Director, Talent Management

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 350 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 $90 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 with 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 Associate Vice President, People, Culture & Equity, the Director, Talent Management will provide support for all elements of JFF’s Talent Management Framework.  The Talent Management Framework includes Goal Setting, Anytime Feedback, Annual Performance Review, Rewards & Advancement and Learning & Development.  The newest addition to this framework is Learning & Development, and the Director will play a leadership role in building this emerging work, launching it across the organization, and ensuring deep adoption. In this role, you will be integral in ensuring JFF’s talent management practices remain equity-, people- and performance-centered, and are continuously refined and aligned to JFF’s business and market needs. You will collaborate with more than 20 colleagues across People & Culture and Knowledge Management to support JFF’s commitment to equity, performance, and learning.   

This role is ideal for a collaborative leader with strong project and program management experience who is eager to make a positive impact toward JFF’s North Star goals. Ideal candidates will bring skills in building learning and development strategies for an organization to streamline engagement with staff and will leverage a strong project management approach from past work. 

What You'll Do  

Lead the implementation of JFF’s Learning and Development Strategy 

• Provide expertise in organizational learning strategies to lead the development of the Learning & Development (L&D) function 

• Maintain a learning program that ensures JFF is best positioned to innovate and maximize impact in the field to help employees build career-focused skills and capacity ​for their professional success ​ 

• Provide leadership to implement JFF’s Learning & Development strategic priorities that include a range of curriculum to support leadership and subject matter expertise, and functional development for adult learners in targeted, differentiated ways  

• Leverage data to assess learning needs across the organization to strengthen JFF’s learning and development program 

• Partner with Knowledge Management to leverage and maximize JFF systems and tools that support the efficiency and scalability of learning across the organization, including management of the annual learning calendar 

• Oversee the three major components of the L&D program, Leadership Development, JFF Foundations, and Role & Function learning; design and deliver specific learning opportunities, including: 

• Drive the Leadership Development component of the L&D program, aimed at developing everyone's capacity, including supporting the development and delivery of DEIBW capacity building and training in partnership with the DEIBW team, and the refinement and delivery of Anytime Feedback training series 

• Partner with Knowledge Management to coordinate the JFF Foundations component of the L&D program 
• Drive the Role & Function specific component of the L&D program in partnership with leads across the organization, and serve as the People & Culture training lead on the People Management Training Series, refining existing curriculum based on JFF’s People Management Framework, and developing new modules that reflect evolving business needs  

Support and help lead JFF’s Annual Performance Development Cycles  

• Steward JFF’s yearly goal-setting process to ensure teams and individuals develop goals that are aligned to JFF’s strategic plan and yield the greatest impact on performance; serve as the operational lead on goal setting in Culture Amp 

• Serve as the People & Culture strategy and training lead on JFF’s performance feedback system, Anytime Feedback in Culture Amp; develop curriculum that reinforces a culture of feedback, learning and development; track and optimize enterprise adoption 

• Serve as the lead on JFF’s annual performance assessment cycle; manage the process and user experience from end to end; including developing communications on JFF Compass assessment, manager support, partnering with the Director, Total Rewards and People Operations to operationalize merit-based increases resulting from the cycle, and all organization-wide communication 
• Act as a liaison for annual promotions cycle, serving as a project support to People Business Partners working with managers and nominated staff; lead the development of staff communications, tools and guidance that engages staff in the process 

Provide Strategic People & Culture Project Leadership and Management 

• Provide significant operational and project management support across multiple departmental projects and workstreams, including coordination of special projects, analysis of best practices, and communication of information and updates to support People & Culture strategic priorities and JFF’s mission 

• Serve as a vital partner to leaders across People & Culture, e.g. People & Culture Leadership Team, People Business Partners, DEIBW team and others, and across JFF departments to support matrix work and collaboration  

• Serve as an effective and compelling steward of People & Culture’s brand and values; strategically communicate about relevant initiatives through SharePoint Intranet Pages, PowerPoint decks, all staff presentations, and other formats across JFF 

Who You Are: 

The qualifications listed within the job description are intended as a guide and we do not expect candidates to bring all experiences and skills listed. Research supports that self-selecting out of potential professional opportunities is particularly common among individuals with identities that are marginalized in professional spaces. So, if you believe that you can meet the overall expectations of the position, we encourage you to apply so that we have an opportunity to learn more about you and the unique strengths you would bring to the work. 

• You bring demonstrated experience in a talent or people function, supporting a learning & development including experience developing and delivering adult learning content and curriculum (New hires at the Director I level at JFF typically bring 10+ years of prior professional experience through a combination of full-time, part-time, internship, and/or freelance positions)  

• You bring subject matter experience from supporting a full employee cycle talent management practice, inclusive of performance development  

• You leverage professional development and other learning opportunities to stay current with advances in your field, deepen your subject matter expertise, and support the learning of your team 

• You demonstrate an ability to effectively communicate (through writing, presentations etc.) diverse stakeholders across multiple levels of the organization 

• You are highly organized and can manage multiple concurrent large-scale projects and initiatives.  

• You are effective at prioritizing and creating clear and logical systems and processes to support your work and that of the organization to drive results. 

• You are adept at stakeholder engagement at all levels and appropriately leverage the time of leaders and enlist their support of your work  

• You demonstrate an ability to work in a matrix environment with a strong ability to work collaboratively across departments and teams  

• You are attuned to those around you, to the cultural context of the organization, and express emotions in an honest, mindful way that promotes psychological safety 

• You demonstrate good judgement and clear analytical thinking when gathering data and useful information to inform decisions 

• You set ambitious and achievable goals to deliver high-quality outputs and results while empowering, inspiring and holding self and others accountable for delivering on commitments consistently 

• You are an active listener who seeks to fully understand and evaluate situations while giving others the opportunity to explore possible solutions 

• 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 model inclusive leadership and 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 and ensuring that decisions, teams and processes respect individual differences 

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

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 $100,000 - $125,000 annually, in alignment to JFF’s Director I salary band and our compensation philosophy.  Starting salaries for new hires will be determined based on a combination of the new hire’s relevant experience and market demands.  

To Apply  

We are accepting applications through July 19, 2024, by 5pm EST. Applications submitted by that date will be reviewed and candidates will receive updates on their candidacy by the week of July 22, 2024. As part of your application, please include your resume and a thoughtful cover letter, addressed to Presceia Cooper-Dennis, Associate Vice President, People, Culture & Equity outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position. 

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 hiringaccommodations@jff.org. 

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

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