ProInspire envisions an equitable and just society – free of systemic oppression where all people thrive. We activate leaders at all levels to accelerate equity in their work, within their organizations, and across the social sector. We design and deliver programming, consulting, and resources to support individual leaders, strengthen organizations, and influence and equip the sector. Our goal is for individuals at all levels in the social sector to have the competencies, confidence, and connections to accelerate equity and leadership. ProInspire’s values of equity, authenticity, collaboration, and courage are essential to who we are and what we do.

Founded in 2009 and based in Washington, D.C., ProInspire runs programs in multiple cities across the United States. We partner with leading local, national, and international nonprofits and foundations, including Arabella Advisors, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Communities in Schools, Kauffman Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Share Our Strength, and more. ProInspire’s funders include Annie E. Casey Foundation, American Express, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Kresge Foundation, and Meyer Foundation. Over 4,000 individuals have participated in ProInspire’s open enrollment and custom programs to-date. ProInspire was named by the Chronicle of Philanthropy as one of 7 Nonprofits to Watch in 2015, and as a Top-Rated Nonprofit from 2015 to 2018.

Are you passionate about leadership and racial and social justice within the social sector? Do you want to develop programs that support BIPOC leaders and strengthen organizations in building more diverse, inclusive, and equitable cultures? Do you thrive on managing people, bringing people together and leading change? 

If so, we’re looking for you…

ProInspire is seeking a Chief Program and Learning Officer to play a key role in leading our work to support individuals and organizations with accelerating racial equity through leadership. The Chief Program and Learning Officer will have experience in organizational leadership, launching new programs, confidence advising individuals and organizations in their racial equity change journeys, skill in facilitating senior leaders through challenging conversations, and an understanding of the needs of Black and brown leaders and communities.

As an organization, ProInspire has experienced a lot of change and transformation. We began our internal racial equity journey in 2015, where we built shared language and analysis on the antiquated and often harmful white dominant standards in the workplace that particularly harm people of color. We started to shift our offerings for the sector in 2018 to support our partners with their own learning and alignment around racial equity. Then, in 2021, we grew our team to expand our work and shifted to a co-leadership model. As we approach our 15th anniversary in 2024, we’re continuing to align internally and externally with our racial equity values and contributing to the growing coalition of Pro-Black organizations that center the needs of Black, Indigenous, and people of color in their work.

The Chief Program and Learning Officer role is part of the Executive Team and provides a high level of responsibility and collaboration with the Co-CEOs and COO. 

• Salary: As Chief Program and Learning Officer, the starting salary will be $142,900.00 per year, paid bi-monthly on the 1st and 15th of each month. We are currently completing our bi-annual market analysis on compensation and aim to implement changes for all staff on 10/1/2023.
• Benefits: We provide a robust benefits package with a focus on supporting our team’s well being and doing their jobs well. Benefits and additional cultural practices are described below.
• Travel: Work travel is required for delivering programs, conferences, and meetings; on average, 1-2 trips per month for in-person meetings internally and for engagements externally with our partners. There are also occasional events during non-standard business hours.
• Location: This is a fully remote position; we do not have a physical office space.
• Start Date: Flexible with target start date around October 1, 2023.

Responsibilities for this role include...

Set Vision and Direction: 10%

• Strategic Approach: Work with Co-CEOs to set vision, strategic priorities, and direction for each of the organizational strategies: Individuals, Organizations, and Sector
• Board Relations: Participate in board activities and engage board members or committees
• Resource Mobilization: Establish and provide clarity regarding paths to achieve annual strategic goals and revenue goals 

Organize and Plan: 25%

• Business Development (Earned Revenue and Grant-Funded): Lead and hold accountability for each of the overall strategies and annual program milestones: 
  • Define annual revenue goals and set revenue generation approaches/offerings and identify paths to line of sight
  • Set annual learning agendas based on new project pipeline and team growth areas 
  • Track progress on project goals and set knowledge share cadence (ex: launch, mid-point, and debrief project team conversations) 
• Partnerships: Build partnerships with foundations and nonprofit organizations for new programs, including Fellowship for Liberated Futures and HERE to Listen
• Knowledge Management: Develop policies, processes, and/or procedures to support the learning infrastructure of the organization, including identifying resources as needed in partnership with the COO

Allocate and Track Resources: 10%

• Capacity Planning: Demonstrate prioritization when exploring new areas of growth for ProInspire and shifts to business model; support team members with prioritization 
• Financial Management: Develop budget and revenue goals for program strategies and new work
• Administration: Support Directors in earned revenue business development decisions 

Design and Facilitate Engagements: 35%

• Program Leadership: 
  • Provide strategic leadership to larger projects and own large projects, racial equity cohorts, and communities of practice effectively
  • Serve as lead or co-designer and facilitator on specific projects, typically innovation areas (including the Fellowship for Liberated Futures and HERE to Listen)
  • Implement programs and services, including: design arcs of learning, facilitate trainings, create deliverables (e.g. presentations, workbooks, etc.), provide coaching and ongoing support to clients around their racial equity learning and change processes
  • Support Directors with aligning projects to goals, advising partners, or writing proposals
  • Develop the approach and scaling model for the external programs, such as the Fellowship for Liberated Futures 
  • Develop and codify programmatic approaches and create systems to organize and update core content and materials for programs
• Strategy and Project Alignment: 
  • Guide strategic priorities to achieve overall organizational goals; Ensure alignment between projects and organizational strategies 
  • Hold accountability for specific programmatic, team, and revenue goals
  • Partner with Directors in business development discussions for earned revenue and foundation-supported projects
• Thought Leadership: Represent the organization at presentations and convenings; Write op-eds, blog posts, messages about the organization’s work to key stakeholders

Develop Self and Others: 20%

• Executive Team Partnership: Work closely with Co-CEOs and COO in developing new ways of working that embodies racial equity values and shared leadership
• People Management: Serve as "equity advocate and career manager" for Program Directors, including: conduct regular check-ins, review work, provide coaching/feedback, serve as Executive Lead on projects as needed
• Organizational Culture and Learning: Create an arc of learning and meeting cadence for the internal team to build culture and connect learning to organizational growth, including weekly team meetings and quarterly retreats

What we're looking for in this role includes...

Set Vision and Direction:

• You are aligned with our evolving vision and excited to lead our transformation as a pro-Black organization
• You have served in an executive role at a nonprofit or capacity builder and understand the complexities of org leadership
• You bring field knowledge and relationships
• You understand business models for ProInspire’s work in the social sector

Organize and Plan:

• You are confident in building relationships with nonprofits and foundations to generate revenue 
• You have skills to verbally communicate with groups, including making presentations to senior leaders - in-person and virtually
• You have skills around written comms, including writing articles, presentations, and proposals
• You have an entrepreneurial spirit and desire to expand our impact

Allocate and Track Resources:

• You understand budgeting, forecasting, and tracking resources
• You have experience evaluating and proposing business model solutions
• You are willing to explore new ways of being that build a sustainable workplace and sustainable resourcing
• You are motivated to build new processes to strengthen organizational infrastructure

Design and Facilitate Engagements:

• You are a builder and have experience launching new programs, including curriculum design
• You have facilitated groups with navigating challenging conversations
• You have experience advising individuals and organizations in their racial equity change work
• You authentically dive into work about the role that identity and race plays inside organizations, and are able to speak from your lived experience

Develop Self and Others:

• You are able to manage multiple priorities and support others with that
• You are excited to work in an organization that is changing and to support others with navigating change
• You are able to work independently and maintain productivity with colleagues in different locations
• You bring integrity, humility, resilience, and passion for ProInspire’s mission
• You don’t have all the answers, but are willing to figure things out and navigate emergence in the work

Why should you work with us

At ProInspire, we believe that people are the most important asset to delivering our mission and we strive to make ProInspire a great place to work. ProInspire values equity, authenticity, collaboration, and courage. In our benefits and HR policies, this means:

• We prioritize approaches that serve all of us and promote our collective impact, first meeting the needs of staff who experience marginalization or oppression because of their identities and those who have the least access to decision-making power.
• We identify both individual and team-wide solutions, recognizing that we have different needs and providing flexibility and support for each other.
• We share transparently about the opportunities and limitations we face as a small nonprofit organization, engaging each other in the process to shape our approach and priorities.
• We think creatively and with an abundance mindset about how our policies can help us meet our goals, identifying how various solutions can strengthen our culture.

What you will gain from this role

• Impact: You’ll have the opportunity to advance leadership, equity, and inclusion in the social sector and see the impact you have on individuals and organizations through their engagement in our programs.
• Build on Strengths: You will have the opportunity to shape your work and our programs, building on your strengths and your lived experience.
• Learning: You will continuously be learning as you support our partners and through your own professional development.  
• Visibility: You will be responsible for facilitating training, speaking to large groups, and representing the organization with partners.
• Autonomy and Ownership: You will have responsibility for specific programs and services, setting strategic objectives, leading teams, and overseeing project budgets.

Position Details

• Salary: As Chief Program and Learning Officer, the starting salary will be $142,900.00 per year, paid bi-monthly on the 1st and 15th of each month. We are currently completing our bi-annual market analysis on compensation and aim to implement changes for all staff on 10/1/2023.
  • As part of our commitment to equity, we believe in providing employees a fair market rate with support for wellbeing and to do our jobs well.  We also know that salary negotiations reward individuals from dominant demographic groups and further disenfranchise people from marginalized communities. We update our compensation annually and go through tremendous effort to figure out the right salary that is fair and equitable; we don’t negotiate on compensation. Employment with ProInspire is at-will; you may leave or be terminated at any time and for any lawful reason. 
• Benefits: We provide a robust benefits package with a focus on supporting our team’s well being and doing their jobs well. Benefits and additional cultural practices are described below.
• Travel: Work travel is required for delivering programs, conferences, and meetings; on average, 1-2 trips per month for in-person meetings internally and for engagements externally with our partners. There are also occasional events during non-standard business hours.

Be Well and Whole Benefits: All staff members have what they need to take care of themselves, recognizing the wholeness of who we each are, our personal wellbeing, and how that may impact us at work and in our lives outside of work.

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance with an employer contribution of 100% for individual employees and 50% for dependents
• Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, & Long-Term Disability with Employee Assistance Program at no cost to employees
• Parental Leave: 16 weeks of paid leave (inclusive of Short Term Disability benefits) and up to 6 months of total time off which may include unpaid leave, state-specific benefits
• 401k plan with a safe harbor non-elective 3% contribution
• Wellness Fund $100/month or $1,200/year

Do Jobs Well and Grow Benefits: All staff members have what they need to do their jobs well, do their best work, and grow individually as we grow collectively - including accommodations for needs and functional roles and considerations for growth within role, organization, and towards career goals.

• Laptop Reimbursement Fund every 3 years
• Remote Work Technology Stipend: $50/month or $600/year
• Team Workplace Fund: resources to set up a home office, cover office supplies, or to gain access to a local office space (ex: co-working space membership or drop-in)
• Professional Development Fund: $1,000/year
• Participation in Team-Wide Retreats and Learning Sessions & Sector-Wide Conferences: includes team-based and individual learning opportunities

Additional Culture Practices: Note that we are currently reviewing our PTO policy to ensure alignment with values in outcomes and experiences; we will be moving into an updated approach for 2024.

• Unlimited PTO: includes vacation, sick, mental health, family care, etc.
• Org-Wide Holidays & Digital Detox Windows: minimum 20 days that we are “closed” including 10 Holidays and 2 Detox Windows
• Flexible Work Schedules: Includes flexible structure of work week/days & space for learning/collaboration with core hours for meetings and expected 35 hours per week capacity for all employees