Job description
Organization Overview:
Tens of millions of people in the U.S. live with chronic financial insecurity, inadequate savings, and no meaningful wealth, with deeply harmful consequences for themselves, their children, families, communities, employers, and the economy. Black, Latinx, and women-led households disproportionately experience financial insecurity due in large part to longstanding, systemic racism and gender discrimination. Addressing these issues is critical to Commonwealth's work of making wealth possible for all.
For over two decades, Commonwealth's fundamental purpose has remained to create a stronger and more prosperous society where everyone has financial opportunity. Our work has enabled over 2 million people to save nearly $8 billion on a path to greater financial security and wealth. We are now embarking on a new 4-year strategic plan that seeks greater impact and builds on our systems focus to expand workplace benefits, strengthen partnerships with financial institutions and fintech partners, and explore new frontiers like climate and generative AI.
Commonwealth strengthens the financial opportunity and security of financially vulnerable people by discovering ideas, piloting solutions, and driving innovations to scale. We understand broad change requires market players to act. That's why we take a unique approach to collaborate with consumers, the financial services industry, employers, policymakers, and mission-driven organizations. The solutions we build are grounded in real life, based on our deep understanding of people who are financially vulnerable and how businesses can best serve them.
For more than two decades, we have moved employers to prioritize worker financial security, the financial services industry to bring products to market that better serve financially vulnerable people, and policymakers to pass legislation and take action to enable savings and financial security. To learn more about the organization, please visit buildcommonwealth.org.
Diversity of background and perspective are strengths that we value. We are committed to creating a diverse, dedicated, skilled, and collaborative environment, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Commonwealth recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, veteran status, and other protected statuses.
Position Overview:
Commonwealth is seeking an Innovation Manager to join our team in a full-time role. As an Innovation Manager, you'll play a key role in helping Commonwealth build and scale innovative financial solutions for Americans working on low- to moderate incomes. You will manage and support multiple initiatives as part of an organization and team passionate about making a positive, scalable impact on people's financial lives.
Responsibilities:
Employ strong project management and interpersonal skills to coordinate the work of colleagues and own your work on project teams
Conduct desk research and landscape assessments to support employer partnership recruitment
Manage and support original qualitative and quantitative research, including data analysis, in-depth individual interviews with people living on low- to moderate incomes, focus groups, surveys, and interviews with subject matter experts
Design and prototype solutions to financial challenges
Manage and participate in stakeholder meetings; support the development of high-quality slide presentations and the translation of research findings for diverse audiences
Creatively problem-solve and collaborate with a small, results-oriented team to keep projects on track toward both short-term milestones and long-term strategic objectives
Contribute to written communication that describes the work and promotes dissemination of innovations
Contribute to a positive organizational culture through consistent high energy, an appetite for learning, eagerness to support colleagues, and engaged participation on project teams
Skills and Experience:
Experience conducting or supporting quantitative research and data analysis — comfort working with survey data or other quantitative datasets, drawing out insights, and translating findings for non-technical audiences
Working knowledge of statistical software, with a foundational ability to write and/or edit R scripts
Project management or project support experience. This might look like independently managing projects from start to finish, or supporting them through work like tracking timelines, coordinating across contributors, preparing meeting materials, and building slide decks
Ability to plan, track, and support multiple projects at once with both nimbleness and close attention to detail and timelines
Experience with qualitative research methods, such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, or survey design
Excellent interpersonal communication skills; proven ability to craft persuasive verbal and written communications for different audiences
Ability to build relationships and work with a diverse range of partners. Experience serving as a touchpoint for external partners — for example, helping prepare for and follow up on partner meetings, or supporting ongoing relationships with employers, funders, or industry partners — is helpful
Self-starter with the ability to work both independently and collaboratively as part of a team
Strong results-oriented mindset, with the ability to achieve goals and manage competing timelines
A learning mindset and enthusiasm for understanding the challenges faced by households living on lower and moderate incomes
Ability to develop creative solutions to problems as they arise, and the judgment to know when to call on colleagues or a supervisor for help
Flexible and willing to address project needs as they arise
Models a strong sense of self-accountability and shared responsibility
Passionate about the mission of Commonwealth and driving social change by promoting financial security and opportunity for financially vulnerable people
Familiarity with financial technology innovations, financial inequities, and the unmet needs of low- and moderate-income households is strongly preferred
Compensation and Benefits:
Commonwealth offers a competitive salary and benefits, commensurate with experience and skills.
Our staff are the key to our success. The annual starting salary range for this full-time position is $66,000 - $68,000. Commonwealth also offers a generous compensation and benefits package that includes a focus on a wide range of professional development opportunities, as well as:
Medical insurance
Dental and vision insurance
Short- and long-term disability insurance after one year of employment
Life insurance
Health Savings Account with employer contributions
Retirement matching contributions
Generous paid vacation leave, sick leave, and 17 paid organizational holidays
Summer Friday schedule between June and Labor Day
This position is open immediately. Candidates will be reviewed on a rolling basis. No phone calls.
Commonwealth provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Commonwealth complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
Salary: $66,000 - $70,000 / yearOriginally posted on Himalayas
Who can apply
Eligible countries: United States. Accepted UTC offsets: UTC-10, UTC-9, UTC-8, UTC-7, UTC-6, UTC-5, UTC+14. Review the full description for employer-specific work authorization, residency and schedule requirements.