Job Description

Maine Connectivity Authority / Chief Program Officer / Portland, Maine

We are working with our client, Maine Connectivity Authority, with an exciting opportunity for a Chief Program Officer to join the organization’s executive leadership team and lead the strategy, design, and execution of the organization’s program portfolio.

The Chief Program Officer, reporting to the President , will lead a team of grants management and program design and deployment professionals to implement infrastructure/middle-mile programming, digital opportunity programming and grants administration.

The CPO will be instrumental in driving a comprehensive, coherent approach that integrates MCA’s efforts to strengthen the state’s broadband infrastructure, scale affordability and accessibility programs and meet MCA’s statutory responsibilities and impact goals.

This key leader will work at both the strategic and hands-on levels, ensuring programming strategies are aligned, integrated, and positioned to deliver strong, measurable outcomes that are sustainable over time.

Benefits of the Job:

• Remote/hybrid position with options to work from any of the 3 Maine locations; however, must currently live in Maine
• Annual pay in the range of $161,591 - $197,500 commensurate with experience
• Generous paid time off including 13 paid holidays, 20 vacation and 10 sick days
• Medical, Dental, Vision
• Retirement plan with employer contribution
• Flexible Spending, Health Savings Account
• Continuous education, wellness reimbursement, and student debt repayment

Requirements of the Chief Program Officer:

• Bachelor’s degree (advanced degree preferred) with 10+ years professional experience, preferably in leadership roles, within broadband operations and programs or related fields
• Technical knowledge of broadband, advanced communications infrastructure, and state and federal grant administration
• Knowledge of communications infrastructure industry solutions and demonstrated willingness to learn about and to integrate new technologies into programs
• Customer / mission focus: Deep commitment to MCA’s charge to provide broadband for everyone in Maine and to facilitate the digital infrastructure for Maine’s future
• Ability to establish and maintain professional relationships with communities, agencies, nonprofit and for-profit partners, and internet service providers
• Detail-oriented while able to see the big picture and drive continuous improvement
• Ability to handle multiple tasks and duties simultaneously in a dynamic environment
• Willingness and desire to manage a team of subject matter experts and ensure integration across a team of diverse and complementary skills
• Highly organized, with the ability to create systems and processes that are easy for others to follow
• Self-directed and independently motivated; able to take initiative without immediate direction
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with strong project development and project management skills
• Adaptable and open to new solutions or processes that support organizational growth
• Ability to collaborate effectively as a team player while maintaining individual accountability
• Strong results orientation – resourceful, proactive, and persistent in achieving results.
• Demonstrated ability to problem-solve and co-create innovative solutions with key stakeholders, including grantees
• Occasional overnight travel may be required and occasional day travel to meetings and project locations across Maine

Responsibilities of the Chief Program Officer:

The CPO will lead implementation and maximize impact of a unified strategy that brings together three pillars: grants administration, digital opportunity programming, and infrastructure/middle mile programs.

• Support and enable MCA’s grants administration team in implementing and evolving MCA’s portfolio of 110+ subawards from complex, federal and state funded investments to future investments of all sizes funded by a range of federal, state and private funders
• Ensure the successful execution and management of the full lifecycle of existing last-mile infrastructure grant programs
• Digital opportunity programs - Support and enable MCA’s grants administration and program team in implementing and evolving existing digital opportunity programs including Connectivity Hubs, Tech Help for ME, Maine Tech Share, and future iterations of local and regional capacity building
• Collaborate closely with the Chief Engagement Officer where digital opportunity partnerships and community engagement and partnerships intersect
• Infrastructure / middle mile programs- Support the continued development of Maine’s cellular and wireless action plan, and implementation of any resulting programming
• Support the deployment of Maine’s Middle Mile strategy and vision, including MOOSE Net, to achieve MCA’s statutory goals and improve broadband connectivity statewide
• Ensure the success and long-term sustainability of major infrastructure and middle mile programs, including the successful commercialization of MOOSE Net
• For more mature programs will support and enable the team, make key programmatic decisions and remove barriers and build the team’s capacity to address strategic challenges
• Lead significant design and build work amidst a shifting context while incorporating cross-functional perspectives to guide effective and right-sized program implementation
• Engage directly in program design and deployment - not only to delegate or direct
• Integrate and align new and existing programs to generate organizational efficiencies, increase coherence for partners and the public and ensure that programs collectively deliver MCA’s desired impact
• Lead a team of 2 plus direct reports and a department of 10-12 staff to meet or exceed programming objectives, evaluate, coach, and develop team members to reach long-term and short-term objectives and ensure a safe, respectful, inclusive, and collaborative work environment
• Partner with the engagement team to communicate progress and impact to the public and develop and sustain critical partnerships
• Establish systems and routines for cross-functional collaboration and feedback with other MCA teams (e.g. finance, engagement)

Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) is a quasi-governmental agency, led by an experienced team and a board appointed by the Governor. Created in 2021 to address the state’s need for access to reliable, high-speed internet connectivity, MCA serves as the primary agency to plan, develop, manage, and invest in broadband for Maine. High-speed internet access is essential to participation in the modern economy and has the potential to dramatically improve Mainers’ quality of life. The MCA is designed to be proactive in decision-making, explore public-private partnerships, deploy a range of financial tools, and enable a strategic network of digital infrastructure for Maine’s future.

MCA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, familial status, age, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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