Local recruitment: Deputy Director, Programs

DigDeep

Los Angeles, CA, USA 🇺🇸

Home-based/Remote

Position: Deputy Director, Programs

Location: Los Angeles, CA (Hybrid) Preferred; Remote Possible

Employment Type: Salaried, Full-time, Exempt

Compensation Range: $100,000-$140,000/year DOE

Level: Director

Reports To: CPO

Manages: Appalachia Water Project Manager; Colonias Water Project Manager

Supported By: Manager, Finance & Operations; Operations Coordinator; Program Officer, Strategy & Data; Administrative Coordinator, Impact; Project Assistants

Educational Requirements: Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent work experience preferred

Start Date: ASAP

We Are DigDeep

The DigDeep Right to Water Project is the only WaSH (water, sanitation and hygiene) organization serving the 2.2+ million Americans who still don’t have a tap or a toilet at home. 

DigDeep believes access to clean water is a human right. We run several nationally recognized programs that empower communities to build their own water and sanitation systems. We won the 2018 US Water Prize for our Navajo Water Project, which has brought clean, running water to hundreds of Native families across New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. DigDeep launched the Appalachia Water Project in July of 2020, which brings clean, running water into the homes of Appalachia families, starting in southern West Virginia. The project has already brought safe water to hundreds of homes through our innovative hydropanel project and a public-private partnership with the McDowell County Public Service District which is helping families connect to new water lines.  

The Opportunity

Reporting the Chief Program Officer (CPO), the Deputy Director, Programs is responsible for the overall oversight of the day-to-day operations of all the Appalachia Water Project (AWP) and Colonias Water Project (CWP) current and future location sites.  This includes overseeing and assisting in implementing program activities, budgeting, staffing, collaborating, quality controlling (QC) program activities, and coordinating with the local government representatives, external partners, and community members, while maintaining strong communication with DigDeep HQ, as well as regular collaboration with Navajo Water Project (NWP) leaders. The Deputy Director is also responsible for assisting in ensuring compliance with the organization’s policies, regulatory requirements and grant/contract requirements. 

Key Responsibilities

This is what you’ll do once you join the team

Strategy & Implementation

  • Collaborate with the CPO to oversee execution of DigDeep’s work in the AWP and CWP location sites, set annual targets and timelines and identify and maintain partnerships with local governments and other nonprofits.
  • Work closely with the CPO; Executive Director, NWP; and Deputy Director of NWP to support targets, timelines, and work plans for NWP.
  • Identify new Appalachian and Colonias communities needing WASH assistance; develop strategies for serving these communities based on their unique needs.
  • Provide support to program managers to ensure timely and effective implementation of work plans.
  • Support the CPO in identification and roll out of programs in new locations.
  • Collaborate with the Project Engineer/s as they design and implement new water projects from start to finish; monitor work plans and ensure objectives are met in a safe, timely and complete manner.
  • Support timely and efficient implementation of program processes including intake, data collection, and assessments, Cooperative Partnership Agreements, etc.
  • Ensure proper protocols for workplace safety, OSHA training and implementation, etc.
  • Conduct site visits to provide support to program teams.
  • Ensure program compliance with relevant laws as well as all workplace and employee policies. 
  • Plan and guide donors, press and media visits to the field; oversee volunteer work, as needed.
  • Routinely visit all project sites on AWP, CWP, and NWP.

Finance & Development

  • Assist the CPO and program managers in developing the annual AWP and CWP program budgets.
  • Monitor expenditures throughout the year to ensure compliance with budget.
  • Collaborate with the Development team to maximize all revenue and storytelling opportunities, especially those related to major donor cultivation and annual campaigns. 

Partnerships 

  • Provide clear, concise reports on plans, processes, and outcomes to executive  staff; represent DigDeep at relevant conferences and events. 
  • Consult closely and regularly with relevant agencies (ex. IHS, BIA, EPA, etc.); establish and maintain positive political relationships within the community and partner organizations.

Talent Management

  • Serve as the CPO’s designee to perform supervisory duties, as needed; interview applicants for employment; resolve discipline problems and recommend termination as necessary; develop higher levels of expertise in staff by encouraging further education and providing learning opportunities.
  • In partnership with CPO and HR, responsible for headcount forecasting – accounting for attrition and future growth/demand. 
  • Partner with HR to implement professional development and retention programs/opportunities to ensure team members have consistent access to skill development, in order to support employee engagement, and sense of fulfillment.
  • Lead and facilitate regular staff meetings, both virtually and in-person; provide strong day-to-day leadership that bridges high and low communication contexts to ensure all team members and clients are heard and understood.
  • Uphold the unique culture of DigDeep by implementing values-aligned operations and management strategies 
  • Foster an environment that promotes trust and cooperation among staff, community members, elected leaders, partner organizations and the public.

As the organization continues to evolve, duties or tasks may change without impacting the overall Job Description. 

Skills and Qualifications

We want to hear from you if you have:

  • Minimum 7 years in nonprofit sector (focus on social justice, community organizing, international development or environmental justice organizations strongly preferred)
  • Minimum 7 years in program management preferred
  • 5+ years in people management required
  • Proficiency in MS Office Suite, Google Workspace (e.g. Excel and Google Sheets) required
  • Experience with Slack, Airtable, Asana, Expensify, Squarespace, Zoom, and data collection platforms
  • Able to define tangible measures for program evaluation and reporting
  • Experience with budgeting, planning and project management
  • Willingness to travel, including but not limited to: Navajo Nation (AZ/NM/UT), West Virginia, Texas, DigDeep HQ, and additional locations as needed
  • Passionate about the mission and able to promote the philosophy, mission and values to just about anyone
  • Able to focus in the face of pressure, deliver against timelines and not be intimidated by tasks /time limitations

Competencies 

  • Relationship Building Expertise: You establish and maintain relationships with external stakeholders, and organization leadership. You are accepting of recommendations/challenges, and understand that everyone has a voice at DigDeep and can drive company achievement. You collaborate with leadership on strategic directives. You recognize both individual and team accomplishments, ensuring that team members understand the impact of their work (task significance). You consider the needs of other functional areas as equal to your own, always furthers company goals over personal. You foster an environment that promotes team motivation, trust, and cooperation applying conflict management skills. You have a history of building authentic and lasting relationships with colleagues and philanthropists, alike.
  • An Ability to Manage Change: You’re a creative thinker with the ability to innovate and are comfortable in a rapidly evolving organization. You have a strategic orientation, consistently conceptualizing projects to further company goals with consideration to capabilities/resources of your functional area. You predominantly operate to better the organization, while considering external impact. You identify and operationalize opportunities for functional area growth, and ensure progress of directives and recommend remedies if applicable. You forecast how change in your functional area will contribute to overall organizational change and mission success. You translate business vision and strategy into winning tactics and plans to deliver excellent results for the organization. You have excellent creative problem-solving skills with experience in participatory design. You prioritize well and are able to manage important projects, schedules and communications in an orderly fashion.
  • Excellent Communication Skills:  You have exceptional written and verbal communications skills, and always represent yourself and the company well in external facing situations, anticipates interpersonal challenges and adapts to prevent or remedy. You lead discussions with team and senior leaders in ways that support strategic planning and decision-making. You identify underlying differences and resolve conflict openly and empathetically – demonstrating exceptional interpersonal skills. You see yourself as a translator, and you’re trained to interpret multiple needs from different sources to find a common language among various stakeholders.
  • A Tendency Toward Analytical Thinking: You determine criteria for assessing issues and opportunities, and use findings to decide on a strategy to leverage organizational resources effectively. You establish clear goals and priorities needed to assess performance, and identify relationships and linkages between different information sources. You can identify deeper root causes and effects of potential problems and proactively collaborate with leadership on a solution. You like getting things done, are disciplined about time management, and consider yourself a remover of obstacles.
  • A Drive to Foster Innovation: You are innovative and adaptive and believe anything is figure-out-able. You propose and implement your own ideas and suggestions in order to develop and streamline processes. You use understanding and forward-thinking to devise responses and solutions to future situations in your functional area. You encourage and promote exploration of new ideas and creative thinking in self and others. You thrive in a creative, inventive, fast-paced startup environment, with people who are passionate about their work and mission. 

Compensation and Benefits

At DigDeep, we believe that great work requires a great job. We pride ourselves on creating industry-leading employment opportunities for our team across the United States. We’re a supportive environment that values creativity, diversity and quick-thinking. Here’s how we’ll support you in your work:

  • Competitive salary to commensurate with level of experience
  • Generous PTO and sick leave
  • 23 weeks paid Parental Leave
  • Annual Professional Development Stipend
  • Annual Wellbeing Reimbursement
  • Medical, dental, vision insurance, 100% employer paid 
  • One Medical membership 
  • Life insurance, 100% employer paid
  • Work laptop
  • Monthly cell phone allowance
  • Domestic travel 
  • 401k retirement plan, with employer match

Interview Process

Due to the level of the this position, applicants should expect multiple steps in the hiring process.

Candidates who progress through our initial review process will have an opportunity to discuss their employment background and how it aligns with the role, their desire to join our team, and lived experience with a member of the DigDeep hiring team through an initial phone screen. 

Those who advance to subsequent steps of our interview process may be required to participate in up to three rounds of Zoom interviews, as well as a potential thought exercise/scenario assignment. These rounds of interviews will be panel interviews, conducted by up to three DigDeep employees. 

Interested?

When applying please submit a thoughtful cover letter and resume. References should be available upon request. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. No office visits. No calls please. Thank you.

DigDeep has adopted a COVID-19 vaccination policy to safeguard the health of our employees and community at large. Candidates applying to work at DigDeep should be ready to demonstrate proof of receiving a COVID-19 vaccination and booster as a condition of their employment.

In an effort to promote pay equity and transparency, DigDeep does not negotiate compensation outside of posted compensation ranges. 

Please note that DigDeep cannot provide immigration sponsorship for this position.

DigDeep is deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We believe social change happens when people with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and identities come together with a common purpose. DigDeep is built on the principles of equity, transparency and the power of human experience. Your work will improve the daily lives of real people. We believe everybody should have the clean, running water they need to thrive. Join us, and we’ll close the US water gap in our lifetimes.

DigDeep is a certified Great Place to Work®


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