Program Manager, Healthy Beginnings & Supported Families

Who we are:

United Way for Greater Austin brings our community together to break economic barriers and build opportunity for all. We break the cycle of economic hardships for families and individuals, striving to create a vibrant, thriving community. Recognizing the urgency of addressing economic challenges, we focus on increasing the availability of high-quality early care and education and access to pivotal resources to address financial barriers in Central Texas. Our united front includes dedicated donors, volunteers, corporate and civic partners, staff, and a connected network of neighbors. Together, we leverage data, community alliances, services, and public engagement to transform Central Texas, responding to urgent needs with lasting, impactful solutions.

Who we want:

The Program Manager, Healthy Beginnings & Supported Families, plays a key role in advancing United Way for Greater Austin's vision that all children enter kindergarten ready to learn and thrive. Through the Supported Families and Healthy Beginnings portfolio, this position helps strengthen systems of support for families by overseeing investments in home visiting, parent education, and other evidence-based strategies that promote healthy child development and family well-being.

As a community builder, grant manager, and strategic partner, the Program Manager oversees complex state-funded grants exceeding $1 million annually, supports funded organizations in achieving program goals, and works collaboratively with partners to maximize impact for children and families across Travis County.

Who you are:

• Drives results: Has a solid bottom-line orientation. Persists in accomplishing objectives despite obstacles and setbacks. Has a track record of exceeding goals successfully. Pushes self and helps others achieve results.
• Cultivates innovation: Comes up with valuable ideas that are new, better, or unique. Introduces new ways of looking at problems. Can take a creative picture and put it into practice. Encourages diverse thinking to promote and nurture innovation.
• Interpersonal savvy: Relates comfortably with people across levels, functions, culture, and geography. Acts with diplomacy and tact. Builds rapport in an open, friendly, and accepting way. Builds constructive relationships with people both similar and different to themselves.
• Decision quality: Makes sound decisions, even without complete information. Relying on a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgment when making decisions. Considers all relevant factors and uses appropriate decision-making criteria and principles. Recognizes when a quick 80% solution will suffice.
• Communicates effectively: Effective in various communication settings: one-on-one, small and large groups, or among diverse styles and position levels. Attentively listens to others. Adjusts to fit the audience and the message. Provides timely and helpful information to others across the organization. Encourages the open expression of diverse ideas and opinions.
• Manages conflict: Steps up to conflicts, seeing them as opportunities. Works out tough agreements and settles disputes equitably. Facilitates breakthroughs by integrating diverse views and finding common ground or acceptable alternatives. Determines differences in productive ways with minimum noise.
• Resilient: Is confident under pressure. Handles and manages crises effectively. Maintains a positive attitude despite adversity. Bounces back from setbacks. Grows from hardships and negative experiences.
• Manages ambiguity: Deals comfortably with the uncertainty of change. Effectively handles risk. Can decide and act without the total picture. Calm and productive, even when things are up in the air. Deals constructively with problems that do not have clear solutions or outcomes.

What you’ll do:

• Serve as a connector across organizations, actively identifying and fostering new partnerships that advance priorities and increase impact for children and families.
• Provide support to grant-funded partners by providing ongoing guidance on evidence-based model fidelity, regulatory requirements, reporting expectations, and program implementation challenges.
• Lead partner meetings from start to finish, including developing agendas, facilitating discussions, documenting decisions, and following up on next steps to advance shared priorities and maintain partner accountability.
• Develop and maintain budget tracking systems and monitor expenditures across the Supported Families and Healthy Beginnings portfolio, ensuring spending aligns with approved budgets, grant requirements, and program goals.
• Partner with finance and program staff to prepare budget revisions, allocate resources effectively, and support financial decision-making.
• Coordinate the collection of programmatic, performance, and outcome data from multiple sources, including internal staff and external partners.
• Prepare comprehensive funder reports, including narratives that communicate program impact and provide context for unmet targets, implementation challenges, and corrective action plans.
• Utilize data as the foundation for program planning, implementation, and continuous quality improvement, working collaboratively with the Data Manager to translate findings into actionable solutions.
• Identify and implement innovative strategies and processes that maximize the impact of available funding, strengthen program outcomes, and expand services to children and families.
• May provide direct supervision and oversight of assigned staff, interns, and/or contractors as needed.
• Join other strong leaders to advance United Way’s mission of breaking the cycle of poverty.

What you’ll bring:

• Bachelor’s Degree required. Master’s Degree preferred.
• Minimum 2 years’ experience in a non-profit or social service agency, preferably with grant-funded projects and management responsibility.
• Experience developing and managing contracts, agreements, or scopes of work with external partners.
• Experience managing multiple funding streams and budget priorities.
• Ability to multi-task and prioritize in a dynamic work environment.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to work with minimal supervision.
• Ability to develop effective work plans, organize details, set priorities, and meet deadlines.
• An ability to work in a cross-functional, fast-paced work environment.
• Proficiency with spreadsheets, databases, word processing, email, and the Microsoft Office Suite.
• Interest in and commitment to United Way’s mission.

What you’ll receive:

• Dynamic and rewarding work environment
• Competitive Compensation
• Hybrid Work Option
• Employer 403(b) Matching
• Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance (for employees)
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Paid Parental Leave
• FMLA
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Notice: The job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. Management has the right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities at any time. United Way for Greater Austin is an “at-will” employer.