Associate, Skillful State Network
ABOUT SKILLFUL AND MARKLE
Skillful, a non-profit initiative of the Markle Foundation, is dedicated to enabling all Americans – particularly those without a four-year college degree – to secure good jobs in a changing economy. In partnership with Microsoft and others, Skillful is developing skills-based training and employment practices in collaboration with state governments, local employers, educators and workforce development organizations. Skillful and its partners are working to create a labor market in which skills are valued, and people can more easily access the information and education they need to keep pace with technology’s impact on work. Skillful currently operates in two states, Skillful Colorado and Skillful Indiana, bringing investment, training, tools and innovative methods to augment local workforce development efforts. It formed and facilitates the Skillful State Network, a collaboration among 26 state governors to accelerate the development and deployment of effective skills-based practices to transform their labor markets. Skillful is grateful for support provided by Walmart, and its partnerships with the states of Colorado and Indiana, Microsoft, Lumina, Purdue University and Purdue Extension. For more information, visit Skillful.org, follow @Skillful on Twitter.
The Markle Foundation works to realize the potential of technology to achieve breakthroughs in addressing some of the nation’s most pressing issues. Markle challenges itself and diverse partners to deploy their varied expertise to identify solutions and achieve systemic change. Today as advanced technology and automation change the very nature of work, Markle’s priority is advancing solutions towards a skills-based labor market that will enable Americans to transition to the opportunities of the digital economy. Markle’s workforce initiatives include Skillful and the Rework America Task Force. They follow Markle’s success in creating the policy and technology architecture that has enabled improvements in healthcare, national security, and access to the Internet. For more information, visit markle.org, follow @MarkleFdn and @ReworkAmerica on Twitter, and read our book, America's Moment.
Job Summary and Responsibilities:
The Associate will support the Skillful State Network, Skillful’s learning and action collaborative of 26 governors and their workforce leaders dedicated to the belief that active gubernatorial engagement can make the difference between ‘business as usual’ and meaningful results. Through the network, Skillful works closely with senior state leaders to share practical tools and approaches developed in our operational states, and provide a forum to experiment and share ways to leverage their unique position to unlock better job opportunities for residents. Additionally, the Associate will manage projects as appropriate under the broader Skillful initiative. As is true of all Skillful team members, applicants to this position should feel comfortable wearing many hats and bearing responsibility to carry out a variety of projects across the organization.
- Project Management
- Lead execution of assigned Skillful projects primarily related to the Skillful State Network; responsibilities include managing efforts related to an in-person convening and quarterly webinars, preparing materials for presentations on workforce related topics, advancing projects to meet stipulated milestones in a timely and effective manner, gathering stakeholders and scheduling meetings as need arises, and overall facilitation of duties to move a project forward
- Support the overall work plans across partners and be accountable for quality and timeliness of deliverables.
- Support the alignment of vision across the ecosystem of partners and initiative members. Flags critical issues for problem solving or troubleshooting.
- Support development of playbooks and guides for Skillful’s State Network members
- Provide event support as needed.
- Support pilot projects with partner agencies and in collaboration with other Skillful work streams.
- Research and Analysis
- Assist with preparation and research associated with new initiatives, including but are not limited to workforce issues; federal and state educational, training, and employment policies; program development; and innovation in the educational landscape, alternative training programs, etc.
- Stay abreast of developments in workforce, education, and relevant areas of research.
- May conduct research on funders and funding priorities
- Create and help refine documents and presentations to share with team members and external stakeholders
- Offer and share a perspective for Markle and Skillful based on research
- Gather data on Skillful interventions
- Communications
- Write, edit and proofread items for external publication and internal circulation.
- Maintain feedback loops with various stakeholders, including primary points of contact for our state network members.
- Prioritize and triage how to respond to outreach from potential partners or interested partners, including fielding first order questions.
- Assist with document management processes across partners and industries to ensure quality control and historical archiving, e.g., of document versions and data collected.
Required Competencies:
- Proven project management experience: Demonstrated track record of managing and delivering against complex scopes and under tight timelines. Possesses strong organization skills, with ability to multitask and manage several work streams, partners / vendors, and projects at any one time
- Excellent interpersonal skills: Emanates a collaborative demeanor to build rapport and establish credibility with partners, including senior stakeholders. Applies critical interpersonal and judgment skills to affect outcomes. Has complete comfort and confidence in offering helpful advice and counsel to colleagues at all levels.
- Complex problem solving: Possesses excellent conceptual and analytical problem solving skills, with experience in tackling a range of strategic and operational issues. Able to bring a balance of creativity and practical business judgment to issues.
- Writing: Demonstrated ability to write clearly and concisely for a variety of audiences.
- Active learner: Positive attitude with an openness and willingness to learn. Demonstrates ability to receive and apply feedback and continues to improve.
- Communication skills: Demonstrated ability to clearly convey summary data from multiple sources as a set of findings.
Preferred Competencies:
- Passion for the Skillful mission and value: Displays an intellectual curiosity and passion for the mission at hand. Demonstrated ability to thrive and lead in a small, analytically rigorous organization that values direct, honest, and respectful transfer of ideas.
- Entrepreneurial mindset: Possesses a natural instinct to seek out the next challenge and think outside constraints and get things done. Operates with a clear sense of purpose while being comfortable with ambiguity and change.
- Data collection and interpretation: Ability to summarize detailed data, identify trends, and draw insights from the data. Able to make recommendations based on conclusions.
- Interest in government and public policy: Demonstrated familiarity with government stakeholders and interest in how government decisions and policies can shape communities.
Please submit cover letter and resume to [email protected] by end of day May 24, 2019.
Job Details:
- Location: New York, NY
- Title: Associate
- Report: Manager, State Deployment
- Term: Full-time
- Salary & Benefits: Competitive
- Travel: Willingness to travel out of state
- Degree or Credential Requirements: None! We value candidates who can demonstrate skills and articulate how prior experiences will help them to meet the job requirements.
Skillful is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, sexual orientation, domestic violence victim status, military status, or veteran's status.
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