Director, Workforce Intermediary

Apply Description

Background:

Tulsa Innovation Labs LLC (TIL) is a tech-led economic development organization headquartered in Tulsa, OK pioneered by the George Kaiser Family Foundation. The organization is responsible for catalyzing Tulsa’s leadership in advanced industries such as energy tech, advanced air mobility, virtual health, and cyber. We believe that by building a world-class tech hub in America’s heartland, we unlock opportunity for all.

The organization was founded in January 2020 and has already experienced significant momentum including its $38.2M Build Back Better Regional Challenge win and EDA Tech Hubs Designation that includes a $51M implementation award. Now, TIL is emerging from startup-phase and has established itself as a system hub and community leader, requiring additional emphasis on scaling-up operations and organizational capacity.

Position Summary:

The Director of Workforce Intermediary is responsible for mobilizing labor market stakeholders including employers, individual workers, government officials, and education, training, and other service providers in order to improve outcomes for employers and residents.

This position is essential to the success of our Tech Hubs strategy, focusing on educational initiatives from K-12 to career transitions. The ideal candidate is a communicative and collaborative leader, capable of fostering team cohesion and a positive culture across our various stakeholders. The ideal candidate will possess a strong understanding of workforce innovation, with a focus on retention and the effective utilization of public and private funding to implement growth strategies and systems-level change.

Responsibilities / Essential Job Function:

The following functions represent the majority of the duties performed by the position. The description is not meant to be all-inclusive or prevent other duties from being assigned when necessary:

• Build and maintain executive relationships with critical regional employers and workforce partners for the purpose of building an advisory board for the Workforce Intermediary function
• Collaborate with Marketing & Communications team to devise promotional campaigns that increase community awareness of advanced industries and careers therein
• Lead quarterly convenings of industry, education, non-profit, government, and workforce partners quarterly to discuss findings from LMO, data linking project, and industry promotion efforts to drive alignment
• Identify, characterize, and engage resources that provide talent and workforce support
• Build, direct, and manage a workforce intermediary based on best practices from other communities across the nation
• Work collaboratively with partner organizations to develop and deploy the labor market observatory function to provide data inputs to the workforce intermediary’s core body of work
• Develop, build and execute program framework and related application process for a K-12 opportunity fund to drive engagement across the region from K-12 institutions
• Leveraging expertise, provide workforce, education, and industry partners with guidance on alignment and strategies to engage with other Intermediary programs and participants
• Establish and oversee resource metrics related to effectiveness and make recommendations and updates to senior leadership and stakeholders, using tools and support from the operations team
• Iteratively adjust and improve program effectiveness based on evolved information and learnings during implementation of initiatives
• Seek to create and strengthen relationships with our stakeholder communities
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree required; masters’ degree preferred.
• Minimum 10 years relevant work experience in workforce and talent support with a focus on program planning, business operations, and project management
• Demonstrated experience in securing funding for startup and scaleup enterprises and initiatives
• Demonstrated experience in providing and securing support for entrepreneurial initiatives
• Prior success building and developing a team
• Strong analytical and project management skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to manage multiple projects and collaborate with team members
• Experience researching and analyzing innovation ecosystems and emerging tech fields
• Prior effective results designing and managing complex projects involving cross-sector stakeholders
• Strong interest in discourse around energy technology, startups, entrepreneurship, corporate innovation, and venture capital
• Existing network of corporates, startups, and venture funds
• Proven record of success in program development, startup support, and stakeholder management

Competencies, Skills & Abilities:

To be successful in this role, you must have excellent communication, organizational and project management skills. You must also have the ability to actively listen, engage and connect with a diverse group of people, fostering meaningful relationships with our partners. Our team must be nimble and adaptable to the growing and changing needs of our organization and stakeholder groups, creating solutions and improving processes to achieve TIL goals.

• Integrity – honesty and directness in all things, especially with respect to the true status of initiatives and when in need of help and support from teammates and stakeholders.
• Intentionality – the desire to act now, and not later, on tasks and initiatives. Exhibit a hunger for success and results.
• Interest – an attitude of constant learning, curiosity, and humility with respect to what has yet to be understood.
• Interconnectedness – respect and appreciation for teammates and stakeholders: their backgrounds, skills, history, challenges, fears, and expectations that influence how approach shared tasks and relationships.
• Organized – Demonstrated ability to manage complex, sometimes conflicting, objectives and tasks.
• Decisive – Demonstrated ability to act even with incomplete information.
• Collaborative – Demonstrated ability to convene, facilitate, and develop shared understanding.
• Intelligent – Demonstrated ability to understand quickly and exhibit good judgement.
• Communicative – Demonstrated ability to listen to understand, and to share information with others simply and directly.
• Quantitative and qualitative research, analytical skills, and ability look at challenges strategically to formulate creative solutions
• Project management skills, including demonstrated ability to lead complex projects against narrow timelines and various constraints
• Prioritize projects among competing needs
• Confidence in managing multiple tasks with little supervision
• Partnership-building skills, including ability to engage and manage highly-important stakeholders in a professional manner and build diverse coalitions

Physical Requirements:

• Communicate: Frequent phone, in-person, and messaging communication via various platforms. Must be able to exchange information effectively and accurately in all elements of verbal and written communication.
• Operate: Constant operation of computer, phones, and other office productivity tools.
• Willingness and ability to travel between program and related stakeholder locations, and service provider/vendor offices as required.
• Must be able to lift and carry up to 25lbs., for lifting supplies and materials, as needed
• Position continually requires the ability to talk and hear both in person and over the phone, visual acuity; ability to operate equipment, read, and use a keyboard

Hours & Location:

• Position is based in Tulsa within TIL headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
• Typical work hours are Monday – Friday from 8:00 to 5:00, with flexibility required for various events, meetings, and relevant business needs.
• Travel regionally, nationally, and internationally required up to 25% of the time
• Need regular access to a vehicle that can be used for in state travel
• Must maintain a valid passport
• Required to maintain a valid driver’s license and proof of liability and property damage insurance on vehicle