Senior Manager, Resource Management (Apply by: Wednesday, October 16, 2024)

About JFF 

Jobs for the Future (JFF) drives transformation of the U.S. education and workforce systems to achieve equitable economic advancement for all. Seeing that millions of people are unfairly shut out of quality jobs and the chance for a better life, our goal is to align education, workforce, and employment changemakers toward a shared North Star: By 2033, 75 million people facing systemic barriers to advancement will work in quality jobs. 

To achieve that goal, we design solutions, scale best practices, influence policy and action, and invest in innovation. With a staff of more than 300 people across the country working remotely and in offices in Boston (headquarters), Washington, DC, and Oakland, California, we operate at the national, state, and local levels, forging deep partnerships with employers, investors, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and education and workforce development providers to break down barriers and reimagine what’s possible.   

We’re on a path of ongoing growth and expanding impact. We have an operating budget of $105 million, and we’re funded by dozens of leading government agencies, foundations, and corporations. Learn more about JFF and join us as we build a future that works—for everyone.  

DEIBW at JFF  

Diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and well-being (DEIBW) are core to JFF’s North Star and mission. We employ and build diverse teams across race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity and expression, age, and lived experiences and are constantly working toward ensuring these differences are celebrated and included. We aim to cultivate a culture that centers the overall care, well-being, and success of the employee through flexible work hours, balanced workloads, professional development, and equitable career advancement opportunities. Learn more about what DEIBW looks like in practice at JFF. 

We seek to invest in and learn from those who represent the communities we serve, particularly individuals from populations who have been explicitly or implicitly excluded from the workforce. Knowing its importance to the success of our work and the engagement of our staff members, we aspire to attract and retain a diverse team and welcome people of all backgrounds to apply to our open roles. JFF is a fair chance employer and in alignment to our North Star, we strongly encourage individuals whose highest level of education attained is less than a 4-year degree; People of Color; and people with records to apply. 

About the position  

Reporting to the Senior Director of Resource Management, the Senior Manager, Resource Management will help connect JFF staff to project work.  Working cross-functionally across the organization, the Senior Manage will be essential in collecting and maintaining critical people resource data for JFF ‘s Solution Design & Delivery (SD&D) teams.  As part of the growing JFF Resource Management team, you will develop and manage utilization targets, analyze resource capacity and demand by project, skillset, role, and level and complete resource forecasts—identifying and solving for resource demand peaks and valleys proactively.   

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a newer function at JFF, essential to meeting our project goals. The ideal candidate has experience helping an organization refine, grow, and shape best practices within the Resource Management team.  The ideal candidate will also have experience with building and maintaining relationships and engaging in thought partnership with key internal and external stakeholders to help build out a strategy around a yearlong engagement experience for other events.  The ideal candidate will also be able to leverage data to help instill best practices for the organization and be forward thinking in their practice around Resource Management.  

What you'll do 

Manage resource allocation around staffing to align with organizational needs 

• Respond and fulfill resource staffing requests and capacity availability requests and ensure project staffing needs are matched with the best available resource 

• Track and maintain resource assignments and allocations 

• Document and communicate Resource Management processes for all JFF staff including management of the team SharePoint Site and Resource Management communications to be displayed in the department monthly newsletter, etc. 

• Partner with Field Implementation Team leaders to ensure the proactive assignment of team members to projects and the timely resolution of resources over or under utilization 

• Develop and implement staffing action plans for leave of absence transfers, promotions, etc.   

• Manage the SD&D teams’ skills and interest survey data; complete skills data analysis and define action plans to resolve skills gaps to ensure sufficient capacity and timing to support projects 

• Help develop, improve and evolve Resource Management processes at JFF, which will include but is not limited to playing a critical role in standing up, administering, and supporting training for a new Resource Management tool for JFF 

Leverage strategic and analytical thinking and utilize data to help build out best practices around resource utilization  

• Create reporting and visuals to display role, and skill demand vs. capacity, utilization rates vs. targets, and other resourcing and skills information   

• Analyze data to identify bottlenecks and risks and help develop action plans to resolve resourcing issues 

• Identify patterns in data and potential causes for concerns such as under/over-utilization of resources 

• Create and deliver reports that forecast upcoming staffing needs and identify any skills gaps in JFF resource pools and departments 

• Aggregate data across several JFF systems to develop resourcing data and insights; share and present these insights across JFF to ensure sufficient staff to deliver JFF project and grant/award commitments on time and within appropriate cost levels  

• Analyze project resourcing actuals versus plan with the goal of improving accuracy of project resourcing estimates by departments and improving delivery 

• Support continuous improvement activities related to Resource Management, Solutions Design & Delivery, or other teams, as needed 

Partner and build relationships with key stakeholders to steward the best practices around Resource Management  

• Work closely with Development and Practice or Center leaders to capture proposal resource demand estimates and apply this data to the Resource planning and forecasting processes 

• Partner with SD&D leadership and the People & Culture team to optimize staff headcount and planning decisions 

• Partner with the Project Management & Execution team to align on project updates (start/end dates, staffing needs, change request impacts, etc.), project risks, etc., to mitigate risks associated with project staffing   

• Partner with JFF staff to help negotiate solutions and influence decisions across a matrixed organization to help support best practices around staffing and Resource Management 

Who you are: 

• You bring experience supporting and operationalizing Resource Management for an organization. (New hires at the Senior Manager level at JFF typically bring 5-10 years of prior professional experience through a combination of full-time, part-time, internship, and/or freelance position.)  An RMCP® certification is preferred, but not required. 

• You bring strong analytical skills including intermediate to advanced level Excel proficiency (e.g., comfort with pivot tables, V-lookups, H-lookups, charting and trending data, etc.), and the ability to find insights and trends in data and define meaningful actions in response to findings. 

• You bring strengths in verbal, and written communication, and have experience collaborating with leadership, can negotiate solutions, and help influence decisions across a matrixed organization to help problem solve talent and people resource challenges. 

• You bring experience navigating and leveraging change management to help support the implementation, training, and use of Resource Management tools to instill best practices for staffing.  

• You have experience working to help meet tight deadlines and maintain organizational efficiency to ensure organizational best practices.  

• You have experience developing collaborative partnerships across an organization to achieve results; you continually leverage your communication skills and customer service approach when working alongside internal stakeholders, especially when handling confidential matters. 

• You have a track record of success functioning both independently, ideally as a member of a cross-functional Resource Management team. 

• You possess high energy and passion for JFF’s mission and North Star, and the ability to apply JFF’s core values to all areas of your work.   

• You are energized by stewarding JFF’s DEIBW values and practices within your day-to-day work, including embracing the differences and celebrating the diversity that each individual brings to JFF. 

• You value building positive and collaborative relationships with others, including people whose identities and backgrounds differ from your own. 

• You take ownership of work by keeping yourself and others focused and accountable to the work, including managing up to senior leaders. 

• You seek out opportunities to innovate and improve your team’s work; you leverage professional development and other learning opportunities to stay current with advances in your field and grow your subject matter expertise. 

What We Offer 

At JFF, we’re fueled by the desire to create a world where everyone has equal opportunity for economic advancement. Our team works hard to push the boundaries of what is possible, and in return, we provide a gratifying work experience, competitive salaries, and a comprehensive benefits program that includes flexibility and choice as core values in order to support people wherever they are in their lives and careers.  

 JFF has offices in Boston, Oakland, and Washington, DC; employees are welcome to use JFF office space to work in-person or hybrid, or completely remote. To improve the employee experience and promote productivity while working remotely, JFF offers an annual home office stipend to all regular full-time and part-time employees. In addition, new employees receive office equipment as needed.   

The hiring range for this role is $80,000 - $100,000 annually, in alignment to JFF’s, Senior Manager salary band and our compensation philosophy. Given the experience profile required for this role, we expect a qualified candidate who meets all requirements to start around $90,000, but starting salaries for new hires will be determined based on a combination of the new hire’s relevant experience and market demands.  

To apply:  

As part of your application, please include your resume and a thoughtful cover letter, addressed to Martha Arias-Webster, Senior Director, Resource Management outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position. 

We are accepting applications through October 16, 2024, at 9 am ET. Applications submitted by that date will be reviewed and candidates will receive updates on their candidacy by the week of October 21st, 2024. 

At JFF, we’re also committed to accessibility and want to ensure that everyone, including people with disabilities, can fully access and engage with our application and hiring process. If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability and/or have specific access/accommodation needs in order to fully participate in our hiring process, please contact us at [email protected]. 

Positions at JFF are not eligible for employer-visa sponsorship or open to F-1 student visa holders.