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Director, SparkPoint

San Francisco, CA

Relocation expenses:

Director
Full time

Published on 3 Feb 2023

Expires on 28 Feb 2023

Director, SparkPoint

UWBA is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse workforce. UWBA is committed to building and maintaining a diverse staff and an inclusive workplace that values equity. We welcome applications from immigrants, BIPOC, LGBTQ applicants, and people with lived experience in poverty.

Job Title:                       Director, SparkPoint Regional Network

Department:                 Community Investment Team (CIT)     

Reports to:                    Vice President, Economic Success

Classification:              Management, Exempt, Non-Union     

Grade Level:                 5

Overview: United Way Bay Area (UWBA) mobilizes the Bay Area to dismantle the root causes of poverty and build equitable pathways to prosperity UWBA brings together partners from the nonprofit, business, and government sectors to address Bay Area poverty. We partner across sectors, develop solutions, capture the data we need, and use those insights to support public policy and create research-backed community initiatives. These initiatives include:

  • Housing Justice: Improve access to stable, affordable housing and homelessness prevention.
  • Employment & Career Opportunities: Build systems and pathways to career and employment opportunities.
  • Financial Stability: Help families increase income and savings on their way to financial stability.
  • Basic Needs: Ensure access to basic needs like food, housing, and legal services.

United Way Bay Area (UWBA) is leading a network of corporations, government agencies, nonprofits, and individuals to create lasting change for Bay Area residents and families.  With a history that spans over 100 years and programs that tackle the issue of local poverty from every angle, UWBA is uniquely positioned to mobilize and motivate all sectors of the community toward the vision of ending the cycle of poverty. 

For more information about UWBA, please visit uwba.org.

The Opportunity:

Are you looking for a position to use your program and project management and relationship building skills to contribute to positive changes in the community? Do you thrive in a position where you manage multiple tasks and display attention to detail? Do you enjoy working with a team of committed professionals dedicated to creating greater opportunities for children, youth, and families in low-income communities? Are you passionate about the important work that non-profits perform in the community?

The Director, SparkPoint position is an excellent opportunity for a highly motivated, value-driven, and organized individual to be a part of UWBA’s Economic Success Team. SparkPoint centers work with families to meet their basic needs, increase their income, build their credit, increase their savings, and reduce their debt. Financial coaches work one-on-one with clients to recognize behavioral outcomes, set goals, brainstorm strategies, and set realistic action plans. They value strengths, build motivation, and provide monitoring and accountability. SparkPoint serves low-income families seeking to improve their financial situation. Services are provided at no cost to community members.

The SparkPoint Director will lead the SparkPoint program on the Community Impact Team, collaborating across programs to improve the regional learning opportunities, grant making, technical assistance for grantee partners, and support the scaling of the program. This position reports to the Vice President, Economic Success and works closely with additional members of the Community Impact Team and other programs to deliver effectively on both organizational and team goals.  The position is based out of the United Way Bay Area office in San Francisco. Flexibility and mobility to travel to off-site locations within San Francisco Bay Area, is required.

Who you are:

  • 5+ years of professional experience including 1-3 years of managerial experience: working effectively with a wide diversity of participants, colleagues, and stakeholders; and working in an office setting in programs serving low-income populations or with other organizations offering these services.   
  • Commitment to deepening expertise around racial equity, diversity, inclusion, and self-awareness. 
  • Strong understanding of data and systems to enhance program activities.  
  • Content knowledge and understanding of issues facing working families and people living in poverty here in the Bay Area  
  • Excellent project management and organizational skills.  
  • Experience in strategic planning, project management, and leading key internal and external strategic initiatives.  
  • Knowledge of key nonprofit organizational activities including fundraising, human resources, technology, marketing, and communications. Experience in these areas is preferred.  
  • Ability to independently manage workload, schedule, and deliverables. Ability to articulate what support is needed.   
  • Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.  Experience collaborating effectively with colleagues, partners and other stakeholders in a variety of settings. Ability to work across silos and hierarchies. 

What you'll do:

  • Develop and implement long-term goals and objectives to achieve the successful outcomes of the program according to our mission, vision, and strategic plan.
  • Lead the SparkPoint program implementation and scaling efforts through designing and managing technical assistance for grantee partners, working with team members to create and implement technical assistance plans.
  • Lead UWBA staff and partners in determining regional learning priorities, training needs, and opportunities.  
  • Data review, analysis, and building of program specific interventions to improve outcomes in partnership with the Data and Evaluation Team.
  • Identify resources to build capacity for SparkPoint leads and partners to improve service delivery and client outcomes.
  • Oversee the implementation of the SparkPoint Replication Toolkit, which was created to replicate the SparkPoint model in higher education settings.
  • Project manage the development of a SparkPoint business plan in partnership with external consultants and in subsequent years, guide the implementation of that business plan.
  • Oversee annual SparkPoint grantmaking process to our SparkPoint lead agencies.
  • Build and maintain coalitions and partnerships necessary for the success of strategies by engaging in outreach, education, information gathering and connections with post-secondary institutions, community, business, and labor leaders, and elected and appointed officials. 
  • Collaborate across programs and with UWBA’s Development team in prospecting, grant report and proposal writing, budget development, grants monitoring, meeting funder reporting requirements, and meetings with funders.
  • Ensure programming and internal culture, policies and practices align with the organization’s commitment to racial equity, authentic engagement, and trauma informed care.
  • Represent the organization externally, including speaking at public events and meetings; represents the organization and the organizational point of view to agencies, organizations, and the public.
  • Supervise a team of 2 to 4 program full time and/or temporary staff that support SparkPoint partners across the region and the programmatic components of our backbone activities.
  • Budget management and oversight to ensure maximum effectiveness 
  • Other duties as assigned

Salary: $90,000.00 - $120,000.00

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 sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear.
 
UWBA does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender (including actual or perceived gender, and gender identity), sexual orientation, age, marital status, medical condition, religious affiliation, veteran status, national origin, citizenship status, mental or physical disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable state, federal or local law. Applicants must be able to work legally in the United States. UWBA will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in the manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. If you need a reasonable accommodation in order to apply for a job, please let us know. If the reason you need an accommodation is not obvious, we may ask for documentation confirming your functional limitations.

TO APPLY: Login at www.uwba.org/careers and submit your resume along with cover letter.

To foster an open and impartial application review process that minimizes the potential for bias, please remove any reference to academic institutions from which you obtained any degree, if applicable, for example, simply list “Bachelor of Arts in Sociology”. Not having a degree will not preclude you from being considered; applicable work experience is equally considered