Portfolio Manager

Application Deadline: 4/18/24

Location: National (remote)

About Us

Our country's education and workforce systems are inequitable, failing to meet the needs of our most marginalized citizens. Historically, workforce education has led to low-wage jobs disconnected from ongoing higher education, which has created significant barriers for career advancement. At the same time, traditional higher education has increasingly become unaffordable for Americans from lower-income backgrounds while also lacking direct connection to the labor market. The consequences of these systemic failures are dire.

At Propel America, we believe a better system should and can exist. We believe high school graduates shouldn't have to choose between forestalling income and accruing significant debt while pursuing a traditional college degree, or forestalling education and mobility for low-wage, entry-level work with few opportunities for advancement. Propel is building that better system: a Jobs-First Higher Education allowing young adults from low-income backgrounds to access an affordable and efficient pathway to a good job, propelling them into a choice-filled life.

By privileging both the needs of young adults and those of our employer partners, Propel America:

• Partners with employers to assess talent needs, create relevant training programs, and hire diverse, local talent for their in-demand roles.
• Recruits, guides, and supports opportunity youth (18-24 years old), particularly those from low-income backgrounds, through a blended, technology-enabled career accelerator inclusive of a suite of products and supports (e.g., career exploration, cohort learning, one-on-one coaching, etc) to ensure Fellows have what they need to be successful in their job interview, persist in the workforce, and a plan for ongoing education and career advancement.
• Partners with training and higher education organizations to offer in-demand credentials that allow young adults to earn college credits

To learn more about Propel America, please visit https://www.propelamerica.org.

The Opportunity

Propel's Portfolio Manager (PM) is responsible for managing the implementation of our allied health career pathways. This individual is both a project manager (ensuring that Fellows progress through our Program against a pre-set calendar) and strong relationships manager (ensuring that training partner engagement is positive and strong, supporting our Fellows into completion). The Portfolio Manager is the single and primary point of contact for training partners, providing regular information regarding Fellow progress in the program and taking responsibility for problem solving and finding solutions when Fellows are not adequately progressing. The Portfolio Manager reports to the Senior Director, Program.

The Portfolio Manager is responsible for:

• Effective Program Management and Implementation: Manage execution and daily operations of existing pathways programs, including managing Hire Ready Coaches who interact with Fellows on a regular basis to achieve completion targets
• Training Partner Management and Success: The Portfolio Manager is the point of contact for our training partners (e.g., NLU and CHCP) and provides real-time updates on the trends we are seeing with Fellow engagement and completion. The PM also understands and regularly engages with student-level data, and is capable of speaking to individual vs. cohort-level successes/challenges such that Propel and the Training Partners are successfully working together to achieve Fellow success
• Partner with Others
  • Technology Enablement: Works closely with the Operations Team, Employability Instructor and Hire Ready Coaches to ensure Fellows achieve “Hire Ready” status through personalized human support AND technology enablement
  • Analytics: Leverage analytics to understand programmatic impact and opportunities for improvement
  • Fellow Communications: Inform Program Coordinator of key communications that need to go out to Fellows; provide Coordinator with calendar and content for distribution

The Portfolio Manager will typically manage 4-5 coaches; each coach has a caseload of 60:1 Fellows. The PM will support a team delivering Fellow programming across five regions: Baton Rouge, LA; Newark, NJ; Philadelphia, PA; Camden, NJ; and Los Angeles, CA.

The Role

The major buckets of work for the Portfolio Manager include:

Program Management and Implementation (50%)

• Provide updates to Program leadership team about Fellows' progress against curricular milestones
  • Actively and regularly communicate successes and challenges that Hire Ready Coaches are facing as it relates to Fellow progress
• Execute effective project management
  • Establish and manage cohort calendars and timelines
  • Develop Asana plans to guide team member activities; hold team members accountable to achieving tasks when they are due
  • Update the cohort communications calendar so that the Program Coordinator is able to send key communications when needed
• Oversee the day to day implementation of Propel's employability skills program, ensuring we achieve our annual program goals, and positioning the organization to serve 1,000 students, annually
  • Manage Hire Ready Coaches to deliver standardized supports that ensure Fellows achieve “hire ready” status
  • Manage multiple cohorts through completion of training programs, on varying calendars
  • Hold team accountable to achieving cycle and annual goals/priorities
  • Ensure Hire Ready Coaches leverage appropriate technology solutions to communicate with fellows and collect data
  • When needed, ensure Hire Ready coaches are connecting Fellows to local services that address challenges they may face but that are outside of the scope of Propel's program offerings (e.g., homelessness nonprofits, domestic violence support organizations, etc.)
    • Help the organization track data to understand the percentage of Fellows who need this type of support and the local organizations that are most successful in supporting them to Propel program completion
• Continuously reflect on data/analytics to increase impact, with an eye toward positive fellow experience and outcomes
• With Director, Externships and Hiring, ensure all Fellows enter externship and are hired upon successfully completing the Propel program

Training Partner Management and Success (30%)

• In collaboration with Propel's Client Services team, ensure strong training partnership engagement by meeting partnership goals and milestones
  • Effectively communicate student progress in the Asana project plans and, more broadly, with our program
  • Regularly engage directly with training partners to ensure students are effectively progressing through certification programs
• Provide Client Services team and training partners with real-time data about Fellow successes and challenges
• Problem solve, with training partner, to ensure our program is meeting BOTH the Fellow and training partner needs

Partner with Others (20%)

• Work collaboratively with the Employability Instructor to ensure Fellows are engaged/participating in our professional development sessions and that Hire Ready Coaches have what they need to provide 1-1 follow-up
• Work collaboratively with the Operations team to optimize technology solutions to adequately capture relevant data and roll-out to stakeholders
• Collaborate with key stakeholders, including Hire Ready Coaches and employer partner hiring managers, to solve problems, provide feedback to best support Fellows, and ensure Fellows complete training and are designated “Hire Ready”
• Communicate with Propel staff and manager (SD, Program) regarding Fellow progress through regular check-ins
• Mobilize Hiring coaches to capture, track, and input fellow data daily toward priority Key Results in order to provide the most accurate picture of Fellows and their needs.
• Share feedback and ideas for improvements collaboratively across the Propel team as we continue to build and refine our coaching methods to ensure more and more fellows reach their career goals.
• Inform Program Coordinator of key communications that need to go out to Fellows; provide Coordinator with calendar and content for distribution
• If applicable, support in the Case Management and data input for the SNAP grant in the local region

Who You Are

The Portfolio Manager is a detailed-oriented leader, who oversees the direct service coaching of Hire Ready Coaches to our Fellows. They manage multiple stakeholders, balancing Propel's internal work and external partnerships with training partners. The PM is excited by the small details of program management, organizing and overseeing day-to-day operational details. The PM will have a propensity to collect and analyze data, and will provide thought-leadership related to the program's approach to increase outcomes for Fellows.
Core Competencies:

• Mission & Core Values Alignment: Demonstrated commitment to our mission and values, particularly in promoting equity and advancing a Job-First Higher Education approach for our fellows, with in-depth knowledge of the population we serve.
• Equity Focus: Dedicated to fostering inclusivity, actively addressing bias and building strategies to promote diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) within our organization and programs.
• Project Management with Attention to Detail: Exhibits meticulous project management skills by efficiently planning tasks, maintaining high standards of accuracy and thoroughness, persistently pursuing goals, and aligning plans with organizational values to drive projects towards successful outcomes.
• Effective People Management: Manages staff in ways that improve their ability to succeed on the job.
• Analysis & Reasoning: Collect, analyze, synthesize information and data to inform decisions. Examines data to grasp issues, draw conclusions, and solve problems.
• Impact & Results: Focuses on results and desired outcomes and how best to achieve them in order to get the job done.
• Collaboration: Builds and maintains constructive relationships characterized by mutual respect, clear communication, and accountability, which ultimately advances the work.
• Customer Service Orientation: Sees their role as being in service of others; demonstrates customer service orientation to internal and external stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience managing complex programs
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Background and experience in the healthcare industry a plus
• Willingness to travel up to 40% of the time.

Compensation

The salary for this position is between $72,000 - 84,000 annually. We consider candidate experience and location when determining where a candidate may fall within that range. Propel America offers a competitive total rewards package including coverage of 90% of health insurance premiums, unlimited PTO, 401k contribution up to 5% of base salary, and a flexible work environment.