American Life Corps Program Director

The Program Director, in close collaboration and partnership with the Operations Director, will establish the programmatic and organizational foundation for American Life Corps (ALC), an immersive residential experience for 20-24-year-olds to spend four to six months living and learning together.

American Life Corps will build diverse cohorts of young adults equipped to be engaged in their communities. The Program Director will assure the development of the program model, implement outreach strategies, and help secure new funding to assure a successful pilot over the next 18-24 months. This position is funded through December 2022, with the possibility of extending based on the success of the program and the individual in this role.

The ideal candidate is entrepreneurial and relational, and deeply motivated by personal and societal transformation. Success in this position requires a combination of experience working with young adults, developing and managing programs, and experience with contemplative/spiritual practices.

Scope of Work

• Plan, work with existing partners to secure funding, and implement four-to-six-month retreats in two consecutive cycles at two retreat centers in different locations
• Convene a diverse team of experts to develop a program curriculum, an outreach recruitment plan, and a funding strategy
• Initiate relationships with organizations and elected officials from a broad spectrum of political ideologies, from government agencies, and from other key social sectors
• Assess ongoing needs and work with funding partners to seed future growth

Primary Responsibilities

Program vision & leadership

• In alignment and collaboration with Steering Committee, develop project and program goals, messaging, outreach plan, and evaluation plan
• Conduct market research to assess opportunities

Coordination & convening

• Day-to-day coordination for ALC, focused on program development, pilot implementation, fundraising, and Strategy Team; partnering with Operations Director on administration and staffing
• Supervise program staff
• Track, make connections, and align activities distributed across ALC
• Provide input to Operations Director regarding collaborations with hosting retreat centers to organize logistics for in-person gatherings
• Support core committees, with a primary focus on content and facilitation
• Capture notes, takeaways, and next steps from ALC convenings
• Provide input to Operations Director regarding the ALC’s technological infrastructure (Google Docs, Zoom, potential new RCC website)

Communication & connection

• Function as primary point of contact for ALC collaborating partners and program staff; share responsibility with Operations Director for communication with Steering Committee and funders
• Ensure clear and consistent flow of information to ALC partner organizations
• Co-design and maintain channel(s) for sharing information and insight across the network
• Lead and implement project and program marketing and partnership development activities
• Respond to incoming inquiries from collaborating partners and program staff expressing interest in engaging in ALC
• Support onboarding of new retreat centers, with a focus on programmatic alignment
• Facilitate connections among different components of ALC (committees, retreat centers, program teams, etc.)

Research, writing and special projects

• Collaborate with Steering Committee members and Operations Director on research and targeted support of each pilot site, in particular growing funding to sustain ALC
• Collaborate with Developmental Evaluator on data collection from pilot program and codifying learning and innovations emerging from ALC

Desired Qualities, Experience, & Skills

• Ability to make an 18-month commitment
• An openness to holding the paradox of longer term uncertainty paired with potential opportunity as the ALC evolves
• At least 10 years of program management experience, including at least 5 years working with young adults
• Strong attention to detail; able to organize and synthesize a lot of disparate information; understands the importance of systems for organization and coordination
• Skilled communicator who listens deeply and loves understanding people’s needs and making connections
• Highly collaborative and comfortable working independently
• Natural self-manager; proactive and problem-solving orientation
• Demonstrated commitment to racial, social, environmental, and economic justice, and building bridges across communities (class, race, ideology, and geography)
• Passionate about adult development, social change, and community building
• Preferred: Personal experience with community spiritual practice
• Preferred: program management experience within a nonprofit or academic environment
• Strong plus: Graduate work in adult education or lifelong learning/developmental psychology, or a similar field of study

General Information

Title: Program Director

Organization: A collaboration between the Fetzer Institute and Commonweal

Location: Remote, based in the United States

Salary: Annualized salary in the $80K range, with a competitive benefit package.

Hours: Full time, 40 hours per week

Report: Direct Report to Commonweal Executive Director and Fetzer Institute Senior Program Officer

FLSA Status: Exempt