Pacific Community Ventures

Associate Director, Good Jobs Innovation Lab

Position Type: Full Time
Location: Oakland, CA area or Los Angeles, CA area preferred (Hybrid, with periodic in-office and partner meetings)
Reports to: Director of Research
Compensation: $95,000–$115,000, commensurate with experience, plus generous benefits

  • 15 Paid Holidays
  • 20 PTO/SICK
  • Employer paid benefits (dental, medical, vision)
  • 403B Retirement match
  • FSA
  • Annual Performance bonus

Travel: Occasional, including after-hours partner events

About Us
Pacific Community Ventures, PCV, a nonprofit, mission-driven community development lender (CDFI) addressing racial and gender wealth gaps through the power of a Good Job. For the last 25 years PCV has supported small business entrepreneurs and their communities in the fight for economic, racial, and gender justice. We work side-by-side with small business leaders through our unique integrated model: combining impact first Restorative Capital and Pro Bono Business Advising with our Good Jobs Innovation Lab that propels thriving communities with equitable jobs, and uplifts and amplifies their voices and needs through research and policy advocacy. In 2023, 95% of PCV’s loan capital supported women and/or BIPOC-owned businesses, and 77% supported small businesses located in economically distressed areas.

The Role

The Associate Director, Good Jobs Innovation Lab will play a central role in advancing PCV’s ambitious multi-stakeholder research agenda, and amplify the superpowers and capabilities of our growing team. Our commitment to a culture of innovation is punctuated by our Good Jobs Innovation Lab – designed to surface innovations to support our programs and serve as a thought leader to many CDFIs and community practitioners optimizing impact in underestimated communities. Key audiences for our work include small business owners across America, volunteer business experts; corporate partners; leading foundations and impact investors; other CDFIs; and policymakers at the state and local level.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Support the Director of Applied Research in leading PCV’s Good Jobs Innovation Lab team to execute our 5 pillar Research Agenda for investing in entrepreneurs of color and low income/persistent poverty communities for poverty alleviation through the  power of a good quality job with dignity.
  • Independently lead workstreams overseeing the writing, design, and development of PCV knowledge products with a focus on digital storytelling, publications, and data visualization.
  • Employ an array of research design methods to surface insights from PCV’s portfolio and external data resources, coupled with participatory research models to ground insights in community voice and lived experience.
  • Working closely and collaboratively with the Director of Research, build the Lab team’s capacity to conduct leading edge quantitative and qualitative research, and to tell compelling data driven stories empowering stakeholders to take meaningful action supporting systems change.
  • Confidently support the data analytics team in adopting leading edge technology solutions to improve business intelligence optimization and client outcomes.
  • In collaboration with business line leads, support the design and implementation of improved products and services to achieve good job outcomes through restorative investment and quality mentorship/technical assistance experiences provided to small business entrepreneurs.
  • Cultivate and speak with donors, policymakers, and ecosystem partners – primarily other CDFIs and community organizations – to support the Lab’s financial health and continuity.
  • Anchor multi-year funder engagements project managing to define deliverables and maintaining accountability for quality of work products and impact reporting.
  • Represent the PCV Good Jobs Innovation Lab and network in community development collaboratives and working groups – and sense opportunities to highlight PCV’s research to drive impact outcomes in alignment with our Theory of Change.
  • Coach the team to cultivate their voice as thoughtful leaders – amplifying team voices and supporting network engagement. Set a positive example for collaboration and self-starting.

Evidence and our collective experience suggest that women and people of color often don’t apply for jobs if they don’t believe that they possess 100% of the qualifications listed in a job description. Accordingly, below are some of the most important attributes that successful candidates may possess. This list is neither exhaustive nor 100% required:

Qualifications, Skills & Experience

  • 5+ years of relevant professional experience leading applied research.
  • Depth and breadth in research design and applied research methodologies both quantitative and qualitative – with an emphasis on quantitative methods.
  • Experience translating business needs into technical requirements, and technical analysis into data-driven impactful storytelling.
  • Experience managing staff and external partnerships.
  • Strong understanding of the mechanics of modern cloud-based data infrastructure (PCV deploys a tech stack of Snowflake, AWS, Matillion, and Tableau) – and ability to effectively and credibly coach tech-savvy staff through digital transformations, new product development and compelling visualization.
  • Excellent writing and communication skills, as well as cultural competency working inclusively in underestimated communities.
  • A talent for big-picture thinking and managing all the moving parts of a multidisciplinary research program.
  • Highly organized, communicative, and collaborative.
  • Strong project management, communication, and critical thinking skills.
  • A self-starter who is comfortable with ambiguity, asks thoughtful questions, and can translate unclear situations/business requests into clear, actionable next steps.

To Apply

Interested candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States. They should send a résumé and cover letter via e-mail to hr@pcvmail.org with the words “Associate Director-GJIL” in the subject line by February 28, 2025. No phone calls, please. Apply now.

PCV is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants are considered for all roles without regard to race, color, religious creed, sex, national origin, citizenship status, age, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, marital, parental, veteran or military status, unfavorable military discharge, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law. We live our values of openness, transparency, coming from a place of yes, collaboration, and more; and believe that justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion are fundamental to our success. We are especially interested in candidates who have direct experience with the communities we serve.

Computer Software:

  • Microsoft Office to include Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Excel
  • Tableau and Salesforce a plus

Physical and Mental Requirements:

  • Ability to stand for extended periods of time, walk, talk, hear, use hands to finger, grasp, handle or feel, push, pull, reach, crouch, kneel, crawl or bend, and perform repetitive motions of the hands and/or wrists.
  • High mental and visual attention required for planning difficult work methods and sequences to obtain size, shape, or physical qualities of product. AND/OR Extremely close visual attention such as making delicate adjustments to control high speed operations to exercise very precise muscular control.

**Disclaimer:**

All requirements are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities.

  • This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) occupying this position.
  • Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by their supervisor.
  • The company reserves the right to add to or revise an employee’s job duties at any time at its sole discretion.
  • This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at will” employment relationship.