DOL Restart Project Manager

Job Description Specification

Job Summary:

The Program Manager leads the implementation of the AmityWorks RESTART grant. This is a management role, and it is the position the Department of Labor requires each grantee to staff at 100% full-time — the person ultimately responsible for making the program work.

Reporting directly to the Regional Administrator of Employment Services, the Program Manager guides the program from planning through follow-up, meets every performance target the grant sets, keeps the program in compliance with federal rules, manages the partners and subgrantees, and oversees day-to-day services. This includes directly supervising the Case Manager, who serves a caseload of up to 70 participants.

Above all, this role turns the grant’s goals into real results: safer communities, lower rates of return to prison, and young adults placed on genuine pathways to stable, well-paying careers. It is a role for a builder who can stand up a new program, hold partners and data to a high standard, and keep participants at the center of every decision

Key Responsibilities:

Grant Leadership & Implementation

• Serve as Amity’s day-to-day leader for the AmityWorks grant, dedicating 100% of work time to the project as the funder requires.

• Guide the program through all three phases of the 42-month grant: a three-to-six-month planning and start-up period, roughly two years of full implementation, and twelve months of participant follow-up.

• Build and manage the program work plan, timelines, staffing, and milestones so that enrollment, services, and outcomes stay on track.

• Make sure the program is delivered as approved — assessments, Individual Development Plans (each participant’s personalized roadmap), career coaching, training toward a credential, paid work experience, mentorship, supportive services, and follow-up.

• Ensure each young adult’s needs are reassessed at enrollment and every six months, as the grant requires.

Performance, Data & Reporting:

• Own the program’s results and put simple, reliable systems in place to track and meet every performance goal:

• Education & employment — at least 75% of participants in school or working two quarters after they exit, and 70% four quarters after exit

• Earnings — median earnings of at least $5,000 in the second quarter after exit (tracking part-time versus full-time work)

• Credentials — at least 80% of participants earning an industry-recognized credential

• Apprenticeships — at least 10% of participants enrolling in a Registered Apprenticeship

• Recidivism — a return-to-prison rate below California’s most recent state rate of 39.1%

• Oversee accurate participant records, including WIOA co-enrollment and the secure collection and handling of personal information such as Social Security numbers, consistent with the grant’s data requirements and privacy safeguards.

• Prepare and submit accurate quarterly financial and performance reports to the Department of Labor (federal report ETA-9173), and combine the data reported by subgrantees into those submissions.

• Check data quality across the network and fix any problems before reporting deadlines.

Partner, Subgrantee & Employer Management:

• Coordinate and support the subgrantee network so every partner delivers services and reports data as agreed in their signed partnership agreements (MOUs/Letters of Commitment).

• Maintain strong working relationships with the grant’s required partners: the California Division of Apprenticeship Standards, criminal justice partners (such as county probation and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation), and state and local workforce development boards.

• Recruit and support employer partners in the target industries, expanding apprenticeship, on-the-job training, pre-apprenticeship, and paid work-experience opportunities for participants.

• Coordinate WIOA screening and co-enrollment with local workforce boards and American Job Centers and align training with what local employers are actually hiring for.

• Make sure training leads to jobs that people with records are legally allowed to hold and be licensed for — so participants never train for a career their record would bar them from.

Direct Service Oversight & Team Supervision:

• Directly supervise the Case Manager who serves a caseload of up to 70 participants — providing coaching, workload support, performance management, and professional development.

• Oversee the quality of the services participants receive: intake, assessment, personalized plans, career coaching, employability workshops, supportive services, and twelve months of follow-up.

• Ensure services for young adults are age-appropriate, trauma-informed, and centered on each participant’s goals.

• Help remove barriers to participant progress and build the referral network needed to keep young adults engaged and moving toward employment.

Fiscal & Compliance Oversight:

• Work with the finance team to monitor the grant budget and ensure spending is necessary, reasonable, and compliant with federal grant rules (the OMB Uniform Guidance, 2 CFR 200) and the terms of the award.

• Keep spending within the grant’s limits — no more than 15% of funds for supportive services (of which no more than 10% for direct needs-related payments) and no more than 5% for participant incentives.

• Maintain the records, controls, and written policies (for supportive services, needs-related payments, and incentives) that will stand up to a federal audit.

• Support the organization’s efforts to sustain effective practices after the grant ends and cooperate with any evaluation the Department of Labor conducts.

Supervisory Responsibility:

The Program Manager directly supervises one Case Manager, who serves a caseload of up to 70 participants. The Program Manager supports the Case Manager’s hiring, onboarding, coaching, performance evaluation, and day-to-day direction, and ensures the caseload is served well and in line with grant requirements.

Core Competencies:

Beyond the qualifications below, the successful Program Manager will bring:

• Trauma-informed, participant-centered leadership — keeping the dignity and goals of justice-involved young adults at the center of the work.

• Cross-sector partnership management — building trust and results across workforce boards, justice agencies, employers, and subgrantees.

• Data-driven decision-making — using performance data to spot problems early and keep the program on track.

• Cultural humility and a commitment to equity for the communities and populations Amity serves.

• Fiscal and compliance literacy — comfort managing a federal grant budget and rules.

• Clear communication — the ability to translate complex requirements into simple, usable guidance for staff and partners.

•Adaptability and problem-solving in the fast-moving environment of a brand-new program

Education and Experience:

Required:

Education: Bachelor’s degree in social work, human services, public or business administration, workforce development, criminal justice, or a related field. An equivalent combination of relevant experience and education will be considered.

Experience: At least five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in program management, workforce development, reentry, or social services, including at least two (2) years supervising staff.

Grant management: Demonstrated experience managing publicly funded programs and meeting performance and reporting requirements. Experience with federal grants (Department of Labor preferred).

• Working knowledge of WIOA and of workforce or reentry services delivered against measurable outcomes.

• Strong data-management skills and the ability to build systems that produce accurate, on-time reporting.

• Excellent partnership-building, communication, and organizational skills, with the ability to juggle multiple partners and priorities.

• A genuine commitment to serving justice-involved young adults with dignity, and the ability to work effectively across diverse communities.

Preferred:

Master’s degree in a related field.

Experience with Registered Apprenticeship or on-the-job training, or with in-demand industries such as advanced manufacturing, transportation, information technology/AI, or the maritime and shipbuilding sector.

Familiarity with the OMB Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) and with Department of Labor reporting systems.

Bilingual (English/Spanish) ability.

Lived experience with, or deep understanding of, the reentry population and the communities served.

Certifications or Licenses:

Required:

• Within six weeks of hire, obtain First Aid and CPR certification AND pass a physical examination and tuberculosis test from a health professional.

• Must have a valid California driver's license and be eligible for Amity vehicle insurance.

Skills/Abilities:

• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.

• Ability to maintain confidential information.

• Ability to operate general office equipment.

• Ability to exercise an amount of empathy and understand the importance of role-reversal.

• Demonstrates skill in patience, active listening, and interest in diverse life stories. 

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with a genuine enthusiasm for helping people.

• Demonstrates proper attitudes and techniques and techniques to residential students.

• As a condition of employment with Amity, a job offer will not be binding upon Amity until and unless Amity and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”) obtain satisfactory results from its investigation into your background

ADA Information:

Physical Requirements: 

• Faculty must frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

• Frequently required to sit and/or stand for extended periods of time.

• Frequently sitting and typing for extended periods of time.

• Occasionally required to reach, walk, climb, pull, push, grasp, stretch, stoop.

• Frequently required talk, hear, see, and use repetitive motions.

• Frequently able to communicate verbally and in written form.

• Frequently able to use all types of vision, such as close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and depth perception, to complete daily tasks

• Required to wear comfortable and office appropriate clothes.

Mental Demands:

• Ability to change direction as priorities shift.

• Ability to thrive in an environment that requires one to adapt to changing circumstances.

• Ability to professionally work under pressure with difficult or temperamental students & faculty.

• Ability to handle mental and emotional stress related to the position.

Work Conditions:

• Generally, in an indoor office setting.

Environmental Conditions:

• The noise level in the work environment is moderate but can be loud.

• The temperature in the work environment is usually moderate to cool but can be cold or hot.

Travel:

• May travel as needed.

Note: This job description is intended to describe the general nature and work responsibilities of the position. It is not possible or desirable to commit every detailed aspect of each job to a written description. This job description and the duties of this position are subject to change, modification, and addition as deemed necessary by the company. Job descriptions alone cannot be used as an argument to refuse work assignments. Faculty are required to comply with supervisory instructions and perform other job duties, responsibilities and assignments required by company officials. This job description does not constitute an employment contract between the company and any employee. The job responsibilities of this position may include cross-training in other functions to ensure satisfactory operation.

I have read the above job description, understand its contents, and have had an opportunity to discuss with my supervisor or the hiring manager. By signing below, I agree and understand what is expected of me, and will comply with all requirements of this position.

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Employee Signature                                                                                                                           Date

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Supervisor Signature                                                                                                                          Date