Senior Program Manager job in New York

Why Next Street?

Want to work at the intersection of small business, program delivery and impact? Want to work at a mission-driven firm with significant growth opportunities and passionate colleagues?

You have found your place – Next Street is a mission-driven, for-profit firm creating a better future for small business. We have audacious goals and we are looking for team members who can dream big with us. Next Street was founded in 2005 with the belief that small businesses are the drivers of economic and community development and the engines of inclusive growth. This philosophy is at the core of everything that we do. Next Street mobilizes capital, customers, and capabilities to small businesses and entrepreneurs that have been systemically held back. We work with foundations, government, corporations, and CDFIs.

We serve as trusted advisors to some of the country’s most dynamic organizations. We equip our clients with strategies and tools to advance small businesses and deliver a more inclusive US economy.

We are an anti-racist and anti-bias institution. Learn more about our commitment here: https://nextstreet.com/racial-equity/.

We believe Next Street is a special place to work:

• We are a group of critical thinkers and problem solvers. We work hard to get our clients the right answer, because we are successful when our clients create more impact.
• We are motivated by mission. We keep small business at the heart of what we do, and agitate for equity and inclusion, day in and day out.
• We respect and challenge each other. Our teammates come from the best professional services and social sector organizations. We learn from each other constantly.
• We push ourselves to innovate. We must think creatively and expansively to solve tomorrow’s economic and community development challenges.
• We take pride in our work, strive for excellence and work with integrity. This is more than just a job to us.

We believe in a better future for small business. Join Us.

Why this role?

Next Street’s Small Business Programs team provides direct support and high-quality advice to small businesses through innovative trainings, customized programming, and brick-and-mortar small business solutions centers. The Programs team serves over 10,000 small businesses per year and has seen significant demand driven by the impact of the pandemic on small businesses.

We are looking for a passionate and self-motivated Sr. Program Manager to manage, strengthen and scale our portfolio of small business programs. You will have the opportunity to help shape and drive the growth of our practice while significantly increasing the impact we have on small businesses around the country. We will give you ample responsibility from day one to manage projects and deliver programming. Join us and you will get to hone your skills while working alongside an extraordinary team and accelerating your career.

Your work will consist of:

Program Management (70%)

• Work with Head of Small Business Delivery and delivery team to manage the Programs practice, including planning, execution, and assessment
• Design new programs effective at serving small businesses that have been systemically held back and in line with client specifications
• Lead next-gen Programs projects such as emergency relief funds, accelerator development or trainings 
• Lead execution of existing portfolio of Programs projects delivered with large corporate clients and local government partners such as NYC Small Business Solutions (SBS), Cook County (IL) or Hamilton County (OH)
• Cultivate relationships that will help raise awareness of visibility of our programs
• Collect and disseminate program management best practices and make recommendations on ways to improve program performance on a formal and informal basis
• Lead the implementation of improvement initiatives that will help improve the program results and impact

Practice + Firm Management (20%)

• Develop or refine tools needed to manage Programs practice, including developing and maintaining a defined and consistent data collection approach innovate and expand the firm’s IP and offerings helping to ensure products and services remain relevant for clients
• Execute regular Programs practice meetings and other processes
• Communicate client/network and market needs to help Practice Leadership identify and pursue business development opportunities
• Actively contribute content to business development processes including proposals and pricing
• Contribute to firm strategy; help shape and oversee future vision
• Mentor and coach junior team members
• Participate in recruiting efforts, as needed

Business Development (10%)

• Identify new business development opportunities with existing or new clients
• Support business development processes, including participating in pitch meetings and contributing to proposal development

Why you?

• You have a Bachelor’s degree and 8+ years experience in project design and management, reporting, and/or relationship management experience
• You love structure and processes and thinking constantly about how something can be improved
• You thrive in fast-paced environments
• You are passionate about small business and have a drive to support them in an effective and engaging manner
• You like to network and build relationships
• You love being a team player and effective collaborator
• You are looking for opportunities to owns and build something and accelerate your career
• You are motivated by mission and want to spend your days doing fulfilling work
• You are committed to racial and economic justice
• You enjoy working with teams and believe diversity of thinking gets to better answers
• You are willing to challenge and be challenged, regardless of seniority

What we offer:

We want our team members to bring their best, true selves to work every day. We will offer you:

• Competitive salary and benefits – We know you work hard, and we want to reward you for it. We offer competitive salaries and generous benefits package (including 401k and paid parental leave) for mission-driven work.
• Generous paid time off – We want to make sure that you have time to recharge and to pursue your many passions. We give our team members 20 days of paid time off per year plus standard federal holidays.
• Mentorship and Sponsorship – You will have frequent access to our diverse and dynamic senior team, given that we are a small firm. They will be committed to your growth and will invest in mentoring you.
• Career development – We take growth seriously. We want to make sure that you have a plan to get where you want to go long term, whether at Next Street or business or graduate school. We give each team member an annual professional development stipend and provide ample coaching. 
• Low travel model – We do not like to get on a plane every week and we do not want you to either. We travel when we need to every few weeks.
• Flexibility – It is important to us that you can work when and where you work best. We are flexible with employees to accommodate individual schedules and work preferences.
• Social events and office snacks – We admire and value our teammates. We plan social events throughout the year, so that you have to opportunity to connect outside of the office. We also make sure that you have the fuel you need to perform your best every day.  

Next Street is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, disability, or Vietnam era, or other eligible veteran status, or any other protected factor.