Program Manager, Business and Community Services

Central Washington University is recruiting a Program Manager, Business and Community Services to join our University Relations team in Ellensburg, Washington. This role is an important member of our team as they develop and maintain relationships for the University as a steward of place. This project position is a campus-based and community-based position, which means you get to see the lives you are impacting. We're offering a salary, depending on experience, from $64,974 - $74,720 annually plus the awesome CWU benefits.

Who we are:

We are a team of individuals committed to Changing Students' Lives. No matter what job, each of us plays a part in supporting and empowering our students to fulfill their dreams.

Working in higher education provides career growth and career choice. Think of a university campus like a mini city, operating across 380 acres. You'll find diverse academics, libraries, athletics and sporting events, full service and quick serve dining, conferences and events from small to large, recreation centers, housing, health services, police and public safety for the campus population of ~10,000 students.

Central Washington University has been named a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Top Producing Institution for the 2022-2023 academic year. In addition, for the seventh time in eight years, CWU is a recipient of the prestigious Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. Come join us on our journey to encourage, inspire, and create spaces where all identities thrive on campus.

Tour our campus in Ellensburg here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjdhOegDa9A

What we offer:

Our investment in you begins the day you join our team, a healthy and successful future for you is important to us. We offer medical, dental, life and disability insurance, retirement and optional savings plans, tuition assistance for you and your dependents, discounts across town, an employee assistance program for individualized counseling, and a wellness incentive program. Learn more: Benefits, Perks, and Leave.

The Role:

The Program Manager role at Central Washington University's Business and Community Services (BCS) unit is an essential bridge for fostering outreach-based, demand-driven community initiatives and relationships. This position will develop and implement a strategic plan outlining short-term and long-term goals, objectives, and discovery-driven action plans. The Program Manager will collaborate with outside organizations to develop and maintain strong relationships and services-based revenue sources and will assess and analyze programs and services to ensure alignment with stated goals and objectives including data analysis and programmatic adjustments. This position requires exceptional listening and communication skills, self-awareness and emotional intelligence, a strong capacity for strategic thinking, an ecosystem orientation, and a commitment to community-centered values. The Program Manager will play a pivotal role in ensuring that CWU BCS develops, maintains, and enhances its reputation as a "steward of place" through effective relationship building, community engagement, and project management. The BCS mindset is to work ourselves out of a job and find another, so we are constantly advancing in relevant scope and scale as the region advances. All employees are expected to support CWU's commitment to diversity and to bring and support inclusion into the university environment.

Business and Community Development, Integration Projects and Program Management
- Coordinate and bring together community and regional entities, both independently and in collaboration with BCS team members, to develop and implement projects and programs.
- Ecosystem mapping: develop, maintain, and share within BCS teams, an ecosystem maps which provide understanding of the assets, resources, and collaborations within and across community entities.
- Participate in projects across the spectrum of BCS offerings, including but not limited to: standard and custom economic analysis and reporting, training and workshop activities, and development and execution of larger contractual programs within and across communities such as EDA/CEDS development.
- Periodic (weekly/monthly/quarterly) activity and opportunity reporting, including written reports, presentations using Word, PowerPoint, Excel and other tools.
- Evaluate projects and programs to assess effectiveness and identify opportunities for improvement.
- Seek opportunities to effectively engage BCS subject matter experts in development and delivery of services through regular professional conversations, teamwork, and willingness to discover and explore novel approaches with tenacity and humility.
- Develops and maintains project pipelines for assigned areas or activity types, including revenue-based contract activities, non-revenue-based services, and potential project development activities.
- Oversee strategic projects that align with community goals, ensuring outcomes meet designated success metrics and with appropriate sensitivity to budget and schedule.
- Utilize data analysis, community engagement, strategic planning, and project management skills to achieve results, with a focus on community success.
- Demonstrate creativity and urgency in project execution, balancing qualitative and quantitative tools and data in partnership with expert teams and student employees.
- Support CWU's commitment to diversity and inclusivity through all interactions and project initiatives.

Regional Presence, CWU Brand Ambassador
- Develop and maintain long-term relationships founded in trust alongside an understanding of the communities, industries, networks, challenges or gaps across region and within assigned areas.
- Act as a liaison between communities/industries and the BCS team, ensuring effective communication and representation of interests in both directions.
- Leverage tools and processes of BCS and broader University toward community-envisioned opportunities and futures.
- Participate regularly in regional and statewide partnering, networking and visioning activities.
- Regular communication and reporting of regional context.
- Consistently represent the CWU brand as "steward of place," and the BCS mantra of "showing up and being small," with a focus on deep respect for community self-determined futures.
- Identify and pursue opportunities to share CWU values and strategy, while actively gathering information to inform BCS and enhance CWU's strategic decisions across all operations and relationships.
- Consistently demonstrate deep respect for regional, state, federal, and industry partners, serving as a supportive collaborator rather than a replacement.
- Proactively share CWU expertise to foster partner growth and development, aiming for their self-sufficiency - an approach which allows BCS to create more advanced, large-scale offerings.
- Leverage BCS tools as a core logic for leading and representing with purpose, not through authority, but to inspire others toward visioning of greater opportunities, and toward agency and self-determination.
- Engage with community leaders, University staff, and industry partners with agility and a shared sense of purpose.
- Support and enhance existing community structures and initiatives, recognizing and leveraging local resources and programs.
- Facilitate and convene groups with differing perspectives to foster collaboration and consensus; identify gaps, applicable resources, and forward planning.
- Develop and maintain positive, opportunity-focused cultures through adaptive engagement with internal and external teams.

Team Leadership, Management, and Supervision
- Lead team members and other participants at project level and across programs as required by BCS leadership. Understand and apply concepts of "Manage process, lead people," and the differences between these ideas.
- Adjust leadership style as needed to achieve results.
- Recognize value of and promote diverse workforce. Encourage and value diverse perspectives, creativity and teamwork.
- Inspire through leadership and use management principles to ensure process health and peer accountability.
- Show respect for others at all levels of organizations and, where appropriate, work through individual performance issues privately and with CWU values.
- Represent CWU by consistently applying its Vision, Mission, Values, and Strategy to BCS work. Actively seek opportunities to discuss and refine tools and approaches to advance CWU's goals.
- Assist in recruiting, training, and supervising student employees, fostering their professional growth and effective contribution to projects.
- Clearly define performance expectations, ensure accountability, and provide ongoing informal feedback, coaching, and mentoring.
- Ensure that student employees have necessary resources.
- Schedule employee work hours/shifts; monitor hours worked; approve payable time and absence requests.
- Recognize value of and promote a diverse workforce. Value and encourage diverse perspectives, creativity, and teamwork.

- Perform other duties as assigned.

• Bachelor's degree in business, public administration, rural / regional economic development, or a related field.
• Professional experience in small and medium business development with P&L responsibility.
• Demonstrated understanding of stakeholder factors across government, non-profit, industry, and community sectors.
• Proven project management experience with a track record of discovery-driven adaptive outcomes.
• Excellent facilitation and group convening skills, with the ability to engage and align diverse stakeholders toward opportunities across competing interests.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with a focus on active listening and adaptive leadership.
• Flexibility in work location and service delivery location, and a demonstrated ability to adapt and lead or support as needed - anytime, anywhere.
• Demonstrated ability and/or experience working with students and/or co-workers from a wide range of abilities, backgrounds and experiences.
• OR applicable combination of education and/or experience which demonstrates the ability to perform the essential functions of the position.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master of Business Administration or master's degree in a related field.
• Proven track record of successful community engagement and economic development initiatives, experience in developing and refining relevant approaches in metropolitan and regional / rural environments.
• Familiarity with strategic decision-making in resource utilization (e.g., make/buy/rent models).
• Experience working with diverse and underrepresented communities in rural regions of WA.
• Experience with generative artificial intelligence applications.
• Experience with data analytics.
• Experience with data-informed report writing for influence, messaging by audience within and across interests.
• Ability to incorporate multicultural perspectives and issues into everyday conversations.
• Life experiences that demonstrate an ability to contribute to CWU's commitment to inclusion and diversity.

Competencies

• Accountability/Dependability: Accepts responsibility for quality of own work; acknowledges and corrects mistakes. Shows up on time, meets standards, deadlines and work schedules.
• Judgement: Makes timely, informed decisions. Analyzes options and determines appropriate course of action. Exercises appropriate urgency.
• Teamwork: Promotes cooperation and mutual support to achieve goals. Encourages participation and mutual support. Places others before self, understands adaptive need to lead or follow as appropriate to stewarding outcomes for communities.
• Adaptability/Flexibility: Responds positively to changing business needs and responsibilities. Adapts approach and methods to achieve results; recovers quickly from setbacks and finds alternatives.
• Commitment to Diversity: Recognizes the value of diversity and helps create environment that supports and embraces diversity.
• Vision, Mission, Values, Strategy-Focused: Successful candidates will be able to articulate and effectively and consistently apply the concepts in the CWU Vision, Mission, Values and Strategic Plan: https://www.cwu.edu/about/mission-vision/_documents/cwu-vision-mission-values-strat-plan-bot-approved.pdf

Don't meet every single requirement? At CWU we're dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway. This may be the job for you!

Salary: This position has a minimum annual salary of $64,974 and maximum annual salary of $94,213. The Hiring Department's expected hiring range is $64,974 - $74,720. In accordance with RCW 49.58.110, the above salary reflects the full salary range for this position. Individual placement within the hiring range is based on the candidate's current experience, education, skills, and abilities related to the position.

Schedule/Appointment: Monday - Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm (1 hour lunch) / This project position is currently funded through September 30, 2026. Continuation of this position past 09/30/2026 is contingent upon renewed funding being obtained.

Working Conditions: Work is performed in an indoor office setting with frequent in-person interactions. It is essential to be able to remain at a desk/computer workstation for prolonged periods of time, perform extensive data entry and other computer-related tasks and create/maintain filing systems for departmental records. Some evening or weekend work and/or occasional travel may be required.

Benefits: CWU offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical and dental insurance, retirement and optional savings plans, life and disability insurance, along with vacation and sick leave plans depending on employment classification. For additional information please visit Benefits, Perks, and Leave.

An employee of CWU may be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program if the employee has student loans. To learn more, visit: https://ofm.wa.gov/state-human-resources/public-service-loan-forgiveness-program.