Regional Workforce Innovation Manager

Centerstate Corporation for Economic Opportunity • City of Syracuse, NY

4d

About The Position

CenterState CEO is looking for a creative, curious, highly experienced leader who understands the fundamentals of workforce development in New York State and is passionate about creating systemic change. The Regional Workforce Development Manager will support the team to engage with workforce development partners across Central New York to spark innovation that creates systems change, with the goal of increasing access for underrepresented groups to high-quality, high-demand careers in target industries. The Manager will support existing Inclusive Growth staff in developing industry specific partnerships and integrating that work across the Inclusive Growth team and CenterState CEO more broadly. This role requires a thorough understanding of workforce development best practices, funding streams, ability to creatively engage with partners to help them improve their programs, and curiosity to keep learning from others around the country. The Manager will support facilitation of large and small groups of organizations throughout the region, as well as 1:1 meetings with partners to learn, ideate and fund innovative practices.

Requirements

• At least 3-5 years of experience in workforce development.
• Bachelor’s or AA degree preferred but not required.
• Professional certification and years of experience at a ratio of 2:1 may be considered in lieu of a bachelor’s degree.
• Demonstrated experience in developing or maintaining partnerships with workforce development organizations.
• Familiarity with workforce best practices designed to increase underrepresented populations in high-wage, high demand occupations (i.e. industry sector partnerships, apprenticeship, grassroots outreach, popular education etc)
• Experience in workforce program design and delivery, including for public and organizational staff
• Strong English language writing skills; experience writing grant proposals or similar types of persuasive documents (writing sample will be required)
• Ability/interest in using new technology as a tool for innovation in workforce development
• Outstanding public speaking and written/verbal communication skills
• Capable of working in an ever-changing flexible work environment
• Demonstrated relationship-building and interpersonal skills
• Ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community
• Willingness and ability to travel within Central New York (approximately 50% of time) and US domestically (approximately 10% of time)
• Strong listening skills
• Strong analytic ability; must be able to collect, analyze, manipulate, interpret, report and utilize data; experience/interest in large scale data collection and analysis processes/tools
• An entrepreneurial self-starter
• Experienced at building effective partnerships across diverse stakeholders
• Work at the highest level of integrity, honesty, and openness.
• NY Drivers’ license and access to a working automobile will be needed for this job, as it requires extensive travel throughout Central New York.

Responsibilities

• Work with team to assist workforce development partners, training organizations and educational institutions to develop innovative approaches to outreach, training, industry engagement and job quality practices, both individually and in group settings
• Support Directors to identify and convene regional lead organizations throughout Central NY to expand their capacity to serve as workforce intermediaries and points of contact for jobseeker outreach and career exploration
• Partner with regional leads to build and execute coordinated talent pipelines to meet hiring goals/targets for specific projects
• Develop, maintain, and utilize best practice materials and tools developed by CenterState CEO and national organizations as guides for local workforce partners
• Research innovative programs and credentials that can be piloted and replicated across the region, and work with partners to implement them.
• Co-develop and manage regional training provider/employer data collection strategy including designing project requirements, researching tools, recommending solutions and implementation.
• Track multiple funding streams available for industry specific workforce strategies, prepare recommendations for funders and work with organizations to develop and implement programs, including tracking quality/outcomes and providing support to make changes as needed.
• Respond to external inquiries for information about strategies and connect regional partners to resources.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: Associate degree
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees