Director of Organizational Development, Local Progress

Position Location: Remote, within the U.S.

Local Progress is seeking a full-time Director of Organizational Development.  

Local Progress (www.localprogress.org) is a movement of local elected officials advancing a racial and economic justice agenda through all levels of local government. We are elected leaders who build power with underrepresented communities, share bold ideas and policy among our network, and fight to reshape what is possible in our localities all across the country. Hand-in-hand with community-based organizations and unions committed to advancing a social justice agenda, the elected officials and staff of Local Progress are building the network to facilitate a genuine “inside/outside” strategy to reforming municipal policy and politics. Founded in 2012, Local Progress has grown to over 1,000 local elected official members representing cities, counties, and towns in 46 states. 

About the Job

Local Progress was founded as a project of the Center for Popular Democracy, which has been an incredible organizational home for the past eight years. In 2021, we will begin the process of moving Local Progress out of CPD/A and into the next phase of its organizational development (most likely transitioning to become its own independent organization). We are seeking a strong leader to help steward and shape this transition and to both envision and implement new systems, structures and practices to support our evolution. This position will both involve high level strategy as well as detailed implementation and execution, and is likely to evolve significantly as our organization grows. 

Please note, during 2021 we will remain fiscally sponsored at CPD/A and receive administrative support overlapping with all components of the responsibilities described below from various CPD/A staff members, allowing for work to be focused on preparing for the transition in 2022. 

Primary Responsibilities: 

The Director of Organizational Development will report to the Executive Director and is responsible for the following: 

• Prepare Local Progress for an organizational transition in 2022 through the establishment of organization-wide processes and procedures.

• Assess current capacity to meet responsibilities and develop recommendations to fill needed gaps, including hiring and supervising one additional staff position in 2021.

• Establish and implement operational systems including office maintenance, IT and hardware and events support.  

• Establish and implement financial policies and procedures that ensure the financial strength of the organization, including budgeting, forecasting, monthly accounting, reporting, payable receivables and compliance. 

• Establish and implement Human Resources policies and procedures with a strong focus on inclusion and equity including: recruitment, hiring and onboarding, administering benefits, fielding personnel complaints and grievances, management of payroll, compensation and benefits provision. 

• Foster practices and culture of inclusive organizational learning and reflection; envision and implement a culture of staff management and development

• Establish and implement systems for quantitative and qualitative evaluation of our work that can drive creativity, innovation and strategic decision making.  

• Working with a broad range of staff, advance organizational fundraising in line with programmatic goals and objectives, and with an eye towards long-term organizational sustainability. Help facilitate a healthy and inclusive organizational culture around fundraising responsibilities and goals, grounded in a commitment to collaboration, learning and collective innovation. 

• Establish and implement systems for tracking fundraising including an annual fundraising plan, fundraising pipeline and systems for grant tracking and reporting.

• Establish and implement systems to ensure legal compliance appropriate to our new organizational structure.

Job Requirements: 

• A demonstrated commitment to and passion for racial, social and economic justice and a love for politics and policy.  

• A minimum of five years of work experience in human resources, operations, development or finance - ideally with some experience across these areas. At least two years of supervisory experience and/or serving in an organizational leadership role. 

• Ability to effectively manage up and across the organization and to make clear assessment and recommendations, drive work plans and shepherd decision making processes on complex, multifaceted and dynamic issues. 

• Driven by curiosity and an interest in learning and developing new skills across a diverse portfolio of work; able to approach and make progress in new areas even when you lack technical expertise.

• Strong and direct communicator with a relational approach to the work, fostering an atmosphere of discussion, collaboration and trust. 

• Awareness of and ability to address issues of power, race, class, gender and other forms of privilege within the internal dynamics and culture of a workplace. 

• Have strong attention to detail and consistent follow through; ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously. 

• Experience in a unionized work environment is a plus. 

Salary and Benefits: 

CPD is a unionized workplace.  This is a confidential position, not included in our bargaining unit. Salary will be determined according to a salary scale which takes into account years’ experience, location, job category, and other factors, but is expected to be between $85,000 and $100,000.

We have a generous benefits package, including health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, 15 vacation days per year, 10 sick days per year, 13 paid holidays per year, and contributions to individuals’ 401K plans. 

HOW TO APPLY: Please submit your cover letter and resume through our HiringThing portal: https://cpd.hiringthing.com/job/226894/director-of-organizational-development-local-progress