Center for Labor and Community- Program Director

Company: University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC)
Location: Santa Cruz
Posted on: March 18, 2023

Job Description:

The Center for Labor and Community invites applications for the Center for Labor and Community Program Director. The center is administratively housed within the Institute for Social Transformation (IST), which supports innovative scholarship, and connects scholars across UC Santa Cruz and partners beyond the University, developing research-based solutions to urgent problems in the world.
The Center for Labor and Community (founded as the Center for Labor Studies in 2007), is dedicated to the study of working people, the labor movement, and the challenges of the rapidly-changing economy as it impacts the communities of California and beyond. Our goals are to connect students, faculty, policy-makers, and labor and community stakeholders, and to collaboratively pursue research, policy analysis, and educational and public programs that support workers and their families, particularly those in low-income communities, immigrant communities, and communities of color on the California Central Coast.
With new funding through the University of California Worker Rights Policy Initiative (WRPI), the center aims, in the next three years, to: expand our capacity for research, policy analysis and public-facing programming, particularly in collaboration with community and labor organizations; support unions and community organizations to conduct their work more strategically by developing curricula, training staff and rank-and file members, and providing technical assistance; and develop the next generation of labor and community organizers, researchers, and leaders among undergraduate and graduate students by connecting them with community and labor organizations, and training and involving them in community-engaged action research.
The center works closely with the 80 labor unions that are members of the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, as well as numerous community organizations working for economic and social justice, such as Santa Cruz Community Action Board, Community Bridges, and California Rural Legal Assistance. In Summer 2023, the center will launch its inaugural , which will train and place UCSC undergraduate students in paid summer internships with labor unions and community organizations.
We expect the center to continue to grow in size and complexity in the coming years and are hiring a program director to help lead research, community and labor collaborations, and trainings (both on and off campus).
The program director is the senior, full-time person working closely with the faculty director in leading the center and managing its dynamic and growing portfolio of research, training, programing, and community collaboration. The program director is responsible for independent development and coordination of all aspects of center operations, which includes the following core areas.
Strategic leadership- Working with the center's faculty director and our Campus/Community Advisory Board, the program director provides strategic leadership in planning and implementing all research and programing at the center. This may include the following areas of responsibility:

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• Collaboratively develop, evaluate and monitor a detailed strategic plan for the center.
  
• Coordinate with the IST, other UCSC Centers, and community and labor partners.
  
• Represent the center at annual conferences, community-sponsored events and working groups.
  
  Research and Programming Support- Working closely with the faculty director and the center's Advisory Board, the program director will help develop and guide the center's research, policy analysis and public-facing programming. This may include the following areas of responsibility:
  
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  • Oversee ongoing center projects and develop new collaborations with labor and community organizations, and other research partnerships that support the mission of the center.
    
  • Support ongoing research and, if qualified, develop new research, which may be in areas of the program director's research interests where they align with the center's research mission.
    
  • Help recruit, communicate with, and manage the center's Advisory Board, which is made up of strategic labor and community partners, as well as affiliated faculty.
    
  • Support programming and training for labor and community leaders in collaboration with the Monterey Bay Labor Council's Leadership academy.
    
  • Oversee and evaluate the annual Labor Summer Program that recruits, trains, and places undergraduates in paid summer internships with local labor and community organizations.
    
    Fundraising- Working with the faculty director, staff researchers, and the IST Managing Director to plan, develop, and initiate strategies for generating resources and/or revenues. This may include the following areas of responsibility:
    
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    • Work with the Office of Research to identify new funding opportunities.
      
    • Work with diverse interdisciplinary collaborations of faculty and research partners, to develop and implement new research projects and proposals, which will include providing content and editorial feedback on draft proposals.
      
    • Communicating with program officers of foundations and public sector funding agencies about research projects and collaborations, and exploring potential funding opportunities.
      
    • Represent the center's mission and research accomplishments to external stakeholders, including potential major donors, and leveraging external relationships to create new opportunities.
      
      Communications- The program director oversees and directs all aspects of the center's communications, from web presence to external relations. This may include the following areas of responsibility:
      
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      • Develop and oversee communication of the center's research accomplishments, to the public, press, foundations, government, and the UCSC community.
        
      • Provide content and editorial feedback on draft policy reports and research translation reports published by the center.
        
      • Work with the Social Science Division's marketing and communication staff on both broad communication strategies and developing specific communication and marketing materials.
        
      • Communicate with community partners about center activities.
        
      • Develop websites and supervise social media outreach and messaging.
        
        Event development and coordination- The program director oversees all center organized and affiliated events. This may include the following areas of responsibility:
        
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        • Work with the faculty director and other UCSC scholars on all aspects of center events, from conceptualization and planning to implementation and evaluation.
          
        • Reach out to external scholars, public intellectuals and labor and community leaders about proposed and planned events.
          
        • Coordinate communication and event planning, working closely with IST, Social Sciences division and UCSC events staff.
          
        • Write publicity materials related to center events.
          
          Research administration and financial management- The program director oversees and further develops the organizational structure for the center's financial and business operations, including the generation, management and reporting of center budgets. This may include the following areas of responsibility:
          
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          • Oversee contract and grant management and work closely with divisional research accountants.
            
          • Ensure effective management of programs supported by contracts and grants affiliated with the center, working closely with faculty and other research staff.
            
            Center Management- The program director is responsible for personnel and program management at the center. This may include the following areas of responsibility:
            
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            • Implement strategic initiatives and policy decisions of the center, oversee project management, recommend timelines and resources needed to achieve strategic goals.
              
            • Supervise and mentor existing staff.
              
            • Hire, supervise, and mentor additional staff and contractors as needed and funding allows, ensure HR needs are met.
              
              We strongly encourage candidates with any of the following qualifications to apply:
              
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              • Advanced degree in the social sciences.
                
              • Broad knowledge of the U.S. and international labor movements.
                
              • Knowledge of racial and economic justice organizations and campaigns.
                
              • Knowledge of popular education and training methodologies and curriculum development.
                
              • Experience with design and management of public programming.
                
              • Ability to work effectively with internal and external partners.
                
              • Excellent presentation and communication skills.
                
              • Strong computer skills.
                
                The hiring unit will not sponsor employment-eligible immigration statuses for this position.
                

Keywords: University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), Santa Cruz , Center for Labor and Community- Program Director, Executive , Santa Cruz, California