The Senior Manager of Career Pathways works closely with the Director of Career Pathways to execute the implementation of the Tree Equity: Career Pathways Initiative. As a vital part of the Career Pathways team, this individual will build greater capacity for local urban forestry career pathways, working hand-in-hand with employers and stakeholders in government, private sector, nonprofit, trade associations, and workforce development. The ideal candidate will be skilled in advising organizations on the creation and optimization of equity-focused workforce development initiatives in urban forestry and/or related fields. Primary duties for the Senior Manager of Career Pathways include industry-informed job training program design, development, execution, and evaluation; technical assistance delivery; policy guidance, and coalition-building as they relate to initiative implementation.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE & SKILLS: Experience required in the following areas required: urban forestry, workforce development, grant administration, project management. Excellent interpersonal, written, logistical, and project management skills are required. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated ability to maintain relationships with diverse stakeholders across sectors (nonprofit, government, private, and academia) and to achieve mission-aligned programmatic outcomes. Experience working with young adults, re-entrants to society, immigrants, underemployed and/or unemployed persons, and others facing barriers to employment preferred.

REQUISITE EDUCATION OR CERTIFICATIONS: Minimum of Bachelor Degree or Associate Degree with equivalent experience in human resources, workforce development, social work, urban forestry or related field.

WORKING CONDITIONS: The majority of work is performed in a general office environment, with occasional domestic travel. The position will be remote during the remainder of COVID-19 recovery, with eventual work in-person in Washington DC.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Job Training Program Optimization (30%)

• Administer capacity-building, job training/placement and wraparound service grants to local career pathways stakeholders
• Provide project management oversight to ensure adherence to relevant timelines, scopes and budgets
• Track and report on grant spending and deliverables
• Deliver technical assistance to relevant stakeholders via phone, email newsletter and occasional virtual and in-person presentations using various Career Pathways Initiative resources including but not limited to the Program Capacity Table, Career Pathways Action Guide, Career Pathways Exploration Guide and Arboriculture Pre-Apprenticeship Curriculum

2. Education and Workforce Strategy Creation (30%)

• Educate stakeholders on best practices and guidance for urban forestry workforce development via written communications and speaking engagements
• Work with the other Senior Manager of Career Pathways to periodically update existing online resources for career pathways stakeholders including case studies, reports, maps and guides
• Inform local urban forestry workforce strategy creation to address the labor shortage as inclusively as possible

3. Research and Policy Guidance (25%)

• Research urban forestry workforce development policies, executive orders, and other legislative activities at the national, state, and local levels
• Work with the Director of Career Pathways and Vice President of Urban Forest Policy to inform legislation that advances Tree Equity: Career Pathways programming
• Represent American Forests on relevant workforce-related coalitions and in meetings with legislative representatives
• Maintain relationships with local stakeholders and secure their support for draft legislation
• Draft workforce policy-related communications

4. Administrative duties (15%)

• Attend staff meetings, retreats, and other organizational functions
• Draft materials for external relations including conferences, webinars and other media engagements
• Draft internal grant reports and other publications as assigned