Senior Innovation Manager (Temporary)

Organization Overview:

Tens of millions of people in the U.S. live with chronic financial insecurity, inadequate savings, and no meaningful wealth, with deeply harmful consequences for themselves, their children, families, communities, employers, and the economy.

Black, Latinx, and women-led households disproportionately experience financial insecurity due in large part to longstanding, systemic racism and gender discrimination. Addressing these issues is critical to Commonwealth’s work of making wealth possible for all.

For over two decades, Commonwealth’s fundamental purpose has remained to create a stronger and more prosperous society where everyone has financial opportunity. Our work has enabled over 2 million people to save nearly $8 billion on a path to greater financial security and wealth. We are now embarking on a new 4-year strategic plan that seeks greater impact and builds on our systems-focus to expand workplace benefits, strengthening partnerships with financial institutions and fintech partners, and exploring new frontiers like climate and generative AI.

Commonwealth strengthens the financial opportunity and security of financially vulnerable people by discovering ideas, piloting solutions, and driving innovations to scale. We understand broad change requires market players to act. That’s why we take a unique approach to collaborate with consumers, the financial services industry, employers, policymakers, and mission-driven organizations. The solutions we build are grounded in real life, based on our deep understanding of people who are financially vulnerable and how businesses can best serve them. 

For more than 2 decades, we have moved employers to prioritize worker financial security, the financial service industry to bring products to market that better serve financially vulnerable people, and policymakers to pass legislation and take action to enable savings and financial security. To learn more about the organization, please visit buildcommonwealth.org. 

Diversity of background and perspective are strengths that we value. We are committed to creating a diverse, dedicated, skilled, and collaborative environment, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Commonwealth recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, veteran status, and other protected statuses. 

Position Overview: 

The Senior Innovation Manager (SIM) provides critical project management leadership across the organization to support Commonwealth’s mission to help scale innovative solutions to support financially vulnerable people in building financial security and opportunity. Bringing exceptional people and project management skills, the SIM will play a lead role in managing multiple initiatives working closely with our external partners (e.g. employers, workplace benefit providers, financial institutions, fintech companies, etc), and leading and supporting high-performing project teams that are passionate about having a positive and scalable impact. 

Best fit candidates will bring expertise in at least one of the following areas: 

• A leadership role on multiple initiatives, including legislative, administrative and regulatory and policy efforts.
• A leadership role leading original research that includes a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of varying sizes of datasets with external partners.
• A leadership role demonstrating strategic thinking and a detailed orientation to build project plans and define roles and responsibilities for complex workstreams. 

This is a temporary employment position for a 6 month period. The starting annual salary is $81,000. A permanent position or contract extension is possible based on grant funding. 

Core Responsibilities: 

• Manage multiple complex projects ensuring that they are executed on time and meet stated outcomes in a matrixed organization. 
• Employ highly developed interpersonal skills to manage relationships with internal teams as well as external partners - including employers, financial institutions and fintechs - to test and evaluate financial security and wealth-building innovations. 
• Effectively manages internal stakeholders (e.g. the executive team, content experts, and project team collaborators), partners across teams, and advocates for better systems and processes; recognizes when to speak up to clarify responsibilities and context to learn and effectively execute tasks 
• Work with internal teams to design, test, and evaluate market-viable innovative tools and products based on the needs of financially vulnerable consumers and the business needs of external partners. 
• Manage the process of generating and sharing insights and findings from projects internally with our partners and externally with key stakeholders, such as other industry players, policymakers, and funders through, decks, thought pieces, and publications. 
• Serve as a lead relationship manager with external stakeholders; demonstrate effective partnership/relationship management through direct facilitation of external meetings e.g. work with a bank, or employer or investment platform as we implement a demonstration project, develop a survey, etc. 
• Represent Commonwealth at virtual and in-person external meetings and events with the ability to effectively engage diverse audiences, including employers, financial service industry leaders, researchers, policymakers, and community advocates.  
• Creatively problem-solve and collaborate with a small, results-oriented team to effectively execute projects. 
• Work with cross-functional teams to contribute positively to organization-wide strategy  and goals. 
• Potential to directly supervise 1-3 staff, including responsibility for performance management, coaching, career and skill development to foster professional growth.

Specialized Responsibilities: 

Policy:

• Develop and manage strategic relationships with a variety of partners, potentially including policymakers, regulators, government administrators, financial services firms, employers, and fintechs.
• Write policy and business communications to share Commonwealth’s work with diverse stakeholders.

Research: 

• Design and execute pilot tests with external partners, including plans to evaluate their success.
• Manage research plan development and able to independently execute analyses of quantitative and qualitative data to determine impact of various pilots and interventions with partner; oversee data analysis outputs of others and able to support their learning to execute independently over time

Strategic Thinking & Execution: 

• Lead strategic planning and execution for complex projects by developing comprehensive project plans, defining roles and responsibilities, and ensuring alignment across workstreams to drive successful outcomes.
• Comfort navigating project complexity and ambiguity to break down intricate problems, make decisions with incomplete information, and adapt to dynamic project conditions to guide and support the project team.

Required Capabilities: 

• Exceptional project management experience, with the ability to manage various,  complex projects concurrently, with a high degree of organization, attention to detail and flexibility.  
• Strong outcome-oriented mindset with a proven ability to deliver results through others to ensure every task is completed.
• Experience developing and presenting high-quality decks and presentations for external partners, including the private, public, and nonprofit sector.  
• Experience leading research efforts, both qualitative and quantitative, and translating findings for various audiences through briefs or reports. 
• Self-starter that can take initiative, identify areas for improvement, and is comfortable managing up when unclear or uncertain about how to move forward; ability to work effectively independently and in collaboration with others. 
• Creative problem-solving, design and innovation skills, with the ability to exercise professional judgment to find solutions to problems as they arise. 
• Strong relationship building experience across a wide range of diverse internal and external stakeholders.  
• Embrace the gift of feedback and willing to speak up about opportunities for continuous improvement within and outside of projects. 
• Models a strong sense of self-accountability and a hunger to take ownership, follow through, and get things done; proactively promotes shared responsibility with others.
• Ability to adapt quickly to changing priorities and navigate ambiguity in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced entrepreneurial environment
• Passionate about the mission of Commonwealth and driving change through promoting financial security and opportunity.  
• Knowledge of the financial challenges faced by lower income households is strongly preferred. 
• Knowledge of financial services, asset building and/or employer-offered benefits is strongly preferred.  

Commonwealth offers a competitive salary and benefits, commensurate with experience and  skills. 

Our staff are the key to our success. The annual salary range for this full time, temporary position is $81,000, and Commonwealth offers a generous compensation and benefits package that includes a focus on a wide range of professional development opportunities and: 

• Medical insurance (premium-free for employees)
• Dental & Vision insurance 
• Short- and long-term disability insurance 
• Life insurance 
• Health Savings Account with employer contributions 
• Retirement matching contributions 
• Generous paid vacation leave, sick leave, and 16 paid holidays 
• Summer Friday schedule between June & Labor Day

Salary : $81,000