The Director of Fellow Support will serve as the primary contact for FUSE Executive Fellows in the field as well as support alumni engagement, strategic projects and collaborations with select partners.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATION: Applicants must have completed at least one year as a FUSE Executive Fellow.

LOCATION: FUSE is a fully virtual organization and this position can be based remotely from anywhere in the United States.

ANNUAL SALARY: $132,000

ABOUT FUSE

FUSE is a national nonprofit working to expand social and economic opportunities, particularly for communities that have been limited by a history of systemic and institutionalized racism. FUSE partners with local governments and communities to more effectively address pressing challenges by placing experienced professionals within city and county agencies. These FUSE Executive Fellows lead strategic projects designed to advance racial equity and accelerate systems change. Since 2012, FUSE has led over 250 projects in 40 governments across 20 states, impacting the lives of 25 million people.

When designing each fellowship project, FUSE works closely with government partners and local stakeholders to define a scope of work that will achieve substantive progress toward regional priorities. FUSE then conducts an individualized search for each project to ensure that the selected candidate has at least 15 years of professional experience, the required competencies for the role, and deep connections to the communities being served. They are data-driven and results-oriented and able to effectively manage complex projects by developing actionable roadmaps and monitoring progress to completion.

Executive Fellows are hired as FUSE employees and embedded in government agencies for at least one year of full-time work. Throughout their fellowships, they receive training, coaching, and professional support from FUSE to help achieve their project goals. FUSE Executive Fellows bring diverse perspectives and new approaches to their projects. They build strong relationships with diverse arrays of stakeholders, foster alignment within and across various layers of government, and build partnerships between governments and communities.

For more information: https://www.fuse.org/

POSITION OVERVIEW

FUSE’s Program team provides support to Executive Fellows and their government hosts throughout the fellowship year to help maximize the impact of their work in advancing racial equity and systems

change. The Program team also continues to provide resources to FUSE alumni as they continue in their careers after the fellowship. This work includes among other things regular project check-ins with current fellows and government hosts to assess progress and offer tools for support; organizing and facilitating a wide variety of training and learning opportunities for fellows and alums (e.g., fellow orientation, regular webinars, executive coaching); and convening fellows, alums and government hosts for knowledge exchange opportunities. Additionally, the Program team is responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of the fellowship program overall as well as the impact of each project in order to better leverage the learnings and successes of fellows’ work across projects and cities. Each year FUSE launches about 60 new projects spread over three cohorts (spring, summer, fall).

To accomplish this work, the Program team, which is led by a Vice President, includes the Director of Fellowships, who oversees the development and execution of training and support for Executive Fellows throughout their fellowship year; the Director of Programs & Evaluation, whose primary responsibility is the assessment of fellowship program effectiveness and measuring the impact resulting from each project; and the Director of Fellow Support, whose responsibilities are described below. The team is completed by a Program Manager, a Senior Associate and an Associate who provide vital support to all of these efforts.

Reporting directly to the Vice President, the Director of Fellow Support will oversee the day-to-day support for Executive Fellows in the field. This will be accomplished by conducting regular one-on-one interactions, connecting fellows to the FUSE network, sharing resources to further the project work and serving as a thought partner for the fellows. The Director will further be responsible for assisting in the development and delivery of alumni services, as well as facilitating collaborations with select partners. Partnering with stakeholders across the organization is key to this position, particularly with the Director of Fellowships and Director Programs and Evaluation.

The Director will be expected to model FUSE’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in every aspect of this work and, as is the expectation of all FUSE staff, to directly engage in the organization’s internal diversity, equity and inclusion work.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES – Specific responsibilities will include, but not be limited to the following:

Fellow Support

  • Serve as the primary FUSE contact for Executive Fellows assigned to government agencies.
  • Conduct regular meetings with fellows to identify needed support on an individual or collective basis, provide necessary resources and serve as a thought partner for the fellow.
  • Support check-in calls with the fellows, their Project Supervisors, and their Executive Sponsors throughout their fellowship year (including but not limited to 90-day, mid-point, and closing calls).
  • Assist fellows with utilizing the FUSE toolkits, DEI training and a variety of frameworks, and support their application through listening tours and project work
  • Participate in the development and execution of fellow orientations, mid-year retreats and ongoing workshops.
  • Assist fellows with the delivery of workshops for their government partners to support the generation of ideas and solutions related to their fellowship project goals.
  • Elevate fellow project successes and learnings by identifying potential stories emerging from fellowship work and sharing them with the Program and Marketing-Communications teams.
  • Facilitate fellows to work directly together as thought partners and resources for each other, leveraging the collective experience in their cohort and the FUSE community using peer-to-peer coaching or collaborative problem-solving sessions.
  • Support the evaluation work of the Program team by ensuring fellows complete impact evaluation requirements such as measuring key performance indicators and developing project impact statements.

Alumni Services

  • Support the development of an overall strategy for alumni services based on data and research of other fellowship program best practices
  • Assist in the coordination and facilitation of alumni services including identification and distribution of professional development tools and resources; and social and professional alumni events such as workshops, communities of practice and knowledge exchanges.
  • Support the collection and maintenance of alumni-related data including contact information, post-fellowship work, individual areas of expertise that could be utilized for current fellows, etc.
  • Direct the production and distribution of the monthly alumni newsletter, as well as other communication tools designed to keep alumni apprised of events and opportunities.

Select Program Collaborations

  • Help establish the protocols and procedures for identifying and managing strategic program collaborations with external organizations to support Fellows and alumni in being as effective as possible in their community-impact focused work during and after the fellowship. Such collaborations may provide access to issue area expertise, best practice sharing with organizations doing similar work, the opportunity to lift up the work of FUSE and the collaborating organization, etc.
  • Manage the relationship with collaborating organizations including developing agreements, regular assessments of effectiveness, and re-setting expectations as needed to maximize the benefit of the collaboration.

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Completed at least one year as a FUSE Executive Fellow.
  • Passion for FUSE’s mission and model; a commitment to advancing racial equity; and a belief in the power of local government, civic innovation, and cross-sector collaboration.
  • Highly-developed emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills, including the ability to establish trust and effective communication with an array of stakeholders.
  • Passion for and experience in mentoring and/or coaching.
  • Strong problem-solving skills and ability to manage conflict.
  • Excellent project management skills, with the ability to develop a vision, drive progress, maintain strong attention to detail, and support others under dynamic conditions.
  • Strong multi-tasker with the capacity to balance competing priorities and keep an array of concurrent projects on target for hitting goals and timelines.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to clearly convey complex topics to multiple audiences through various presentation formats.
  • Ability to work collaboratively on a small team, in a fast-paced environment, and within resource constraints, while always maintaining a focus on the organization’s needs and strategic priorities.
  • Ability to become an integral member of a virtual national team, contributing positively to the advancement of a strong organizational culture.
  • Working knowledge of Salesforce, Microsoft Office Tools, Google, and Asana is a plus.

TO APPLY

Please submit an application and cover letter at https://fuse.org/careers-with-fuse/ by clicking on the associated job description. The cover letter should explain your motivation to join FUSE and how you anticipate leveraging your experience in this role.

FUSE Corps is an equal opportunity employer with a core value of incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion into our work at every level. We strongly encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply for this position.