Regional Ecosystems Program Director

Position Title: Regional Ecosystems Program Director
Reports To: Deputy Director of Regional Power

About Us

The Movement Innovation Collaborative (MIC) is a new time-limited entity that will deepen and expand the capacity, impact, and sustainability of California's grassroots movements for racial justice and social transformation. Through offerings that are additive and synergistic with existing movement efforts, the MIC will support changemakers and organizations in catalyzing innovations in movement strategy, power-building, intergenerational leadership development, and collective long-term sustainability and resilience. Through a network of physical and virtual "centers," the MIC will also contribute a key piece of infrastructure to fuel transformative structural change across California. This network will consist of new and existing centers serving hundreds of organizations and tens of thousands of grassroots leaders in California. MIC will focus on six core strategies:

• Organizing Strategy and Innovation (OS&I)

• Healing, Sustainability and Culture (HSC)

• Network of Centers (NoC)

• Regional Ecosystems (RE)

• Movement Strategy & Innovation (MS&I)

• Learning & Impact (L&I)

Position Overview

The Regional Ecosystems Director is primarily responsible for stewarding MIC’s Regional Ecosystems program eight key priority regions in California, with strategic prioritization of the Inland Empire and Central Valley. This program does not drive campaigns or policy agendas. Instead, it strengthens the underlying infrastructure and conditions that enable grassroots powerbuilding organizations to lead durable collective action. Through regional experimentation, shared learning, and accompaniment, the program supports organizations in evolving governance, coordination, and collaborative practices that build durable regional power.

This role is critical in the design, implementation, and continuous refinement of frameworks, assessments, models, and other tools, tailored to support regional organizations to strengthen alignment, deepen strategic coherence, and integrate movement-building practices into regional formations.

Reporting to the Deputy Director of Regional Power, this role works cross-functionally with MIC program teams, strategic partners, and regional organizations to co-design, pilot, and refine approaches that strengthen shared analysis, strategic alignment, co-governance, principled struggle, and ecosystem coordination, embedding movement-building practices that increase the long-term effectiveness and resilience of regional ecosystems.

What You’ll Be Doing

The Regional Ecosystems Director will have the following responsibilities in this phase of the MIC:

Regional Ecosystem Frameworks & Models, 30%

• Lead and steward collaborative and iterative processes to develop Regional Ecosystem frameworks, assessments, tools, and coordination models in deep partnership with grassroots basebuilding/powerbuilding organizations, MIC teams, and strategic partners.

• Lead the synthesis of learning from regional experimentation into practical tools, guidance, and approaches that can be adapted across regional contexts.

• Contribute to MIC-wide strategy development and learning related to regional power and movement infrastructure.

Regional Formations & Implementation Support, 30%

• Support anchor organizations in building the capacities needed to convene, coordinate, and steward regional powerbuilding efforts.

• Guide and oversee the development and testing of regional formations as durable spaces.

• Steward the development of practices that help regional formations move beyond transactional coordination toward durable relationships, shared governance, collective strategy, and long-term regional power.

• Oversee and coordinate resourcing and support for regional organizations to engage in experimentation that strengthens regional ecosystem formations, culture, and practice.

• Provide technical assistance and accompaniment to regional organizations implementing tools, practices and collaborative governance models in emerging or established Regional formations.

Regional Assessments, Learning & Synthesis, 20%

• Oversee the development and implementation of regional ecosystem assessments, including regional landscaping and power mapping.

• Work in tandem with MIC’s Movement Strategy & Innovation and Learning & Impact teams to facilitate sense-making and synthesis of assessment findings and implementation learning, informing program refinement, model development, and cross-regional comparison.

• Design and facilitate learning processes, including Regional Learning Visits and cross-regional sense-making sessions, to support shared political analysis, collective learning, and the evolution of regional movement strategy.

Program Leadership & Coordination, 10%

• Provide leadership and coordination for the Regional Ecosystems workstream, including project planning, timelines, deliverables, and reporting.

• Supervise program manager, consultants, and project teams supporting Regional Ecosystems initiatives, as applicable.

• Support documentation, internal reporting, and communication with MIC leadership and governance bodies.

Standing Meetings, 10%

• Weekly supervision meetings

• Bi-weekly RE team meetings

• Monthly RPB Team meetings

• Monthly all-staff meetings

• Monthly all-staff training sessions

As we move beyond the current phase, the responsibilities for this position will shift to address the evolution, scaling, and institutionalization of Regional Ecosystems frameworks and models across California.

Who You Are

This is an exciting opportunity for a collaborative and seasoned leader who thrives in complex, fast-paced, values-driven environments. The most successful candidate will have experience demonstrating the following leadership competencies:

• Strategic Thinker: Sees the full landscape, translates complex analysis into practical frameworks and tools, understands interdependencies, and designs scalable, people-centered approaches that align with purpose, values, and structure.

• Transformational Change Leader: Navigates complexity with clarity and courage. Faces disagreements, debates, and conflict with emotional maturity and integrity; constantly procuring greater clarity and unity. Welcomes feedback with openness and curiosity and provides timely, generative feedback to others.

• Culture Catalyst: Operates with a deep understanding of what culture is and how it is shaped and reproduced, as well as a deep understanding of MIC’s frameworks and goals for culture-building and staff development. Aligns approaches with organizational outcomes, operational capacity, and financial sustainability.

• Institution Builder: Approaches the work with methodological precision, designing strategies that resolve immediate needs and institutionalize more permanent practices and systems.

The ideal candidate will have many of the experiences and qualifications described below but need not possess them all for consideration. The asterisk indicates required qualifications.

• A strong alignment with MIC's mission, values, and commitment to racial justice, equity, and democratic power.*

• 10+ years of experience in community organizing, powerbuilding, regional ecosystem development, or movement infrastructure.*

• 5+ years of experience in a director-level or equivalent senior leadership role.*

• Demonstrated knowledge and application of movement-building theory, in particular collaborative governance, and long-term powerbuilding at the regional ecosystem level.*

• Deeply embedded in regional and statewide movement ecosystems, with established credibility and strong relationships; brings a practical, grounded understanding of the distinct roles of grassroots powerbuilding organizations, movement support organizations, and regional anchors.*

• Proficiency with power analysis, ecosystem mapping, regional assessments, and movement strategy.

• Proven ability to lead complex initiatives, manage cross-functional teams and partnerships, and steward iterative learning and adaptation.

• Experience supporting organizations through strategic alignment, principled struggle, and collective decision-making across organizational boundaries.

• Ability to design and facilitate organizational learning processes and translate learnings into adaptable frameworks, tools, and methodologies.

• Demonstrated experience designing and facilitating multi-organizational collaborations, regional formations, or networks.

• Skilled facilitator with experience guiding shared analysis, strategic alignment, collaborative governance, and conflict navigation.

Employment Classification and Salary

• This is a full-time, exempt position starting as soon as possible. This role is remote; however, the candidate must be in California. This position requires travel throughout California, with travel frequency expected to increase over time and average approximately 2 - 4 times per month as the program evolves.

• The starting salary for this position is $160,000.

• No-negotiation Practice: To foster compensation parity, the MIC offers the same benefits to all employees as well as the maximum salary we determine adequate and possible for each role. This means we do not engage in salary or benefits negotiations.

• The MIC has a 90-day trial period policy for all new hires. This allows both the organization and the employee to ensure a great fit. During this period, performance, adaptability, and cultural alignment will be assessed through ongoing feedback and a formal review.

Benefits

• 100% organization-funded medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees, their spouses or domestic partners, and their children. Coverage begins on the first day of employment.

• Paid Time Off: As a full-time employee, you will receive 15 days of vacation, 12 sick days per year, and a generous paid family leave policy. Accrual of this benefit begins on the first day of employment and becomes available upon completion of the 90-day trial period.

• Paid Holidays: 21 days total, including a 10-day Winter Break overlapping with Christmas and New Year’s Day. Additionally, 4 Floating Holidays will be made available upon completion of the 90-day trial period.

• Retirement Plan: MIC offers a 403b retirement plan. MIC contributes an employer-paid amount equal to 5% of your salary. Vesting for this contribution is immediate. Employees have a default 3% personal contribution rate and may adjust it at any time. This benefit becomes available after the 90-day trial period.

MIC’s salaries and benefits reflect our commitment to collective care and sustainability. They may evolve as the organization grows, and employees will be updated as changes occur. Additional details will be provided upon hiring.

Movement Innovation Collaborative is an equal-opportunity employer.

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We encourage those who see alignment with our mission and believe they have the relevant skills and experience to apply. We commit to providing an inclusive work environment where everyone is treated with fairness, dignity, and respect.

Originally posted on Himalayas