About Taproot

Taproot is a national nonprofit organization that makes business talent available at no cost to organizations working to improve society. We operate out of five US cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Washington DC and increasingly focus across the United States and globally. Our mission is to drive social change by leading, mobilizing and engaging professionals in pro bono service.

We engage the nation’s millions of business professionals in pro bono consulting through a spectrum of services anchored by our award-winning Service Grant program and by partnering with companies and national organizations to develop their own internal pro bono programs through our Advisory Services practice. One day, we envision that all organizations with promising solutions will be well equipped to successfully take on urgent social challenges.

At Taproot, everything we do follows our core values as we work toward achieving our mission:

Pragmatic Optimism: We believe it takes audacity to try to change the world and effective management to follow through.

Impact Oriented: We believe effective pro bono service put the needs of the client first.

Playful Professionalism: We believe when people integrate their personality and values into their work, they have the greatest impact and are most fulfilled.

Progress: We believe people, organizations and societies must constantly move forward to survive.

To learn more about Taproot, please visit www.taprootfoundation.org.

The Position

As a Taproot Foundation Bay Area Senior Program Manager, you guide our programs bringing capacity building supports to hundreds of the region’s nonprofits every year. To achieve this you manage a strong program team and tap into a talent pool of over one thousand professionals donating their expertise as Pro Bono Consultants (PBCs). You balance and maintain local program capacity and strategic focus. You have internal and external responsibilities, ranging from client, team, budget and program management to designing and implementing innovative programs. Reporting to the Taproot Bay Area Executive Director, you’ll directly supervise your local program team and guide the efforts of the volunteer pro bono consultants. Your success will be based upon how well we expand and strengthen the local pro bono marketplace together.

Core Responsibilities

We thought about the many areas Senior Program Managers lead. If we could put it in a nutshell, it’s this: Senior Program Managers have to be fast-paced, analytical, upbeat leaders, able to juggle multiple roles and deliverables with aplomb. We work hard. There’s never enough time. There are never enough resources. Successful Senior Program Managers use optimism, creativity and a relentless focus on the team’s strengths to achieve amazing results in spite of inevitable challenges.

Here are some of the results Senior Program Managers achieve each year:

Program & Grant Management

► Award Service Grants and other pro bono services to nonprofits

► Manage pipeline of nonprofits and PBCs

► Provide oversight of, and direct personally some, Bay Area engagements.

► Create and lead engagements for PBCs and nonprofit clients

► Ensure that we meet or exceed all quantifiable service quality goals

People Management

► Make sure program team delivers outstanding service

► Hire, onboard, supervise, and coach all Program staff and fellows

► Cultivate relationships with the PBC leaders

► Coach and problem solve with the project service teams

► Model leadership and collaborative excellence in relations with Taproot local and national staff

Consulting and Innovation

► Lead continuous improvements for our program delivery

► Consult on pro bono capacity building with foundations and nonprofits

► Identify realistic best practices, process improvements

Strategic Management & Internal Operation

► Create and manage annual operating plan and budget with Executive Director

► Align internal team resources to meet or exceed operating and strategic goals

Who you are

The general skills and aptitudes below list the qualities you’d bring to the role. What they don’t mention are the less tangible qualities of the best Senior Program Managers.

Creative problem solvers, fearless about advancing their ideas, while also able to be thoughtful and respectful of others, tend to thrive at Taproot. Passion for the non-profit sector goes without saying. Excitement about helping nonprofits build capacity is a prerequisite. Action-oriented and comfortable with working directly with individual clients and simultaneously committed to scaling Taproot’s work to strengthen the nonprofit sector.

Here are some of the other skills and aptitudes successful Senior Program Managers tend to bring to the role.

General Skills & Aptitudes

► At least 7 years of experience working and managing in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors

► Innovative, organized self-starter who thrives in a fast-moving entrepreneurial environment

► Excellent written, oral and presentation skills

► Exceptional ability to learn quickly; strong analytical skills

► Leadership aptitude

► Strong desire to take on substantial responsibility

► Strong grasp of how Taproot’s Service Grant program impacts nonprofits

► Honest, visionary, optimistic, and competent

This is a full-time exempt position in San Francisco, CA and will report to the Bay Area Executive Director.

If this describes you, we want to talk. Please submit a thoughtful cover letter and resume online at

http://www.taprootfoundation.org/about-probono/job-description?gnk=job&gni=8acf16914c96da5b014cce87afef3dfc

THE TAPROOT FOUNDATION IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. The Taproot Foundation strives to reflect the diverse community it serves. Applicants who contribute to this diversity are strongly encouraged to apply. Qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered for the position in a manner consistent with the Fair Chance Ordinance.