Program Lead, Center for Digital Equity

SUMMARY: The Center for Digital Equity (CDE) is seeking a dynamic and relationship-centered Program Lead to oversee the delivery and at times design of high-impact initiatives that advance digital opportunity. This role will serve as the external-facing lead for CDE's Learn2Earn program and other priority initiatives, convening community organizations, coordinating resources, and ensuring strong outcomes for residents.

The Program Lead is both a strategist and an implementer: guiding cohorts of partner organizations, ensuring participants receive devices and training, and turning results into clear updates and stories for funders, board members, and community leaders. Working closely with others on the team, the Program Lead ensures that initiatives are well-designed, well-supported, and executed with excellence. Additionally, this role supports ecosystem development efforts and helps connect strategy to execution on all aspects of CDE's aligned co-created Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)

This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position reporting to the Sr. Advocacy Director. This position is grant funded with an end date of June 30, 2026.

About the Center for Digital Equity

CDE is the backbone organization for a collective impact strategy bringing together residents, public and private sector partners to co-create solutions allowing every resident to thrive in our modern culture. Through awareness, partnerships, and action, it aims to empower organizations to deliver digital resources to the communities they serve.
 
 This position is exempt from provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and is not eligible to earn overtime pay or compensatory time off for additional hours worked. This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Program Leadership (Learn2Earn + other initiatives)

• Serve as the primary lead for the Learn2Earn and other initiatives, managing cohorts of nonprofit and community partners.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with community organizations, employers, and residents which lead to a stronger ecosystem and may lead to funding opportunities.
• Develop and maintain program calendars, facilitation plans, and performance targets.
• Ensure timely delivery of devices, digital skills training, and resources to participants.
• Identify, share and document lessons learned and drive improvements for each cohort cycle.

External Partner Engagement

• Act as a primary point of contact for community and nonprofit partners, supporting onboarding, orientation, and ongoing engagement.
• Convene partners around shared goals, facilitating meetings and building collaborative momentum.
• Represent CDE at partner convenings, public events, and advocacy discussions. When applicable also facilitates skilling
• Communicate program impact through presentations, success stories, and regular updates.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Collaborate with the Strategic Project Lead to ensure project plans are well-structured, timelines are met, and risks are managed.
• Partner with the Operations Systems Specialist to align CRM data, dashboards, and device/inventory management with program delivery.
• Work with internal teams (Advocacy, Adoption, Operations, Marketing) to ensure cohesive execution across initiatives.

• Track and report on program outcomes, including participant completion, device distribution, and career pathway metrics.
• Collect success stories and participant feedback to share with funders, boards, and stakeholders.
• Translate data into compelling narratives that demonstrate program impact.

Non-Essential Duties: 

• Other duties and special projects may be assigned to meet department and/or university needs.

 Experience, Knowledge & Skills Required

• 3+ years in program management, nonprofit leadership, community engagement, or related fields.
• Bachelor's degree in public policy, nonprofit management, communications, or related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience leading cohort-based or workforce development initiatives.
• Demonstrated success in relationship management with nonprofit, government, or employer partners.
• Strong facilitation skills and comfort presenting to diverse audiences.
• Ability to design initiatives from concept to delivery, including logistics, facilitation, and evaluation.
• Skilled in cultivating trust and collaboration with partners and stakeholders.
• Strong written and oral skills for conveying program results and community impact.
• Familiarity with managing timelines, budgets, and cross-team collaboration.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite; comfort with collaborative tools (Zoom, Asana, HubSpot).
• Inspire confidence among partners and guiding groups toward shared goals.
• Ability to anticipate challenges, surfacing opportunities, and aligning resources accordingly.
• Thrive in dynamic environments with evolving partner and community needs.
• Proven ability to work across teams and organizations to align priorities and execution.
• We encourage applicants from historically marginalized backgrounds to apply, even if they do not meet every qualification. At CDE, we are committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible environment where everyone feels a sense of belonging.

Application Process

Does this sound like a good fit? Submit the following:

1. A cover letter addressing the position qualifications and experience.
2. Current résumé 
3. Salary expectations 

Applications received by October 17, 2025, will receive first consideration. Queens will continue to accept applications until the position is filled.

About Queens University of Charlotte

Located in the heart of the nation's second fastest growing metropolitan area, Queens University of Charlotte leverages the city's diverse and thriving environment as an extended classroom. Nationally recognized for undergraduate programs in international and interdisciplinary education, Queens blends the best of liberal arts learning with professional preparation and community engagement. Focused on supporting success for diverse learners, faculty build close and collaborative relationships with students and help them build intentional and individualized roadmaps for flourishing at Queens and beyond. At the graduate program level, the University offers innovative educational experiences that help learners advance professionally and retool for new opportunities. Our environs afford faculty myriad opportunities to advance their own professional growth and teaching and research interests by collaborating with vibrant industry, non-profit, and community organization sectors. 

Because of our history of innovation and our legacy of strong leadership, Queens is positioned to be among the new forerunners of American higher education. This is a defining moment for Queens. While other institutions are focused on sustaining and surviving, we are thinking much bigger. 

Institutions that understand what is needed and are willing to reimagine what is possible can position themselves to thrive and strengthen their market position after the pandemic with innovative approaches that are deeply connected to the world and its greatest challenges. 

By 2030, Queens aspires to become the leading, private, national university of Charlotte with deep, meaningful, and reciprocal connections to the needs of our local community and economy; inventive and multidisciplinary academic programs that are connected to the world's most pressing challenges and biggest areas of opportunity; a fully connected, integrated, and innovative set of experiences that support holistic wellness and wellbeing; a culture of continuous improvement and investment that enables faculty and staff to flourish and achieve their full potential; and a comprehensive approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion that begins on campus and radiates throughout the community. 

Queens University of Charlotte aims to be a leading comprehensive university, distinguished by its commitment to transforming the lives of its students and enhancing the intellectual and cultural fabric of its community. Queens is a campus where diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values. The mission of Queens is to provide transformative educational experiences that nurture intellectual curiosity, promote global understanding, encourage ethical living, and prepare individuals for purposeful and fulfilling lives. To this end, the University recruits talented faculty, staff, and students from across the United States and around the world. Queens encourages applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, and members of other protected classes and historically minoritized communities. The University also invites applications from individuals who are prepared to provide a rich and varied educational experience to our increasingly diverse student body and to collaborate with colleagues to make Queens an equitable and inclusive place to live, learn, and work. 

Queens works to provide an accessible living, learning, and working environment for current and prospective faculty, staff, and students and visitors to our campus. If there are accommodations, we can provide to make your application process more accessible, please contact the Director of Human Resources , The position duties and responsibilities listed above should be able to be completed with or without reasonable accommodations. HR works in partnership with employees to manage the workplace accommodations process. 

Benefits

Queens offers comprehensive benefits to eligible employees, including: medical, dental and vision insurance, domestic partner benefits, a 403b retirement plan, with two options (pre-tax or post-tax (Roth) contributions) with a generous match, vacation and generous paid holidays, tuition remission and tuition exchange, Queens-paid life insurance, supplemental life insurance, dependent life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, disability insurance, flexible spending accounts (medical, dependent care, Health Savings Account), sick leave and long-term disability leave, paid parental leave, FMLA leave when eligible, reduced cost meals at Morrison Dining Hall, employee assistance program (EAP), free access to the Levine Center, wellness programs. In addition, employees may choose benefits such as pet insurance, critical care insurance and legal assistance.