Programs Director

Job Description

About Focus the Nation

Focus the Nation (www.focusthenation.org) is a national non-profit headquartered in Portland, Oregon. We believe that all Americans share an obligation to transform the way we power our communities and that young people are uniquely positioned to lead this charge. We are fiercely committed to accelerating our transformation to a clean energy future by empowering young people’s imaginative, civic and systems-thinking capabilities so that they can become powerful agents of change in their own communities. To truly sustain this transformation, we believe there is an urgent need to ensure that young leaders are at our local and national tables now—and that they are properly prepared to help craft our country’s new energy story.

Position Overview

Reporting to the Executive Director (ED), the Programs Director (PD) leads Focus the Nation’s two program tracks: Civic Engagement and the Focus Roots Fellowships. Our Civic Engagement track has executed four national campaigns and engaged more than 300,000 young people in direct dialogue with business and elected leaders across the country. This program area produces one nation-wide Town Hall every February and a Youth Leadership Retreat every summer. Our Focus Roots Fellowships have invested in the early careers of six clean energy community innovators. Each year, the Roots program supports a select number of young people in turning their solutions-based ideas into action.

This person works closely with the ED to ensure that both program tracks are achieving the goals of FTN’s strategic plan. The primary responsibility of the Programs Director is to develop, manage, grow and evaluate FTN’s two program tracks.

The ideal candidate will be highly mission-driven and have extensive experience in growing and evaluating programs. And because the transformative change we seek to accelerate in our communities is deeply connected to legislative challenges, energy illiteracy and power disequilibrium—ideal candidates will have a unique combination of experience that draws from the practices of political and community organizing, education, leadership development and youth empowerment.

Professional Qualifications

·         3 or more years experience and proven track record of building, implementing and evaluating non-profit programs.

·         Excellent verbal and written communication, analytic, organizational and planning skills.

·         Ability to manage 3 or more program staff.

·         Experience in managing multi-sector partnerships.

·         Thrives as part of a team with diverse experience, expertise, skills and objectives.

·         Ability to manage large, multi-faceted education/advocacy campaigns.

·         Familiarity with climate and clean energy policy.

·         Strength in multi-tasking, goal-setting and workload prioritization.

·         Commitment to finding just, equitable solutions to the climate and clean energy crisis.

·         Highly organized

·         Bachelor’s degree in related field or equivalent experience and an ongoing commitment to professional development.

·         Experience with database systems for program tracking/evaluation

·         Having fun on the job and a sense of humor.

Compensation

Salary commensurate with experience.

Application Packet Must Include

Complete chronological resume

Names of 4 references

A cover letter with answers to the following questions:  

·         Why are you interested in working as the Program Director for FTN?

·         How well do your skills and background meet the job description needs?

·         How did you hear about this position?

·         What are your salary requirements?

Focus the Nation is an Equal Opportunity Employer and strongly encourages people of color to apply. Please send your application packet to jobs@focusthenation.org.

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. We will accept applications until the position is filled. We intend to contact qualified applicants by phone for preliminary discussion, but we cannot promise any applicant an individual contact.