Program Manager, Scaling & Policy

Note: The job duties listed are typical examples of work performed by positions in this job classification and are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary depending on department or program needs without changing the general nature and scope of the job or level of responsibility. Employees may also perform other duties as assigned.

Job Code: 4122

Job Grade: J

The world’s biggest social problems are complex, multi-faceted, and pervasive. No academic center, company, or organization can solve systemic issues – such as economic inequality, inequitable access to health care and education, and racial discrimination – alone. We need leaders with different skills and experiences to come together to generate fresh insights, evidence, and action to make progress.

 Stanford Impact Labs—a major new initiative at Stanford University—invests in mission-driven teams of researchers and practitioners from government, business, nonprofit organizations, and philanthropy. These teams—or impact labs—work together on social problems they choose and where practical progress is possible. With our support, they rapidly develop, test, and scale new solutions to social problems that affect millions of people worldwide. Learn more at our work and impact at https://impact.stanford.edu/.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Stanford Impact Labs is seeking a Program Manager for Scaling & Policy to develop and execute on strategies that help teams of researchers and community partners move along the path from evidence to impact. As we work to put science to use for society, evidence and insights generated through research-practice partnerships can change or expand how we understand and address social problems. Policymakers, practitioners, advocates, and funders are increasingly applying learnings from rigorous evidence to improve the design, implementation, and delivery of policies and programs. 

Reporting to the Director of Innovation and Partnerships, the Program Manager for Scaling & Policy plays a key role in supporting SIL’s grantees in the process of translating evidence and insights generated in partnership into policy and practice at scale. The Program Manager for Scaling & Policy will join Stanford Impact Labs at a unique time of dramatic growth in the organization and therefore represents an exciting opportunity to shape the future of the role that research plays in solving social problems and building a culture of public impact at Stanford and beyond.   

Responsibilities: 

• Strategy: Contribute to defining SIL’s evidence-to-scale strategy by conducting a landscape analysis of evidence and best practice of the features of effective interventions from research to scale in different contexts, including what other organizations are doing to effectively scale insights, tools, policies, and programs. 
  
   
• Advising: Draw on your prior experience scaling evidence-based interventions to serve as a trusted advisor to SIL grantees and their partners on adapting evidence-based interventions to new contexts, piloting and scaling evidence-based interventions, and designing new interventions with scalability in mind from the beginning. SIL is topic agnostic, so, the range of topics you might collaborate on with grantees is endless, but, some examples include: assessing the scalability of an innovation, developing a scale strategy with a government or community partner, and identifying opportunities to improve scalability and cost-effectiveness of delivery models through better use of technology. 

• Tools and resources: Identify, develop, and manage tools and resources to enable researchers, practitioners, and policymakers partners to better use evidence and to support our broader grantee and affiliate network to more effectively put science to use for society (e.g., playbooks, modules, interactions, and iteration on our evidence-to-scale strategy through hands-on practice and testing).
  
   
• Learning and partnership: Ensure that SIL is learning-by-doing as well as learning from other actors focused on catalyzing the scale of evidence-based interventions. Facilitate organizational learning at SIL on evidence use and scale and contribute to SIL’s broader agenda by building a framework that can help research teams learn from each other and break out of the research cycle to build, prototype, and scale innovations that work. Support and develop partnerships with researchers, practitioners, and other organizations around evidence-to-scale-related topics and opportunities. 

Because the Program Manager for Scaling & Policy is a new role, it will be fluid and evolve over time. We are seeking candidates who are excited about, and able to operate effectively within a fluid environment. This role will report to and work closely with Karli Stander, Director of Innovation & Partnerships at Stanford Impact Labs. 

WHO YOU ARE

We are looking for someone with both a passion for and experience relevant to enabling others to use evidence and insights to improve lives and make tractable progress on social problems at scale. 

• The pathway from evidence to impact is your territory. You’ve helped shepherd an impact-oriented program from genesis to implementation, escalate research findings to the level of policy, and/or driving research insights from analysis to a broader stage. Ideally, you have at least two years of experience applying evidence to program or policy design and implementation, and scaling one or more evidence-informed intervention(s); you have either worked for or with governments and collaborated with coalitions of organizations and people. 

You build meaningful, reciprocal, and strategic partnerships. You have demonstrated your interpersonal skill by building relationships within and outside of your organization to achieve results. You have demonstrated your written and oral communication skills. You believe in collaboration and including a diversity of views, experiences, and perspectives. You have demonstrated the ability to engage the right partners to accomplish your goals. 

• You are committed to supporting equitable and sustainable, large-scale interventions to solve complex social problems. You have experience getting things done even in contexts where you lack direct control and are adept at using advice, influence, and support to enable the work of others. 

• You’re committed to impact. You have an understanding of the pathways from evidence to impact and know what roadblocks teams face, because you have faced those roadblocks before, and overcome them to achieve results. 
• You solve problems. You have demonstrated creativity, critical analysis, initiative, judgment and decision-making skills. You are able to overcome obstacles and drive your projects to completion. 
• You are hypothesis- and evidence-driven. You understand the benefits of both quantitative and qualitative insights, and know how to use both kinds of inputs to make decisions. You thrive in navigating situations and workstreams with no ‘one right answer’. You know the benefits and drawbacks of different research practices and how to read between the lines. You are adept at identifying and weighing trade-offs related to time, funding, and other scarce resources. You evaluate your success and failures, and iterate based on what you’ve learned. 
• You are meticulous and organized. You have program management experience, and are detail-oriented. You have demonstrated the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in dynamic environments.
• You thrive in a dynamic, open, and collaborative work environment. You are at home in a start-up environment with the ability to stay focused and nimble in the face of rapid change.  
• You are committed to racial and social justice. You care about social inequities and systems of oppression. You have a demonstrated track record of working effectively across lines of difference. You are committed to centering equity and inclusion in programs and practices.
• You have a Bachelor's degree, and at least 5 years of relevant experience (or a combination of education and experience) in public policy, public administration, international development, government affairs, economics, change management, or a related field and have demonstrated interest in the practical application of rigorous evidence.
• You are an exceptional communicator, able to communicate clearly in writing and orally with diverse audiences. Ideally, you are a skilled facilitator, adept at bringing different groups of stakeholders together, when appropriate. 
• You love learning. You thrive thinking in a cross-sectoral way. You stay up-to-date on the latest thinking on scaling social policies and programs and are motivated to bring the best of that thinking to SIL and its programs, partners, and grantees. You are self-motivated, work hard, and enjoy working in teams. You value and are comfortable receiving feedback, providing feedback, and supporting the growth and development of others.

CORE DUTIES:

• Lead the planning and operations for programs or functions that have significant business, regulatory and/or technical challenges requiring subject matter expertise.
• Evaluate programs or functions, policies and procedures. Identify issues, and develop alternative solutions which may include changes to programs, policies and procedures.
• Review and analyze trends to advise and develop recommendations to achieve or modify the goals of the program or function.
• Represent the program or function within the department, unit or school by committing resources and provide information and/or training. Represent the program or function at the university level and/or to external/internal stakeholders and constituencies.
• Manage and contribute e to the development of outreach strategy that may include relationship development, communications and compliance.
• May develop and/or oversee budgets; manage finances including monitoring, analyzing, forecasting, and reporting.
• Assess training needs and may develop associated training.
• May direct and/or supervise staff.