Innovation Manager

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.