Rochester Procurement Equity Project – Program Manager

 

POSITION TITLE:  Program Manager, Rochester Procurement Equity Project (RPEP)

REPORTS TO:  Vice President, Community Programs and the RPEP Advisory Council

 

ABOUT ROCHESTER AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

Rochester Area Community Foundation, in partnership with generous philanthropists and community partners, works to improve the quality of life for people who live and work in the eight-county region (Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, and Yates counties). The Foundation is focused on two broad goals: creating an equitable community and strengthening our region’s vitality.

 

ABOUT THE ROCHESTER PROCUREMENT EQUITY PROJECT

The Rochester Procurement Equity Project (RPEP) is a new initiative, representing several of the largest employers in the Rochester region (Baldwin Richardson Foods, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Eastman Kodak Co., Regional Transit Service, University of Rochester, University of Rochester Medical Center, and Wegmans Foods Markets.) The mission is to create a platform for its members to explore strategies, share resources, and pursue opportunities to engage, support and increase their spending with Rochester-based minority-owned businesses, especially Black-, Latino-, and Indigenous-owned businesses.

 

POSITION DETAILS

The Program Manager will lead the work by acting as a facilitator between member organizations and as a liaison between local minority-owned businesses and business service organizations, and the procurement representatives. The Program Manager will need to be flexible, work independently, and be capable of embracing a variety of roles, from facilitator to business analyst to project manager to advocate. The Program Manager will work, on a regular basis, with a Purchasing Group comprised of procurement staff from each RPEP member organization, helping them to uncover policy and procedural barriers to inclusion, remove those barriers, identify new purchasing opportunities, and connect them to businesses that can respond to those opportunities and fulfill the need for goods or services. The Program Manager will report to an Advisory Council, the RPEP’s oversight body, comprised of CEOs and other leadership from the member organizations, and to the RACFI board, the Community Foundations’ governing body responsible for initiatives.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES WILL INCLUDE:

The Program Manager will have a series of intersecting responsibilities that serve the needs of RPEP member procurement representatives, local minority-owned businesses, business service organization partners, and the Foundation. These may include:

Purchasing Group Responsibilities

• Plan, prepare and convene regular meetings that provide a platform for knowledge sharing and building expertise. Facilitate meetings and follow up with individual members to provide support for the ongoing efforts and identify new opportunities to fulfill the mission and goals of RPEP.
• Work with individual members outside of group meetings to customize direct-service offerings related to contracting, procurement processes, and evaluate individual opportunities for improvement.
• Coordinate programming with RPEP members, such as supplier pitches, training workshops (e.g. DEI, communications), inclusive contracting workshops, and best practices-sharing sessions to facilitate education and capacity-building.
• Identify supply gaps, or goods/services needed by RPEP members that are not being met by local businesses and determine the feasibility of supporting local minority-owned businesses to fill the identified demand.
• Collaborate with RPEP’s data analytics partner on the collection of member spending data, interpreting the data analysis, reporting results to members, and utilizing the data to set spending goals and strategies with members.

 

Supply Side Responsibilities

• Work to understand challenges facing minority-owned suppliers attempting to partner with RPEP members and connect them to business service organizations or any relevant providers of technical assistance, financing, or other business supports if needed.
• Work with local business service organizations to match minority-owned businesses to contract opportunities and leverage available services to support capacity-building for those businesses that are not yet ready to match with the major employers.
• Partner with business service organizations to design and facilitate special events and initiatives, such as matchmaking or training workshops.
• Oversee the continued development of the RPEP local minority-supplier database to ensure inclusion of locally headquartered minority-owned businesses as they are identified.

 

The Community Foundation’s Programmatic and Administrative Responsibilities

• Manage the Foundation’s Mission Related Investing (MRI) Fund, currently devoted to investing in local BIPOC-owned businesses. Responsibilities include coordinating MRI Oversight Committee meetings and communication, presenting to the Foundation’s Board of Directors for approval on use of funds, implementing and overseeing the reporting of existing and future intermediary partners, interfacing with the impact investing consulting firm, work closely with RACF’s CFO on all contracting and financial aspects of the MRI Fund and having a strong understanding of Rochester’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
• Potentially manage future part-time staff or interns who will assist on data management, research, event planning, or other support tasks, as needed.
• Provide RPEP updates to the Advisory Committee three times per year, including an annual review and report of overall progress of RPEP activities including challenges and opportunities for the initiative. Provide RPEP updates to the RACFI Board in partnership with the VP of Community Programs and CEO.
• Work to ensure overall sustainability of the initiative and the institutionalization of change for each RPEP member organization so that new behaviors eventually become common practice.

 

DESIRED SKILLS, EXPERIENCE, AND REQUIREMENTS

• Interest in and commitment to leveraging corporate and institutional resources and cooperation to build wealth for individuals in the Rochester region and close equity gaps.
• Previous work experience in program design/management, nonprofit management, business development or economic development, and in working to make and communicate a case for change.
• Experience facilitating large groups and consulting and managing individual partner-client relationships.
• Experience with board governance and/or ability to engage institutional, nonprofit, and foundation leadership is strongly preferred.
• Strong organizational and time management skills; entrepreneurial spirit; self-motivated and flexible; ability to complete tasks with minimal oversight and to work independently is a must.
• Experience in local community development and/or working with communities of color in Rochester.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent, or significant experience managing a small business.
• Effective oral communication and interpersonal skills
• Fluency with Microsoft including but not limited to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams
• Basic knowledge of university, hospital, or corporate supply chains and/or local and inclusive procurement practices, and/or exposure to or experience with small businesses are a plus, but not required.
• This position is based in Rochester, NY. While some activities may take place virtually, it is not a remote position. No compensation will be provided for relocation.

 

COMPENSATION: Based on experience, starting salary range for this position begins at $90,000, with flexibility for the right candidate along with the standard Community Foundation benefits package.

 

TO APPLY: Please submit an application, cover letter, and resume through this form. If you have any questions, please reach out to Antonina Simeti (asimeti@u3advisors.com) or Shea O’Neill (soneill@u3advisors.com).

 

In support of the Americans with Disabilities Act, this job description lists only those responsibilities and qualifications deemed essential to the position.

Rochester Area Community Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer and believes in the value of a diverse workforce.