Interim Senior Program Strategy Manager, Program Strategy en Pivotal Ventures

ROLE DESCRIPTION

The Senior Program Strategy Manager team is responsible for strategy development; managing large-scale, high-priority, and cross-organization projects with the goals of ensuring effective decision making, driving cross-team collaboration, and effectively implementing in order to drive impact at scale; managing the rhythm of business and strategic vision for the Program Leadership Team; and providing support and leadership to help the Program Team maximize its impact.  This role provides critical counsel and support to the VP of Program Strategy and Program Leadership Team to advance priorities within the team and across the organization.

This role is expected to have a duration of 12 months. This means that, absent some change, the position will end within that timeframe as defined in the offer letter.   

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy development:

• Partner with VP of Program Strategy (“VP”) to explore new areas/issues for Pivotal’s programmatic work; this includes:
  • Research to understand the scope, key issues, barriers, and solutions.
  • Landscaping to understand other players in the space (funders, major organizations, leaders).
  • Exploratory conversations with external experts to understand new areas (both inbound and proactive, as needed).
  • Analyzing and synthesizing insights (quantitative and qualitative), key learnings, and recommendations for various audiences and purposes.
  • Being the interim “expert” on various topics throughout the strategy development phase.
• Partner with the VP and Program Leadership Team (“PLT”) to shape how we do our work / impact models, including:
  • Thinking end-to-end about how we do our work, including what modalities and tools we use and what guardrails/guidance exists for how we do that work.
  • Putting together resources and guidance for the team as the thinking evolves
  • Shaping our cross-org engagement models in service of our impact.
• Partner with the VP to lead other high-priority strategic initiatives based on evolving priorities of the organization.
• Across all strategic work, effectively manage projects/processes to meet internal timelines and ensure key partners are engaged appropriately (in alignment with below).
• Provide ongoing advice, counsel, and support to the VP to enable effective decision making and maximize impact.

Project Management:

• Directly manage and set direction for high-stakes, complex projects that cut across the Program Team (“team”) and the organization, including:
  • Effectively engaging key cross-team and cross-org team members and external partners in alignment with project goal, including running processes to select external consultants/partners and managing them as needed.
• Independently figuring out methods / procedures and developing work plans for projects, ensuring they are completed successfully and in alignment with timing and budget.
• Provide project management support for impact-related cross-org working groups, managing the workflow, effectively running cross-org meetings, synthesizing inputs and leading decision-making processes, managing key deliverables, and coordination across workstreams.
• Make decisions and develop resources/guidance that shape team operations and practices.
• Project manage and develop strategic approaches for key priorities for the team, as directed by the VP.
• Lead and make independent decisions on projects for the VP, as appropriate, in cases acting as a proxy.

High impact member of the Program Team and partner to the VP:

• Manage PLT activities including:
  • Setting meeting agendas; teeing up issues for decisions.
  • Designing offsite goals and agendas; facilitating meetings/offsites and strategy sessions.
  • Managing workflow, decision-making, and approvals and advise on governance and effectiveness.
• Develop and manage PLT rhythm of the business, synchronizing projects across the team, developing tools to track progress, and ensuring regular check-ins enabling teams to prioritize work, strategically weigh in and make critical decisions about key moments throughout the year.
• Advance key leadership priorities within the Program Leadership Team and on behalf of the VP to drive Pivotal’s strategic work.
• Provide flexible capacity to lean in on high-priority cross-organization projects and fill in gaps on the team to ensure we can continue to achieve impact goals as team structure and needs evolve.
• Evaluate and triage in-bound requests from principal, ELT, PLT, and other key internal and external partners, whether responding directly or passing to the members of the Program Team with an eye toward impact and saving the team’s time.
• Develop briefing documents, and other materials for high priority Program Team engagement opportunities and messaging for external speaking events.
• Develop and implement tools and ways of working to cultivate collaboration and improve cross-team communication.
• Be a thought partner, collaborator, and mentor to colleagues to help set the team up for success, especially as it relates to cross-org or cross-team projects.
• Meaningfully advance the work of the team and organization across key areas, building positive relationships to influence outcomes, coach others, and maintain momentum of key initiatives.
• Apply a racial and gender equity lens across all work and ensure equity is considered in process improvement efforts.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

CORE COMPETENCIES

To perform this role successfully, individuals must demonstrate the skills and behaviors aligned with our Pivotal Principles that define what success looks like across all roles. These competencies reflect the expectations for how we work together, lead, grow, and deliver impact for all employees regardless of function or level.

Build and Maintain Trust 

Act with integrity and foster an inclusive and collaborative work environment. 

• Is Inclusive – Advance a culture of equity and belonging. 
• Act with Integrity – Tell the truth, take responsibility for your actions, meet your commitments, and act ethically. 
• Collaborate – Build trusting relationships and treat people with dignity and respect. 

Drive Impact 

Deliver high-quality work that is aligned with Pivotal Strategic Initiatives. 

• Solve Problems – Identify issues and seek diverse perspectives to develop potential solutions. 
• Propel Work Forward – Take initiative, prioritize work appropriately, and complete work on time. 
• Center Stewardship – Use resources responsibly, consider and manage risk, and follow Pivotal policies and procedures.  

Learn and Grow 

Demonstrate a commitment to continuous individual and organizational development. 

• Contribute Constructively – Participate in advancing individual, team, and organization-wide well-being and resilience. 
• Occupy Growth-Mindset – Embrace challenges, learn from mistakes, and focus on improvement. 
• Share Knowledge – Document work appropriately, assess outcomes, and share explicit and tacit learning. 

QUALIFICATIONS

• 10-12 years of relevant work experience in philanthropic, social impact, investment, and/or non-profit sectors.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute long-term strategies using a variety of tools (e.g., philanthropic capital, private investment, voice, partnerships).
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with a diverse set of stakeholders - internal and external.
• 5+ years of senior project management experience and successfully owning, managing, and making decisions on high-stakes, complex, cross-org projects, with extended timelines, significant budgets, and complex stakeholder management with the objective of advancing org-wide priorities and/or shaping policies and practices.
•  Able to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic, fast-paced environment, prioritizing effectively, driving high quality work forward efficiently and completing in a timely manner.
• Experience acting as a strategic advisor and thought partner to senior-level leaders across an organization, senior leadership teams, and external consulting teams, providing a high level of service. (experience working in consulting/business preferred).
• Ability to quickly learn about new topics, synthesize learnings, and communicate about them in a data-informed way, while maintaining a learning posture, and ability to acknowledge own limitations and expertise with resolve.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills, as well as presentation skills, including expertise in executive communications, ability to communicate respectfully, candidly and skilled in developing memos, strategy documents and presentations.
• Track record of quantitative skills for data analysis, including strong quantitative data analysis skills, pulling insights from data, and synthesizing mass quantities of research rapidly, and experience setting, analyzing, and managing significant budgets.
• Experience working on complex problems and collaboratively crafting innovative solutions that have the potential for transformational change in the lives of people around the world.
• Willingness to travel for work related priorities, team engagement, and events.

This role is expected to have a duration of 12 months. This means that, absent some change, the position will end within that timeframe as defined in the offer letter.   

Benefits include medical, dental, vision, life, long-term disability and long-term care insurance, fertility benefit, caregiving support, 144 hours of vacation, 96 hours of sick leave, 401k, HSA, FSA, and more.

The Salary range for this position is $207,400-$216,300 This position is based in Seattle, WA or Washington DC. Remote may be considered for exceptionally qualified US-based candidates in certain geographic locations who are willing to travel.