Senior Vice President, Regional Workforce Development - Greater Houston Partnership

 Who We Are – Organization Overview

The Greater Houston Partnership is a place for community-minded business leaders who want to be involved in Houston’s growth and influence its direction. Through the dedicated efforts of our members, the Partnership addresses Houston’s unique challenges and champions the growth and success of our region.

Since 1840, the Greater Houston Partnership has strived to make the region the best place to live, work and build a business. We serve over 900 member companies in the 12-county Houston region, including Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Walker, Waller, and Wharton counties.


We promote, advocate, convene and engage. Join us as we work together to make Houston more extraordinary.

Our Values, Our People
 

• We Respect Our People:  Our people make the Partnership. We value our team and ensure everyone is treated with dignity, respect, and professionalism.
• We Are One Team:  We are committed to the success of one another, the Partnership, our members, and the greater Houston community.
• We Take Ownership:  We take pride in our work and are encouraged to do what is in the best interest of our colleagues and members.
• We Act Responsibly:  We approach every decision with an open mind and are committed to considering the varying perspectives of our staff and our members. We hold ourselves to the highest professional standard.
• We Take Initiative:  We empower one another to take charge and demonstrate leadership at every opportunity.

Who We Are Looking for Today

The Partnership is seeking a bold, innovative leader, with a growth mindset, to lead its UpSkill Houston initiative – a nationally recognized, employer-led initiative developing the skilled talent needed to sustain and grow Houston’s regional economy (i.e., talent driven economic development). Reporting to the President and CEO, the Senior Vice President, Regional Workforce Development, is the executive responsible for leading and overseeing UpSkill Houston and propelling it to its next phase of growth and impact. The executive will also serve on the Partnership’s leadership team and contribute to the development of its staff, culture and operations.

Building upon 10 years of regional leadership, the executive will inspire and work closely and collaboratively with the UpSkill Houston executive committee (a collaboration of employers, educational institutions, and community partners) and Partnership divisions to ensure developing a skilled workforce and creating economic opportunity are strategic priorities of the organization and make a significant and lasting impact on Houston's future. The individual in this role will have the experience and ability to make connections and build bridges across sectors (i.e., business, education, and community) and across systems and issue areas. Ultimately, we seek someone who is mission driven and seeks to make a vital difference in the development and success of the greater Houston region through effective, employer-led workforce and talent development.
 
About UpSkill Houston

UpSkill Houston’s mission is to ensure the Houston and Gulf Coast region has one of the finest skilled workforces in the world and to provide opportunity and mobility for the residents of the region. It has a focus on the occupations that require education and skills beyond a high school diploma and less that a four-year college degree.

Over UpSkill Houston’s ten years of collaborative work, it has demonstrated a strong ability to convene key stakeholders in the region and drive action. The collaborative table of industry, education, community, public and philanthropic leaders allows us to address workforce challenges in innovative and collective ways. We are employer-led, but not employer only.

UpSkill Houston uses a skills-first approach in our work that considers a person’s skills in hiring and career progression. Employers and industry leaders are essential because they provide insights into the skills needed for career success and growth. Skills are both developed and taught. Employers, educators, and community leaders all play a critical role in supporting students and workers in developing and acquiring the skills needed for career success.

In 2023, the State of Texas overhauled how community colleges receive state funding with the passage of House Bill 8. House Bill 8 shifts the state's funding to a new outcomes-based system focused on “credentials of value.” The region’s community colleges are now better equipped to assist the region’s residents in developing the specialized skills required by emerging and high-demand jobs. UpSkill Houston seeks to accelerate the implementation of House Bill 8 and ensure the region’s residents of the skills to succeed in the economy of today and the one in the future.

We understand that our regional economy grows and provides opportunity by focusing on talent driven economic development and working with the key industries to develop skilled talent needed to support the growth of the regional economy. The Houston region’s diverse and collective talent is what has positioned and continues to position the regional economy as one of the stronger ones globally. Houston’s diversity is one of our strengths and we understand that equity is achieved when everyone can prosper and thrive.
 
Roles and Responsibilities:

Drive action and impact by collaborating with stakeholders across sectors:

• Develop and sustain innovative ways to bring stakeholders together to share best practices and scale, iterate and elevate what works.
• Generate rigorous and thoughtful discussions of stakeholders to challenge each other, provide space for minority views, and examine the problem, assumptions and solutions.
• Amplify existing partnerships and design and implement action-oriented new ones.
• Represent and serve as an ambassador for the Partnership and UpSkill Houston by attending and speaking at events to build networks and make connections.
• Develop action-oriented frameworks, playbooks and toolkits that “equip & inspire” and build the distributive leadership capacity of UpSkill Houston stakeholders to develop and pursue solutions that advance our mission.

Develop better data and insights related to the skills needed for success in today’s economy and in the future:

• Partner with research and academic institutions and professional firms to generate actionable insights that advance skills-first approaches for Houston’s regional economy and identify emerging skills trends and solutions that will impact the economy.
• Translate skills data and proficiencies into understandable career pathways and progressions for students and workers.
• Engage students and adult learners (e.g., individuals already in the workforce) to integrate their and community voices in developing and refining solutions that support economic mobility and opportunity with a focus on the region’s underserved communities.

Facilitate/Drive change in the region’s workforce and education systems that can increase mobility and opportunity and strengthen the regional economy:

• Bring to life “credentials of value” by providing leadership and support for the implementation of House Bill 8 in the Houston region.
• Advance opportunities that connect the region’s key systems that support underserved students and workers in developing skills that support their career growth and advancement and ensure they have family-sustaining incomes.

Experience & Expertise:

Multi-Sector Background:  15 years of work experience within corporations, educational institutions (e.g., K-12 or community college), philanthropy, trade associations, community-based social service organizations or other relevant organizations. Experience should include meaningful engagement in two or more sectors of focus, with a strong preference for expertise within the corporate sector.

Stakeholder Management:  Experience managing, influencing and working with a variety of stakeholders on strategy development and execution with impact. Demonstrated ability to build, facilitate and maintain relationships across sectors and ideologies and build consensus that brings diverse groups together to achieve common goals. Demonstrated success in developing, implementing and evaluating new programs.

Broad Subject Matter Expertise:  Demonstrated experience and knowledge of workforce development and education systems, talent and skills development, and social service supports and delivery. Understand Houston’s regional economy and its unique workforce, education, and social challenges the Houston region confronts.

Strong Communicator:  Strong interpersonal communication skills (i.e., must be comfortable developing presentations and presenting to and/or interacting with outside entities). Established track record of translating complex ideas to a wide range of audiences, clearly articulating UpSkill Houston’s purpose and value proposition. Superior written and verbal communication skills (e.g., conference presentations, white papers, op-eds).

What You Will Do
 

1. Work with the UpSkill Houston executive committee and staff to develop priorities and strategies to advance the mission. Create associated action plans with accountabilities and timelines and coordinate execution and implementation.
2. Develop metrics to gauge UpSkill Houston’s short-term and long-term success.
3. Create and maintain strong working relationships across the corporate, education, social service, public, and philanthropic sectors to leverage, coordinate, and connect individual actions for greater impact.
4. Manage the performance and support the professional development of two direct reports,  two indirect reports (i.e., Marketing and Communications team), and intenrs. Lead, coach, develop and retain the UpSkill Houston team.
5. Manage the budget and resources of the division and support appropriate donor stewardship and fundraising.
6. Cultivate and manage relationships with UpSkill Houston’s current and prospective funders; craft compelling cases for support for unrestricted and project-based funding; and ensure grants and investments are effectively managed, agreed upon milestones are achieved, and deliverables are submitted on time and within budget in accordance with funding agreements.
7. Collaborate with all divisions within the Partnership to advance UpSkill Houston within their work and how it impacts the Houston region. This includes, but is not limited to:
   • Economic Development: Partner with Economic Development to identify and develop talent pipelines that support talent driven economic development for the Partnership’s priority industry sectors.
   • Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI): Partner with HETI to identify and develop talent pipelines that support the skill needs of the energy sector as it transitions to low carbon solutions.
   • Marketing and Communications: Develop and amplify messaging that advances UpSkill Houston and its work to develop the skilled workforce the region needs to maintain its economic competitiveness and provide economic opportunity and mobility for its residents.
   • Public Policy: Develop and advocate for policy positions that improve and support the education and workforce systems in developing skilled talent.
   • Member Engagement: Identify and support avenues for member recruitment and engagement in UpSkill Houston and overall workforce development activities.  
   • Programs and Events:  Develop events that engage the region’s workforce stakeholders in the work of UpSkill Houston (e.g., UpSkill Works).
   • One Houston Together: Partner and collaborate on understanding diversity and equity considerations around workforce development and how the business community can address them.
   • Research: Partner to produce data and analyses that build broader understanding of the importance of accelerating meaningful action.
8. Serve as internal and external matter expert on workforce development and talent driven economic development.
9. Ability to travel, as needed, to represent the Partnership at relevant functions, seminars, conferences, etc.
10. Perform other duties and tasks as necessary and not specifically mentioned above.

What You Bring
 

1. Demonstrated ability to work well in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment with minimal supervision.
2. Demonstrated ability to be a master organizer and communicator that effectively manages a departmental function within a broader corporate/organization function, including a comprehensive knowledge of the overall departmental function.
3. Knowledge of key workforce development and education trends with the ability to develop significant goals that support broad functional objectives.
4. Established track record of working cross-functionally in teams with broad and diverse backgrounds.
5. Experience working in multi-stakeholder organizations and helping organizations perform better and achieve their goals while building trust and getting diverse stakeholders on the same page when it comes to priorities and direction.
6. Demonstrated success in developing and implementing new programs while balancing being part dreamer and realist with the realization that creativity and flexibility lead to big ideas, while time management and quick decision-making are what bring those dreams to life.

 Mental and Aptitude Requirements
 

• Job requires hearing, seeing, and talking; analytical, conceptual, problem-solving, planning, and decision-making skills.

Safety Requirements
 

• Adhere to the office safety policies and procedures.

How To Apply

Interested candidates should apply through the Greater Houston Partnership careers page.    Cover letter and resume required. Please submit documents to peopleandculture@houston.org.  The compensation package is commensurate with experience and includes a competitive base salary as well as benefits and vacation.  The position is in Houston, Texas.

We will contact those candidates who most closely match the requirements.  Thank you in advance for your interest.

The Greater Houston Partnership is an equal-opportunity employer that welcomes and encourages diversity in the workplace. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, marital status,
age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.