Senior Manager, Program Strategy

PLEASE NOTE: candidates must apply directly via the Scholastic Inc. site; applications submitted via Bamboo HR will not be reviewed.

About the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers 

The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to identify teens with exceptional artistic and literary talent and present their remarkable work to the world through the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. The Awards give students opportunities for recognition, exhibition, publication, and scholarships. You can learn more about the Alliance and the Scholastic Awards on our website. 

About the Role 

The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers seeks a Senior Manager, Program Strategy. Partnering closely with the Deputy Director for Programs & Operations, this role will develop and execute overall programmatic strategies for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards—the largest, longest-running, and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens.  

This role serves as a key leader within the larger Programs and Operations teams, and

is responsible for establishing mission-driven project management roadmaps, developing and maintaining tools and processes necessary for project implementation, and supporting nuanced collaboration across multiple teams to ensure project benchmarks are met. The Senior Manager collaborates closely with senior leadership to help set multi-year goals that are both programmatic and operational, designed to advance the Alliance’s mission, grow the Scholastic Awards, and ensure stability. This goal-setting work includes identifying quantitative metrics and strategically using data to measure performance and inform programmatic decision-making.  

The Senior Manager, Program Strategy directly manages the Program Communications team and works closely alongside the Technology team—the two teams most directly responsible for the public-facing experience of the 100k+ teens, as well as their educators and supporting partner organizations, participating in the annual Scholastic Awards cycle. To this end, the Senior Manager serves as the lead business owner of the Scholastic Awards Portal, (“the Portal”) a bespoke online submission platform. As the lead business owner, the Senior Manager oversees translating programmatic needs to the Technology team and external software developers, and ensuring technology is working in service of the Alliance's mission. Further, the Senior Manager ensures that public facing communications and constituent support systems are clear, consistent, and appropriately scoped to ensure the highest quality experience for all Scholastic Awards participants.  

The Senior Manager will be a strong systems-thinker and solutions-oriented project manager, capable of creating order amidst complexity. They understand the connections among technology, operations, and programmatic success, and are invested in developing quantitative benchmarks to evaluate that success. They are a good listener who is able to understand, internalize, and balance the unique operational needs of various teams and colleagues, while also being comfortable taking on a decision-making role in order to move projects forward and to completion. Their work ensures that a vast community of creative teenagers has a positive and affirming experience when participating in the Scholastic Awards.  

This is a full-time, hybrid position based in New York City; specific in-office/remote schedule is flexible, and can be determined collaboratively with supervisor input. Standard in-person and virtual office hours are 9:30 am – 5:30 pm ET with occasional evening and weekend work. Some travel is required. 

Responsibilities

Leadership (40%)

• Collaborate with the Executive Director, Deputy Director for Programs & Operations, and the Associate Director, Regional Awards to set overall programmatic strategies for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
• Serve as a thought partner, advisor, and collaborator for the entire Programs team, particularly the Regional Awards team and the Adjudications team
• Serve as lead project manager for any project that involves coordination of multiple teams (e.g., finalizing Awards, preparing announcements); create project management systems and timelines that ensure all contributors are working in lockstep
• Partner with Alliance senior leadership and the Senior Technology Product Manager to establish a multi-year technology plan for the Portal; monitor the implementation of the plan and provide feedback and progress reports to senior leadership
• In all interactions with external technology consultants and vendors, lead and serve as the final decision-maker of a cohort of Alliance team members serving as Portal business owners 
• Directly supervise an Associate Manager, Program Communications; indirectly supervise a Constituent Support Assistant
• Serve as an organizational ambassador and spokesperson; propose and give presentations at conferences, conventions, and various Scholastic Awards events 

Strategy (30%)

• With input from the full Programs team, create and track an annual, highly-detailed and multifaceted program calendar; continually evaluate and adjust timing and cadence of activities to best meet program goals
• Become deeply familiar with the structure and intricacies of the Scholastic Awards as well as the parameters of the Portal in order to effectively identify primary business needs as well as friction points in the Portal’s user journeys; recommend solutions to address high-priority needs on an ongoing basis
• During active development phases, clearly and consistently communicate status of the Portal to the larger Alliance team, maintaining a level of mastery that will allow the Senior Manager to support Alliance staff in troubleshooting technical issues by developing/implementing workarounds as needed
• Work closely with the Deputy Director for Programs & Operations to develop the annual programmatic budget, with input from team members
• Establish quantitative benchmarks and tools for measuring programmatic success; develop systems and protocols for data analysis designed to best inform programmatic decision-making, and capture impact and reach of the Scholastic Awards, with an eye towards strategies that move the Alliance towards established equity goals 

Implementation (30%)

• Partner with the Senior Technical Product Manager to understand and monitor the work of the Technology team and external developers to ensure any ongoing development projects are satisfactory and aligned with business needs, including establishing requirements for technology features and testing new development and bug fixes 
• With administrative support from the Operations Coordinator, develop and implement systems and best practices for exporting relevant data from the Portal as required for the operational needs of other colleagues/teams, including exports of teen-submitted work, contact lists, and various reports; whenever possible, establish templated queries, systems, and reports to ensure cross-departmental team members have access to accurate data from a single source of truth
• Work closely with the Associate Manager, Program Communications as well as the larger Design & Publications team to ensure all public-facing materials accurately capture current Scholastic Awards information and activities
• Work closely with the Associate Manager, Program Communications to develop a proactive communications plans (e-blasts, website updates) for Scholastic Awards participants, as well as communications systems designed to field a high volume of constituent inquires (“Contact Us” inquiries)
• Support the Associate Manager, Program Communications in developing a series of informational webinars and other resources designed to support and deepen the participant experience in the annual Scholastic Awards cycle, and beyond
• Collaborate with the Development team to design and implement a series of sponsored virtual art and writing workshops for teens and educators, ensuring they are in line with larger programmatic strategies and goals
• Troubleshoot and escalate constituent support concerns as appropriate 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

• The ability to balance big picture thinking and strategic planning with highly-detailed and well-executed implementation steps 
• A problem-solver with enthusiasm for tackling, untangling, and troubleshooting issues, supported by excellent prioritization skills
• Ability to translate programmatic needs to a technical team, and conversely, to support colleagues possessing various levels of technical fluency in effectively implementing a technical tool
• Fluency with a variety of tools and platforms:  
• Advanced knowledge & experience: Excel  
• Some knowledge & experience: SQL queries & database systems, Microsoft 365, Notion, Google Suite; Salesforce, Tableau
• Enthusiastic about supporting teen artists and writers and advancing the Alliance’s mission
• Applicants should be enthusiastic about working with a small, hardworking team, and possess a patient, flexible, kind, and collaborative spirit 

Experience 

• At least five years' experience in a related role; experience within a non-profit, mission-driven organization is a plus
• Strong project management experience, particularly with projects that span multiple and distinct teams; experience working closely with external consultants and third party vendors is preferred
• Demonstrated experience as a business owner for a technological tool is a plus
• Demonstrated experience with agile product management methodologies (SCRUM and Lean preferred) is a plus
• Experience developing communication plans and strategies for various/distinct audiences  
• Prior experience managing and supporting a team in their current work and professional growth overall 

Research shows that women and people from underrepresented groups often apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We recognize that it is highly unlikely that someone meets 100% of the qualifications for a role. If much of this job description describes you, then please apply for this role.

EEO Statement:

Scholastic is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is clear: there shall be no discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, pregnancy, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, or status as a disabled veteran or Vietnam veteran. Those factors shall not influence the determination of qualifications for a job or other opportunity within the company. Further, all personnel actions (such as compensation, tuition aid, benefits, transfers, promotions, and dismissals, company-sponsored training, social and recreational programs) shall be administered without discrimination.

Candidates must apply directly via the Scholastic Inc. site; applications submitted via Bamboo HR will not be reviewed.