Technical Advisor, Economic Opportunity

Description:

Summary: Under the general guidance of the Chief of Staff , the Technical Advisor, Economic Opportunity provides leadership and direction to the Center in the areas of economic opportunity, workforce development, economic empowerment, financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, through and equity and trauma-informed lens. The role provides technical assistance to internal and external partners on workforce development (WFD) programming, career pathway programming, open hiring, employer workplace practices, and other program models focused on serving diverse populations with barriers to employment and economic mobility. The position contributes to thought leadership, strategic partnership development, resource development, and integration of workforce development programming and other initiatives into the continuum of programs and services offered by Heartland Alliance. Leverages industry knowledge and best practices to promote the mission and vision of the RNCSC and the institution as well as supports culture development and management efforts.

Essential Functions:

Duties/Responsibilities:

Technical Leadership

• Optimize s knowledge capture, curation, synthesis, and sharing processes internally in and externally to support field building
• Provide s strategic support to the Center and project partners on best practices in workforce development for the CVI field
• Convene s communities of practices and facilitate peer learning exchanges
• Organize s convenings to share knowledge such as conferences, workshops, briefing , etc.
• Proactively network s with experts in the field of CVI other related fields in order to stay abreast of the latest theories, practices, and frameworks
• Synthesize s learnings from all sources into accessible and actionable CVI-specific WFD resources such as guides, articles, trainings, tools, frameworks, etc.
• Create s and maintain s an external-facing resource hub to share publications, frameworks, toolkits, etc.
• Provide s technical leadership to the READI National Center team during the planning and execution phases of projects to support the use high-quality practices consistent with the latest knowledge

Capacity Strengthening & Technical Assistance

• Contribute s expertise and technical content to business development needs and proposals
• Provide s remote and on-site technical support and assistance in the design, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of economic opportunity programming and systems strengthening
• Support s and enrich internal working groups on workforce development
• Ensure s local and national efforts use the strongest available approaches, informed by up-to-date research and the latest developments in the field
• Conduct s onboarding activities for new staff and partners to support knowledge transfer
• Assist s the team in developing capacity strengthening and technical assistance plans
• Deliver s high-quality technical assistance to partners
• Design s trainings, workshops, webinars, and other resources on topics relevant to implementing WFD interventions
• Create s processes, guides, and other resources to enhance the delivery of capacity strengthening and technical assistance services

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Plan s , assign s , and direct s work to staff identifying, documenting, and sharing best practices and emerging knowledge
• Sets direction, objectives, and project priorities
• Addresses complaints and resolve personnel concerns
• Appraise s the performance of staff and consultants
• Provide s team members and partners with formal and informal coaching and feedback to support high-quality practice and ongoing development
• Other duties as assigned and/or required

Supervisory Responsibilities :

• Training Manager

Education and Experience :

• Bachelors’ degree from an accredited instruction of higher learning in Public Health, Organizational Learning, Knowledge Management, Social Sciences, Monitoring and Evaluation or rel ated discipline required. Master’s degree preferred.
• With Bachelor’s degree, minimum ten (10) years professional and progressive experience designing, and implementing workforce development programs for social services organizations required. With Master’s degree, minimum seven (7) years professional and progressive experience designing, and implementing workforce development programs for social services organizations required.
• Experience providing technical assistance and consultation across multiple implementation levels (team, project, department, organization) preferred.
• Experi ence managing research projects preferred.

Certifications/Licenses :

• N/A

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities (K/S/A)

• Comprehensive knowledge of workforce development, education, community safety, field building, technical assistance, training principles and practices
• Demonstrated innate entrepreneurial confidence and willingness to both lead and execute
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively and diplomatically with colleagues, as well as with students, faculty and corporate contacts in a multitude of communication methods
• Proven commitment to community engagement and knowledge of the community violence intervention sector
• Demonstrated track record of working with organizations that serve Black and Brown communities.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate a large, complex organization
• Outstanding verbal, written, and presentation skills, as well as organizational skills
• Ability to work independently with little supervision; possess a self-motivated disposition; identify opportunities for improvement and recommend effective changes, all while achieving key objectives resulting in desired outcomes
• Excellent strategic planning, critical thinking, analytical, and persuasion skills
• Handle multiple detailed tasks/projects simultaneously and meet strict deadlines with frequent interruptions
• Proficient and functional knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint )
• Ability to consistently identify opportunities for improvement and make recommendations based on observations
• Stro ng demonstrated research acumen
• Innate ability to multi-task and strong organization competence
• Demonstrated ability to handle confidential and sensitive information possessing skills to handle situations in a pro fessional and diplomatic manner
• A high degree of collaboration and emotional intelligence, self-mot ivation, and analytical ability
• Demonstrated ability to influence, lead and manage projects in a heavily matrixed environment
• Strategic thought par tnership and consultancy skills

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear .
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit; use hands to handle or key; and lift or assemble objects.
• The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.

Work Arrangement: This role is eligible for a “hybrid” or “remote” work arrangement . If hybrid, it is expected this person would be able to meet for “in person” meetings when needed or at the request of others. In-person meetings may be required on a regular basis ( weekly, monthly, etc.). There may also be the availability to work from home when appropriate. May require up to domestic travel.

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Heartland Alliance makes all hiring and employment decisions, and operates all programs, services, and functions without regard to race, receipt of an order of protection, creed, color, age, gender, gender identity, marital or parental status, religion, ancestry, national origin, amnesty, physical or mental disability, protected veterans status, genetic information, sexual orientation, immigrant status, political affiliation or belief, use of FMLA, VESSA, military, and family military rights, ex-offender status (depending on the offense and position to be filled), unfavorable military discharge, membership in an organization whose primary purpose is the protection of civil rights or improvement of living conditions and human relations, height, weight, or HIV infection, in accord with the organization’s AIDS Policy Statement of September 1987