Managing Director of Program Design & Operations
Job Title: Managing Director of Program Design & Operations
Functional Team: Program Team, National Design & Operations
Job Type: Full-Time
FLSA Classification: Exempt
Location: Hybrid in Chicago, Bay Area, Los Angeles, Miami or New York City
Desired Start Date: August 2025
Hiring Manager: Chief Program Officer
Who We Are
COOP is building a diverse movement of upwardly mobile first-generation college grads overcoming underemployment through digital skills and peer connections. We want to reignite our nation’s promise of upward mobility for those who strive to achieve a brighter future for themselves and their families—to ensure the American Dream is a reality for all. We connect un-/underemployed first-gen college graduates to one another—within cohorts and across “generations” of cohorts. By growing their peer professional networks, members of our community achieve upward economic mobility by building the skills and connections they need for the careers they deserve.
Our intervention for underemployed graduates has produced compelling wage outcomes for thousands of first-generation and low-income grads in New York, California, Illinois, and Florida.
Within 12 months of program completion, three-in-four COOP alumni are fully employed.
Learn more about COOP Careers’ here:
Our Workplace
COOP is an alumni-led organization where we bring our authentic selves to work every day. Over 60% of our staff members have been program participants which translates into a workplace that is mission-driven with deep connections to our community. Rooted in the core values that comprise our three pillars of Head, Heart, and Hustle, we approach our work with empathy, curiosity, and a shared sense of purpose.
Our teams span across NYC, Bay Area, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami. We come together virtually each month to create space for collective learning and professional development, and regionally in-person each month to build connections. We approach our shared mission of overcoming underemployment with resourcefulness and optimism while bringing fun to the challenge.
What You Will Do
The Managing Director of Program Design & Operations (MD) will lead a cross-functional team to deliver high-impact, industry-informed programs that prepare underrepresented graduates for upwardly mobile careers. Reporting to Chief Program Officer, this role oversees curriculum design, program operations, and employment services, while also driving innovation through pilot programs aligned with COOP’s strategic priorities.
Managing 3–4 direct reports with oversight of a team of 8-10 staff, the MD will foster a culture of accountability, learning, and data-informed decision making. They will ensure programs are consistently high-quality, scalable, and aligned with industry trends including emerging technologies like generative AI. This is a key leadership role for a systems thinker and strong people manager who excels at aligning strategy, people, and processes to drive results and deepen impact.
Responsibilities
People Management & Team Leadership - 30%
- Provide strategic leadership, coaching, and performance development to a team of three to four direct reports who are people managers, conducting weekly team and individual check-ins, to support successful achievement of individual and department goals
- Champion scalability and sustainability by setting clear standards for operational excellence, efficiency, and cross-regional consistency
- Foster a culture of innovation, learning, and accountability within the Design & Evaluation team
- Foster data-driven culture; consistently pull reports and use data to understand team impact, set goals, measure incremental progress toward goals (tracking and measuring quality indicators), and coach staff toward individual and team goal achievement
Program Design - 25%
- Build excellence in curriculum quality and program design via evaluation and training, industry-informed content, and new track development
- Partner with Director of Program Design to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to create engaging and effective instructional materials for a/synchronous learning within Learning Management System
- Ensure that all instructional materials are aligned with industry standards and best practices in instructional design and adult learning
- Research and integrate AI education and learning into program design to enhance learning outcomes and ensure alignment with industry trends and the evolving job market
- Optimize social capital creation (quantity and quality of relationships) in designing all program experiences
- Design scalable practices to cultivate and utilize alumni leadership and pay-it-forward behaviors
Program Operations & Employment Services - 25%
- Oversee the end-to-end delivery of COOP’s programs, ensuring they meet the needs of Fellows, Alumni, and Captains with high-quality, market-aligned content and resources
- Foster cross-functional collaboration with other functions to align program delivery and employment services with organizational priorities
- Oversee and manage the planning, implementation and assessment of program operations, and champion innovation in program design and operations from program induction to job attainment
- Guide the development and implementation of a program playbook with best practices, policies and procedures that guide and support program team towards greater standardization and alignment
- Oversee and strengthen employment services operations to ensure strategic alignment, maintain data integrity for employment outcomes, and implement tools and systems that support effective alumni engagement tracking and broader organizational impact.
Strategic Pilots - 20%
- Oversee the design, implementation and evaluation of new pilot programs that support COOP’s strategic priorities and are built for scale and long-term scalability. Ensure pilots deliver a high-quality, career-focused cohort experience and incorporate systems to assess alumni readiness for full-time employment.
- Partner with Associate Director of Strategic Pilots to lead the creation of a sustainable and scalable project-based learning program focused on replicable work-based learning simulations, ultimately integrated into program/alumni operations and program design teams
- Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies (especially generative artificial intelligence), and best practices in workforce development and education to inform program innovation
Who We Need
Required:
- 10+ years of relevant work experience in program roles with 4+ years of experience managing a team
- Strong systems thinker with a successful track record designing, implementing, and evaluating pilot programs or scaling initiatives
- Demonstrated success as a people manager skilled at leading high-performing teams, providing coaching and feedback, and managing across levels (up, down, and across) to align stakeholders and drive results
- Proven ability to hold individuals and teams accountable for goals; highly analytical with the ability to use data to identify trends and develop targeted strategies
- Experienced in navigating ambiguity and organizational growth; adept at leading teams through change and aligning work with evolving strategic priorities
- Meticulous attention to detail with exceptional organizational and project management skills; able to manage multiple priorities and drive both short- and long-term projects to completion
- Excellent communicator at a variety of levels; exceptional presentation skills and the ability to manage by influence and coach across a wide range of audiences
- Committed to ongoing learning and development; experienced in delivering feedback, fostering growth, and creating space for reflection and improvement
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in program leadership, instructional design, or workforce development.
Preferred:
- Experience within a nonprofit, education, or social enterprise organization
- Proficient in budget management, including budget development, oversight, and interpreting financial projections to inform program decisions
- Salesforce champion and proficiency in Google Suite and Microsoft Office
- Strategic Thinking - Considers the future of the organization proactively; weighs diverse inputs to inform strategy; identifies opportunities for efficiency, improvement, and innovation
- Develops & Motivates Others - Motivates others and supports their development through strong coaching and mentoring and effective people management and team leadership
- Initiative & Results-Driven - Creates action plans to drive decisions that deliver results and enhance intended impact, accounting for internal and external factors that might affect desired results and adjusting course as needed
- Data Mindset - Understands and analyzes data; uses data to identify insights and implications to make data-driven decisions and inform operations/strategy
- Adaptability & Managing Change - Open to new ideas; responds to, prepares for and embraces change effectively; supports/leads colleagues through change
What We Offer You
COOP Careers believes it is mission-critical to hire, retain, and motivate highly-qualified, passionate, dedicated professionals and is committed to providing a fair and comprehensive compensation package, which includes:
- Base Annual Salary: $135,000 - $150,000 (commensurate with experience)
- A generous and flexible vacation policy, including holidays and office closures for Wellness Weeks the last week of December and first week of July
- 100% employer-funded comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for you (80% employer-funded coverage for dependents)
- Flexible spending account benefits (healthcare, dependent care, and commuter)
- 401(K) retirement plan and 4% employer match - eligibility to participate after one year of service
Hybrid Working Policy
COOP’s hybrid workplace strikes a thoughtful balance between at-home flexibility and in-person chemistry. Regular shared experience in person (structured and spontaneous) will enhance collaboration, strengthen existing relationships, and forge new ones within and across teams. Intentional, casual, and joyful moments together will infuse our culture with the sense of community that makes COOP unique and powerful and will collectively push us toward our shared purpose.
Currently, all COOP team members are working remotely and attending a once-a-month in-person coworking and team-building day at our co-located space in lower Manhattan (Civic Hall, 124 E 14th St, New York, NY 10003) for NYC team members and in San Francisco (Swissnex, San Francisco Pier 17, The Embarcadero Suite 800, San Francisco, CA 94111) for Bay Area team members or a mutually convenient coworking location for our Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami team members.
Residency Policy
All employees must reside within commuting distance (approximately two hours) of a COOP Program site located in the following cities: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Bay Area, and within the states of CA, CT, FL, IL, IN, NJ or NY.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
COOP provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. We seek to build a diverse staff representative of the communities we serve. All qualified applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.