JOB DESCRIPTION. California Resources and Training. Program Manager

Transcription

1 1333 Broadway, Suite 604 Oakland, CA Phone (510) Fax (510) JOB DESCRIPTION California Resources and Training Program Manager California Resources and Training (CARAT) is seeking a Program Manager to work closely with the Executive Director. The Program Manager will assist the Executive Director in all aspects of operations and management of the organization. The Program Manager will be directly responsible for implementing the research and development and training activities of the organization. The Program Manager will directly supervise all administrative and consulting activity involved in implementing the programs. The Program Manager will be authorized to represent the organization at the request of the Executive Director and will serve as the representative for the Los Angeles/Southern California market. Specific Responsibilities of the Program Manager will include: Organizational Representation CARAT participates in various forums, working groups, conferences, panel discussions, committees and in other venues throughout California and the nation. The Program Manager will represent the organization as a proxy for the Executive Director. Training and Program Development Develop and implement new programs to improve and expand the capacity of organizations that provide assistance to small businesses throughout California. CARAT s main deliverables are organizational capacity-building programs for nonprofit business development organizations and a technology capacity-building program for small businesses. CARAT is constantly examining the needs of these markets and developing programs to address the service gaps within the markets. Implement the current CARAT programs: Technical Assistance Capacity Building Program (TACP) ; Technical Assistance Trainings; and California Small Business Broadband Initiative. Coalition Building Establish and maintain relationships with nonprofit business development organizations, ethnic minority chambers of commerce, banks, private corporations, regulators, foundations, and government. CARAT works extensively with financial institutions to secure funding and endorsement for their programs. CARAT also works with the economic development organizations representing diverse populations throughout the state of California.

2 Resource Development CARAT continually raises funds to support programs and subsidize trainings. The Program Manager will assist the Executive Director in preparing funding requests and managing relationships. Specific Tasks Program management manage all aspects of training (including webinar production), organizational assessment, research programs, and certification programs Program development (1) identify additional topics and methods for building the internal management and external program capacity of nonprofit business development organizations; and (2) design, beta test, and pilot a small business technology training program Implement strategic plan objectives and goals Prepare board packets, and make presentations and take minutes during board meetings Track and analyze program impact Develop and deliver reports and presentations Design curriculum with consultants Assist with identifying funding opportunities, writing grant proposals, and responding to RFPs Meet with economic development leaders to formulate policy initiatives Participate in lobbying activities to encourage greater government support for the economic development sector Work with website designer, graphic designer Event planning and coordination, especially annual luncheon Office management this is a two person operation, so everyone has administrative tasks Qualifications Bachelor or Masters Degree in Business, Management, Public Administration, Community Economic Development or related field 5 Years professional experience in community economic development or related field Minimum of 3 years of professional experience in a management position Ability to work effectively with community economic development practitioners, government agencies, funders and policy makers. Knowledge and familiarity with key issues and organizations engaged in economic development In-depth knowledge of management and technical assistance resources and/or business assistance services in the community economic development field Ability to represent the organization and its programs Proficient with computer applications enjoys technology, learning and trying new technology solutions. Must know: Excel, Word, Powerpoint, Ability to work with culturally and ethnically diverse communities Excellent written and oral communication skills Problem solver Good sense of humor Organized and good at organizing other things Compensation Negotiable based upon experience Competitive with excellent benefits Benefits Autonomy, ability to solve problems creatively and to initiate new projects Many opportunities to engage in and network with the local, state and national economic development communities through events and conferences 2

3 Great for someone with interest and some knowledge in the field who wants to quickly get up to speed Great knowledgeable, highly skilled, highly intelligent, flexible, easygoing supervisor with high expectations of a smart, high-performing individual. For the right person, this is a great job and the person can be part of a great team. Grooming for Executive Director position What I ve gained in this position (feedback from previous Program Managers) A really great understanding of all the aspects of running a nonprofit, including daily operations, managing programs, fundraising, financial management, politics, recruiting consultants, etc. by o Observation and participation in most of the tasks o TACP assessments and course curricula that describe best practices o Engaging in discussions regarding nonprofit organizational management with nonprofit executive leaders o Participating in the initial design of a new small business technology training program o Managing a remote office o Attending nonprofit capacity building conferences Learning about the small business / economic development and capacity building industries and their major players through Selma and all the organizational memberships and functions Met a lot of great people, both on a personal level and a professional / networking level that helps me work in the industry Participating in grantee meetings with other leading organizations Freedom to try new ideas, solve problems, learn new technologies Low stress environment Subtle things from working with Selma, like leadership, handling problems, being assertive Friendship I really enjoyed working with Selma. She is very thoughtful, sensitive, introspective and funny. She s great to talk to and travel with What CARAT does CARAT is a non-profit organization that works to professionalize and assist the small business development industry. CARAT s clients are: (1) community-based organizations that help small and minority-owned businesses, and (2) minority-owned small businesses. CARAT s nonprofit clients go by many names: Business Development Organizations, Microenterprise Organizations, Technical Assistance (TA) Providers, and more. These nonprofit organizations provide counseling and workshops to small business owners and entrepreneurs with the goal of creating economic development for low-income communities, and helping low-income and disadvantaged individuals gain meaningful work through entrepreneurship. CARAT s minority-owned small business clients will participate in the new small business broadband technology training program. Many people think of CARAT as a train-the-trainer organization. Major Programs & Events: 1) TACP (Technical Assistance Capacity Building Program) this program helps nonprofit TA providers become better, more efficient and effective organizations. It consists of an assessment that helps organizations determine their strengths and weaknesses, and a training curriculum that helps executive leaders and staff members improve their performance. This project will involve managing the clients who participate and the consultants who do the assessments and provide the training, as well as producing webinars, managing all communications, timelines, etc involved in getting clients the services they need. The Program Manager will also be able to make improvements to the program, suggest new ideas, and find better technologies for delivering and streamlining program elements. 2) California Small Business Broadband Initiative This program is currently in development. CARAT received funding from the California Emerging Technology Fund to manage the small business broadband initiative. CARAT is working with Collaborative 3

4 Partners that are statewide membership organizations serving minority small business owners to develop a technology training program and technology information clearinghouse. CARAT and the Collaborative Partners collected completed surveys from over 3,600 minority small business owners in California regarding their technology use. CARAT is using the feedback from the surveys to develop online and in-person trainings for small business owners on a variety of online technologies they can implement to increase revenues and decrease expenses. 3) CARAT Annual Luncheon this is an annual event in mid October in Los Angeles. The Program Manager is responsible for coordinating all aspects of the luncheon, including marketing materials, programs, keynote speakers, food, volunteers, registration, sponsorship, travel arrangements and more. 4) TA List Serves and Other communications tools The program manager will help CARAT to use the latest tools and technologies to facilitate communication in the industry. CARAT has created an industry list serve to help the community share ideas and problem solve together, however the list serve is not active. The Program Manager can develop a process to ensure that it is useful to members and appropriately managed. The Program Manager may also find other tools and technologies that can augment existing programs. About the job and work environment (through the eyes of the previous Program Manager) CARAT is a two-person organization that uses consultants to complete much of its work. Selma Taylor is the Executive Director, and you would be the other employee of CARAT. Because it is a two person organization and the Executive Director is frequently out of the office in meetings and on business trips, you must be able to work independently, and handle all aspects of daily operations, including managing programs and projects, grant writing, attending functions on behalf of the organization, answering phone calls (minimal) and dealing with many of the questions and issues that arise in these calls. The Executive Director is very seasoned and knowledgeable in the field of small business development, having run small business development centers herself. She is well-known and respected in the field, and she will introduce you to many people. As mentioned above, Selma travels frequently and can be out of the office for several days at a time. She expects work to continue in her absence and expects you to call if you have any problems with the work you re doing. She will call in occasionally, usually for assistance with a project she may be working on remotely or a meeting or project that has an upcoming deadline. For example, she may need you to send information to her at a hotel, or she may provide you with a list of new tasks that need to be done for an upcoming meeting or project when she arrives back in the office. For this reason, you must be dependable and available during designated work hours to get the work done as needed, as well as flexible in juggling your work based on these new tasks and their relative priority. In general, she is very hands-off and does not hold regular meetings or provide or require any regular or formal communications. If you need help or have questions, you should just feel free to ask her, call her, whatever you need to get the job done. You will occasionally need to help the Executive Director in a crunch to meet a deadline, so while you ll have lots of freedom and flexibility in your job, you can expect to have some moments of rushing to get work done by the deadline, and be willing to stay a little later to help out on those occasions. She is extremely conscientious, thankful and fair about working odd and extra hours, and will always ensure that your time is adjusted accordingly. If you are a planner who can t handle last minute work and spontaneous changes, this is not the job for you! If you are generally a planner who can handle this, and you think you can help make things less rush at the end, feel free to give it a try. 4

5 The ED is very smart, gets concepts quickly, and respects people who do the same. For quick people, this is a great job with lots of flexibility and freedom. While she has high expectations, she is also very gracious and very willing to publicly acknowledge and praise your work and accomplishments to the board and colleagues. She will always give you credit for your work. CARAT s office space in Oakland is provided by and shared with CEDLI (California Economic Development Lending Initiative). CEDLI provides loans to small businesses and nonprofits that often cannot get loans from traditional banks. The staff members of both organizations work closely and talk to each other socially. They also share a kitchen, copiers, fax, etc. with the organization. CARAT and CEDLI hosts an annual luncheon together (a fundraiser for CARAT), and the CARAT Program Manager coordinates the event with some help from CEDLI staff. members. CEDLI has about 6 full-time staff members, and often a few temps. They are all very friendly, helpful and funloving. Everyone works pretty hard and is fairly quiet, but they are happy to engage in conversation. 5