State Lead New York

Team Summary
Common Ground USA (CG-USA) fosters collaboration across differences to address America’s biggest challenges and build a society where everyone can belong and thrive. As part of Search for Common Ground (Search), with 40 years of global conflict resolution experience, CG-USA transforms conflict into cooperation with programming focused in the United States. At CG-USA, we believe that most Americans want to overcome the divisions we face in our society and that we all have a role to play. Engaging across political and other divides, we see disagreement as an opportunity to transform conflict into cooperation to solve our most pervasive problems. All of our work is rooted in an evidence base where we strengthen the five vital signs of peace: safety, social cohesion, institutional legitimacy, personal agency, and resourcing peace.

The Resilient States Project convenes and empowers broad-based networks of diverse leaders to build resilience and mitigate risks for division and political violence in key states, currently including Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Our networks unite diverse leaders across various sectors, ideologies, and geographies. These networks work together to transform division and risks for conflict within their states and unify their communities.

We are a dynamic, motivated, and diverse team committed to working across divides to generate locally-rooted, responsive, and sustainable solutions to the nation's most challenging issues. Our team represents different geographies, backgrounds and viewpoints, embodying our “Dignity for All” approach from the inside out.

Position Summary
The State Lead will be responsible for engaging diverse leaders in New York state, facilitating and developing programing to support the mitigation of political violence, and working closely with their colleagues in other states and in headquarters to share resources, collaborate on common challenges, and evolve our approach. The ideal candidate is a seasoned leader with: the demonstrated ability to maintain meaningful relationships with a broad swath of community and state actors; a deep commitment to working across differences to build a more peaceful and just America; the ability to adapt and respond to evolving challenges; and a highly collaborative working style.

Core Responsibilities

• Lead state-level program implementation:

• Lead coordination and develop partnerships with diverse leaders across New York State.
• Guide and facilitate the work and engagement of leaders into Resilient States programming, including collaborative action to prevent, defuse and respond to risks for political violence.
• Support delivery of training and tools to state leaders, in close collaboration with CG-USA colleagues.
• Primary representation for CG-USA at state-level, including events and with high-level contacts.
• Infuse organizational values into all work.

• Develop state program in coordination and collaboration with national strategy:

• With national staff, develop programmatic approach for New York state that advances CG-USA’s Resilient States strategy Collaborate closely with HQ and other state colleagues.
• Contribute to overall vision of CG-USA, as a senior member of CG-USA Team.
• Provide inputs to strategy development and planning, including new project design, especially as it relates to any state funding proposals.
• Contribute to CG-USA Objectives and Key Results (OKR) development.

• Lead staffing, operations, and employee development in the state:

• Supervise one or more state-level staff.
• Support staff development, address management issues and ensure adherence to HR policies and processes in state.
• Manage and oversee compliance with local federal and state laws, including regulations governing 501(c)3 organizations and relevant donor regulations.
• Oversee internal operational processes for state activities, including monitoring state spending and associated procurement processes.
• Ensure safety and security protocols are in place and followed.

Contributions

1. Program management, quality, and project design: Ensure program quality, reflection, and learning initiatives take place in coordination with Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) team
2. External engagement: Represent CG-USA at events and public engagements
3. Reporting: Ensure project reporting is completed according to established timeline and requirements by contributing to grant reports, as well as regular funder briefings.
4. Compliance: Monitor internal policy and donor compliance; address serious compliance issues when raised; oversee risk management guidelines in state.
5. Financial management: Review costed work plans and spending; review budget realignments; enforce finance policies and procedures; ensure program-finance team coordination
6. Subaward management: Ensure subawards are managed according to Search and donor policies; oversee partnerships strategies and selection processes; address and problem solve partnership management issues when raised
7. Other duties: Tasks that are broadly in line with the above key contributions as assigned.

Competency Behavior Indicators (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)

1. Works collaboratively with senior managers and colleagues sharing senior expertise; builds teams for successful implementation of projects and programs.
2. Builds teams for successful implementation and supports employees in their efforts to achieve job goals (e.g., by providing resources, removing obstacles, acting as a buffer).
3. Effectively influences vendors, organizations, professional associations, partners, funders, and CG-USA’s network of experts.
4. Makes decisions on existing information when it may not be complete.
5. Adapts to the personal style and preferences of colleagues to assess their needs and preferences; tolerates ambiguity.
6. Articulates CG-USA/function program/project goals and objectives within and external to CG-USA; develops program objectives, indicators, and results; and participates in strategy development for the team.
7. Overcomes obstacles, including personal biases, by following Search's ethics code in complex situations; displayed in activities as ethical principles and values that guide professional interactions.
8. Assesses risks and opportunities in a complex environment and convenes discussions to lead to a favorable outcome.
9. Establishes tools to monitor quality of work and verification of information.
10. Uses analysis (costs, benefits, risks) to manage within a best practices framework.
11. Remain alert and responsive to any safeguarding risks, acquire relevant knowledge and skills that will enable you to promote strong safeguarding practices, understand the safeguarding policy and procedures, and conduct yourself in a manner consistent with the Safeguarding Policy.

Qualifications

• Typically BS/BA with minimum 11 years’ experience.
• A minimum of 2 years experience in a leadership position is highly desired.
• Deep knowledge of and relationships with civil society and community leaders in New York.
• A demonstrated ability to work with partners, leaders and constituencies from different backgrounds and viewpoints.
• Experience in broad-based coalition building is highly desired.
• A commitment to working across difference to build a more peaceful and just America, and a commitment to CG-USA and Search values.
• A highly collaborative working style,

Type and Nature of Contacts

1. Routinely coordinates with colleagues and consultants on-site and in the field and resolves problem situations with tact.
2. Represents, as assigned, selected programs or projects and other organizations, including donors, vendors, and international and local partners.
3. Interacts with the country office and regional staff.

Location
The candidate must be based in the state of New York. Standard work will take place remotely/at a home office, but will require interfacing and attending in-person events in state. Occasional travel to other US locations will be required.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements
Usual office environment conditions; ability to travel in state at least 10%.

Supervisory and Budget Responsibility
Typically manages one or more direct reports and/or consultants and/or manages one or more functional areas.

Search is an equal employment employer whereby we do not engage in practices that discriminate against any person employed or seeking employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information or any other status or characteristic protected under applicable law.