Code for America believes government can work for the people, by the people, in the digital age, and that government at all levels can and should work well for all people. For more than a decade, we’ve worked to show that with the mindful use of technology, we can break down barriers, meet community needs, and find real solutions.

Our employees and active community of volunteers build and transform government and community tools and services, making them so good they inspire change. We merge the best parts of technology, nonprofit, and government to help support the people who need it most. With a focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and deep empathy for partners in government and community organizations and the people that our partners serve, we’re building a movement of motivated change agents driven by meaningful results and lasting impact. At Code for America, you contribute to exciting work while learning and developing in a supportive and flexible environment. Our compensation and benefits are holistic and thoughtfully curated to represent our employees and our mission. Help us drive real generational change that lasts.

Code for America is looking for a talented Senior Program Director who will be responsible for leading our Tax Benefits portfolio. The Senior Program Director is critical to providing structure to new opportunities as they evolve, by taking calculated risks and navigating ambiguity – while engaging government partners to do the same – by staying laser-focused on delivering tangible results and measurable impact that matters to real people. The Senior Director will ensure that the portfolio has the processes, resources, and internal team configurations to grow the Tax Benefits impact. The Senior Program Director will work across departments and disciplines – including program, policy, product, research, design, engineering, development, revenue, finance, and communications – to evaluate and iterate upon organizational processes and team structures that enable team maturity during growth.

Code for America reached a voluntary recognition agreement with Code for America Workers United, affiliated with OPEIU (Office Professional Employees International Union, Local 1010), effective on October 22, 2021. We are currently engaged in negotiations towards our first collective bargaining agreement.

About the Role:

The vision for Code for America’s Tax Benefits Program is of a nation where tax filing is free and mostly automatic, ensuring that everyone who is eligible receives the tax benefits they’ve earned. ‘Free’ because the current system, led by for-profit tax filing companies, often forces people who are least able to afford it to pay to access their tax credits, and ‘mostly automatic’ because the more automatic and streamlined a service is, the more likely we are to reach everyone, equitably. Filing your taxes should be as easy as the services we’re accustomed to in the private sector, and it’s past time that 21st century conveniences are equitably distributed to low and no-income taxpayers.

The Senior Program Director, Tax Benefits will drive the program portfolio’s goals and strategy, own the financial management, play a significant role in fundraising, form and foster strategic partnerships with government agencies and non-profit organizations, and collaborate cross-functionally with our cross-disciplinary digital teams to ensure outstanding execution across the program, including directly supervising program management staff on the Tax Benefits team.

As the Senior Program Director for the Tax Benefits team, you’ll bring knowledge about the U.S. tax system including federal and state operations and policy; a bold vision for Code for America’s digital service delivery and partnerships to provide leverage for systems change in the tax benefits space; and humility and eagerness to provide leadership to cross-functional, independent teams. The Senior Program Director is savvy with government relations and working within government agencies and systems, while also working shoulder-to-shoulder within Code for America’s digital teams, with an ability to fluidly move between different organizational cultures. 

Our approach to the Tax Benefits portfolio is three-pronged:

• Provide direct services that streamline access to flexible cash for families through mobile-friendly, multi-language digital tax assistance tools like GetYourRefund.org and GetCTC.org.
• Show what’s possible to government partners, including the IRS, VITA, and state revenue departments, through experimentation and innovation that promotes equitable modernization and expands the belief of what government is capable of. 
• Leverage data, research, and partnerships to influence the public and policymakers to reduce administrative barriers, expand access to critical tax credits, and implement reforms to close the tax benefits gap and ensure every eligible family can access the tax credits they’ve earned.

The Senior Program Director will provide leadership with perseverance, creativity, humility, and eagerness to cross-functional, digital teams aimed at bold and transformational impact goals. This role will report to the Chief Program Officer and may be Remote or based in San Francisco. This role can include travel up to 25% of the time.

In this position you will: 

• Tax Benefits Program Strategy and Leadership 30%Lead the strategy and execution of the Tax Benefits program portfolio vision, incorporating Code for America’s values and principles to maximize impact in the tax benefits space.
• Effectively nurture and grow coalitions and advocacy for Tax Benefits goals with a well-developed practice of assessing the impacts of policies, services, and decisions on vulnerable communities.
• Program Staff Management and Development 20%Manage, coach, and grow a team of program management staff, including direct supervision of 3-5 program directors and managers.
• Hire, supervise, and discipline Tax Benefits program management staff as needed for program capacity
• Enable professional development opportunities to grow the impact and skills of the program staff
• Program Partnerships and Sustainability 25%In collaboration with Marketing and Communications, refine a strong program narrative that advances our agenda-shaping goals, and amplify it through writing, disseminating, and speaking at conferences, events, and in the field with partners.
• Develop and grow a sustainable financial model for the program, including philanthropic and mission-aligned government revenue, by developing relationships, proposals, and contract agreements for mission-aligned funding, in collaboration with the Development team. 
• Develop, maintain, and grow trusted relationships with government leaders, including state agency leaders, federal administrators, and policymakers that can scale the impact of our Tax Benefits portfolio
• Cross-Functional Organizational Leadership 20%Provide leadership and collaboration to the Tax Benefits Portfolio Leadership team, which leads strategy, operations, partnerships, and product/tech leadership to support the future direction of product development, iterative planning cycles, and program and policy impact.
• Drive superb execution, anticipating staffing needs, risks, and the need for frequent and clear communication internally and with stakeholders.
• Participate in Code for America’s Cross-Organizational Leadership Team (XLT) to tightly coordinate feedback, strategic alignment, and communication across the organization.
• Other duties as assigned 5%

About you: 

• At least 8 years of relevant experience with increasing responsibility and at least 3 years as a people manager.
• Politically astute and able to find common ground and build relationships across political differences, especially within a government environment.
• Effective coalition builder and advocate with a well-developed practice of assessing the impacts of policies, services, and decisions on vulnerable communities.
• Experience with government service delivery and commitment to the Code for America mission and vision for the role of user-centered technology in government.
• Proven track record of leading cross-disciplinary teams to execution, with process management skills including project scoping and a commitment to responsive follow-through.
• Servant leader who seeks to serve instead of command shows humility instead of brandishing authority and looks to enhance teamwork to unlock potential, creativity and purpose.
• Ability to work collaboratively across disciplines with program, product, engineering, service and product design, research, marketing, and development staff.
• Natural collaborator who values honesty and openness, builds relationships, seeks input, does not shy away from conflict, and facilitates decision-making.
• Able to prioritize a direction, follow through, and make corrections to stay on track.
• Cares about end users and real people, and goes the extra mile to “get it right” for them rather than simply hitting performance goals. 
• Comfortable working in an environment that requires team building and mentoring.

What you’ll get

Salary: 

Code for America’s salary bands are transparent internally as a part of our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are happy to extend this transparency during the recruitment process. As a part of our equitable hiring practices, we aim to target the midpoint of the 2nd quartile of the range for all new hires. 

The targets for this role are dependent on the market/geographic location. The targets for this role range from $139,953 to $171,325. 

Benefits and perks: 

• Values: Leadership and teammates who value Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity (DE&I)
• A collaborative, cross-functional, hardworking and fun environment
• Medical & Retirement: Full benefits package with 100% coverage towards select medical, dental and vision plans and contributes 80% of the cost towards dependent and family coverage
• 401k plan with matching funds up to 3%
• Professional development: Bi-annual 360 review process alongside compensation reviews
• $1000 annual (per calendar year) stipend towards professional development 
• A manager and org-wide structure that supports and enables professional development
• Flexible Time: Unlimited Paid Time Off policy
• Flexible working hours- we aim to hold all internal meetings between 10 AM – 3 PM PT
• Code for America employees may work remotely across the USCode for America employees may not work remotely outside of the US at anytime during their employment
• Employee enablement support: $200 stipend in first paycheck for remote environment setup
• Additional equipment reimbursement of up to $500 for remote enablement 
• Cell phone and/or internet reimbursement of up to $50 per month 

Equal Employment Opportunity: 

Code for America values a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace and strongly encourages women, people of color, LGBTQ+ folks, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, and veterans to apply. Code for America is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, citizenship status, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws.