kid Hungry campaign, Share Our Strength is ending childhood hunger in America by ensuring all children get the healthy food they need. No child should go hungry in America – we’re on our way to making that a reality and we want you to join us. We’re bold, creative, always open to new ideas, and 100% dedicated to our mission. If that sounds like you, we’d like you to consider becoming part of our team.

As senior manager on the Program Innovation team, you will join a team taking a human-centered approach to innovation. The Program Innovation team focuses on understanding the lived experience of families facing economic insecurity in order to design strategies that meet their needs, are compatible with their everyday lives, and draw on their strengths. The team also works to improve the user experience of federal nutrition programs, and other programs Share Our Strength supports.

The Program Innovation senior manager will be responsible for a portfolio of work that advances the above goals. Focusing on areas like summer meals, school meals, Summer EBT, and SNAP, the senior manager will oversee elements of the human-centered design process including qualitative research, co-creation, experimentation, and evaluation. They will be a catalyst for human-centered innovation in the field, creating and using resources that encourage partners to engage their communities in making user-centered improvements to their programs. They will also use human-centered design methods to create, test, and scale participant-centered resources, programmatic improvements, and user-centered programs and models. The senior manager will be responsible for developing paths to scale for strategies that work and sharing learnings with our community of partners.
The Program Innovation senior manager’s portfolio of work changes based on organizational needs.

This position is preferably based in Washington, DC; but could be fully remote for the right candidate living outside of the D.C. area. The position offers a salary range of $81k-$87k. Exact compensation within the stated salary range may vary based on skills, experience, internal equity, and geographical location.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Manage elements of the human-centered design process to design programs and strategies that meet the needs of families facing economic insecurity. This includes conducting qualitative research, co-creating strategies with program participants, and testing and evaluating strategies.
• Conduct qualitative research with program participants and partners. Apply learnings to our organizational strategy and share research findings with our community of partners.
• Catalyze human-centered innovation in the field by creating and using resources to assist partners in engaging their communities to make user-centered improvements to their programs.
• Develop participant-facing resources and user-centered improvements to federal nutrition programs and find a pathway for implementation and long-term success.
• Manage relationships with external stakeholders (e.g., summer meal sponsors, school nutrition staff, program participants, corporate partners, government officials, non-profit partners), and engage them as needed for project management, ideation, adoption of promising practices, and securing project deliverables.
• Write reports, briefs, and case studies that summarize research and pilot results. Think strategically about best methods for dissemination of learnings and effectively communicate them to internal and external stakeholders. Think strategically about pilot iterations, sustainability, and paths to scale.
• Acquire and apply expertise in federal nutrition programs to ensure that recommendations, resources, and strategies are implementable and meet the needs of all stakeholders.
• Listen for gaps in strategy and understanding and assist with alignment of innovation priorities to support organizational needs.
• Travel less than 20%.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum of Bachelor’s degree and 5-7 years relevant work experience. Advanced degree (Ph.D., MA, MBA) in the social sciences or human-centered design strongly preferred.
• Experience developing programs, products, or strategies following the human-centered design process; designing pilots in co-creation with participants; and facilitating innovation ideation sessions.
• Skilled in conducting qualitative research, especially interviews and focus groups.
• Experience developing actionable recommendations and influencing others to act based on research or pilot results.
• Creative and strategic thinker, with ability to come up with new ideas based on existing and original research, emerging trends, and input from end users.
• Outstanding interpersonal and relationship-building skills, especially with program participants, partners, and colleagues.
• Knowledge of federal nutrition programs preferred.
• Strong writing skills; a writing sample may be required.
• Excellent facilitation, listening, presentation, and communication skills.
• Successful track record managing multiple complex projects simultaneously and demonstrated ability to initiate, organize, prioritize and work independently.
• Passionate about working on issues related to food and economic insecurity, especially in collaboration with partners and program participants as we envision, design, and improve programs that work best for families.
• Work and/or lived experience in families or communities experiencing economic insecurity and demonstrated cultural competency in working with people experiencing economic insecurity.

COMPREHENSIVE BENEFIT PLAN:
We offer a comprehensive benefits plan which currently includes, but is not limited to, health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, retirement, wellness benefits, and paid time off (vacation leave, sick leave, personal leave, holiday, parental leave, bereavement leave, military leave, and jury duty leave).

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT:

Share Our Strength is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, military status, age, or any other classification protected by law.