Organization Description:
The Contingent is a national venture nonprofit that harnesses the power of innovation and technology to tackle complex social challenges. We partner with government agencies, nonprofits, and businesses to mobilize volunteers, foster parents, and local leaders—using data-driven tools to accelerate the time and scale of community impact. 

Our flagship initiative, Every Child, partners with state child welfare agencies to transform foster care recruitment into a coordinated, data-driven system—so every child has a home. We bring together proprietary technology, human-centered design, and community mobilization to move states from fragmented outreach to measurable, scalable results. For more information about the initiatives of The Contingent, please visit www.thecontingent.org. 

Opportunity Summary:  
We are looking for a Senior Director, Product and Design, to lead and grow our product and design function at a pivotal moment in our organization's expansion. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who brings clarity and decisiveness paired with deep humanity — a servant-leader who develops people as intentionally as they ship products, and who believes that diverse minds build better technology.

What You'll Do:

Rally and Align

• Own and drive the product roadmap, sprint planning, quarterly planning, and release planning end-to-end
• Lead scope reviews, product approvals, and wireframe reviews — setting a high bar while developing your team's craft
  
  

Develop Your Team

• Coach and develop your team with patience, intentionality, and high expectations — finding genuine satisfaction in watching people grow into roles they didn’t know they were capable of
• You believe that diverse minds build better products, and you create the conditions — structure, patience, and psychological safety — for different kinds of thinkers to do their best work.
• You are an experienced developer of talent at all career stages, adapting your leadership

style to the individual rather than expecting one approach to fit everyone

State Implementation Leadership

• Hire and develop an Implementation PM who will coordinate internal product configuration and state-facing timelines for new state launches
• Ensure every new state launch is properly configured, thoroughly tested, and delivered on schedule, working cross-functionally with Relationship and Change Management leads
  
  

Strategic Partnership

• Serve as a key thought partner to the Chief Product and Innovation Officer (CPIO) on product strategy, team structure, and organizational capability building
• Translate high-level organizational vision into executable roadmaps and team action
  
  

This role may include a degree of variability in responsibilities and duties as deemed by the supervisor. The Contingent employees should be prepared for a dynamic work environment.

 

Who You Are:

You are a mobilizer and a developer of people. You find satisfaction in getting people aligned and moving together. You create clarity in ambiguous situations, not by having all the answers, but by bringing people together around the right questions and next steps.

 

• 7+ years of experience in product management or product leadership, with at least 3 years in a people management role
• Track record of successfully rallying cross-functional teams — engineering, design, customer-facing — around shared goals and delivering together
• Experienced coach who develops talent across career stages; you adapt your approach and create conditions where different kinds of thinkers thrive
• Experience in nonprofit, civic tech, or mission-driven environments; you understand the unique motivations and constraints of mission-driven work
• Fluent in human-centered design — you advocate for the process and understand why it matters for users navigating high-stakes life decisions
• Clear, decisive communicator who can energize a room and also say “no” and “not now” with kindness and credibility
• Experience with government or state agency partnerships is a plus

 

Personal Qualifications:

• Commitment to the mission of The Contingent, including Every Child, and The Script. 
• Relates well and works effectively with diverse groups of people who represent the range of ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds  
• Ability to articulate a position on the importance of diverse community organizations (including faith communities, political organizations, businesses) engaging vulnerable children, youth, and families
• Deep commitment to serving vulnerable kids, youth, and families and those in government who work with them 
• Deep commitment to increasing the diversity of leadership in the communities we serve  
• Self-motivated leader that takes initiative  
• Adaptable to changing situations and processes 

• Demonstrates a passion for operational, technical, and customer experience excellence

 

Benefits: 

• Comprehensive benefits including premium medical, vision, and dental insurance. Covered 100% for employee and partially (80%) for spouse and/or dependents
• 19 paid holidays, with additional vacation, sick, bereavement and parental leave
• 401(k) with a 5% (annual salary) match

 

Employment Terms, Accountability, and Compensation:  

• Full Time (40hrs) exempt annual salary offered at a range of $125,000 - $135,000 (estimated total compensation $135,000 - $145,000) doe 
  •  Starting placement will not exceed this starting salary range and is based on qualifications, experience, and internal equity.

• This a hybrid position in Portland, Oregon
• This position will be required to work within The Contingent’s Hybrid Work Policy (2-3 days in the office, 2-3 days at home)

•  We have team members located in multiple time zones. To facilitate collaboration across teams, core hours for this position are 9-2 pm PST.
• Daily schedule and in office days will be a result of collaboration between the employee and their supervisor
• Legally eligible to work in the United States

Screening of applicant materials will begin immediately, and applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

**"Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At The Contingent we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you are excited about this role but your experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles."  

 

All employment at The Contingent is “at will” and may be terminated by either the employee or the employer at any time for any reason, with or without cause, with or without prior notice or warning. Equal employment opportunities and having a diverse staff are fundamental principles of The Contingent. Upon hire, the employee agrees to undergo a 90-day probationary period, which provides additional structure,

Scheduled check-in meetings, and opportunities to receive and give feedback to and from the employer.

 

Equal Opportunity Employer