Position Title Organizational Systems Innovation & Improvement Lead (Temporary)
FLSA Status Exempt, Full-Time
Department Administration / Strategic Initiatives / Special Projects
Term Initial 12-month pilot; continuation subject to organizational need, demonstrated value, and available funding
Supervisor Director of Strategic Initiatives / Special Projects
Primary Purpose Lead selected organization-wide innovation and continuous improvement projects from identified needs through implementation and evaluation. Collaborate across PIDF to simplify burdensome processes, strengthen systems and information access, and advance practical, responsible uses of technology and AI. Department and program leaders retain subject-matter expertise, policy authority, and ownership of their functions; this position leads the improvement process for priorities approved by leadership, guided by PIDF's values, cultural knowledge, ʻike kūpuna, and staff expertise.
Essential Duties Kīʻapu Program Transition and Grant Closeout
- Coordinate the orderly transition and wind-down of Kīʻapu program director operations in collaboration with designated leadership, ensuring continuity of remaining youth services and fulfillment of grant obligations.
- Complete outstanding NHEP grant reporting, performance tracking, data reconciliation, and supporting documentation in coordination with the Grants and Accounting teams.
- Prepare a comprehensive program handoff, including grant deliverables, participant records, reporting schedules, outstanding commitments, financial status, key contacts, and unresolved issues.
- Transfer program records, reporting tools, workflows, and institutional knowledge to designated leadership, providing training and transition support as needed.
- Maintain a transition work plan with clear milestones, assigned responsibilities, and progress updates to ensure completion within agreed timelines.
Organizational Innovation and Improvement
- Partner with leaders and staff to identify high-value pain points, repetitive work, information gaps, and improvement opportunities.
- Map current processes, define root needs, research options, and recommend solutions based on impact, feasibility, cost, risk, and readiness.
- Prioritize effective use of existing tools and cost-conscious solutions before recommending new technology, custom development, or consulting.
- Lead approved projects through design, testing, implementation, adoption, evaluation, and refinement.
- Establish scope, milestones, owners, decision points, dependencies, risks, and success measures for assigned initiatives.
AI, Technology, and Workflow Improvement
- Identify and test responsible uses of AI, automation, and existing PIDF technology that reduce manual effort, improve accuracy, strengthen follow-through, or improve access to information.
- Develop practical workflows, job aids, standards, and safeguards for approved technology-enabled processes.
- Coordinate review of privacy, accuracy, compliance, cultural, operational, and data-governance considerations with the appropriate subject-matter experts before implementation.
- Monitor relevant technology developments and recommend practical opportunities for PIDF exploration.
Training, Adoption, and Sustainability
- Develop and facilitate training for approved tools, workflows, and process changes.
- Provide implementation support until the responsible team can independently sustain the solution.
- Create accessible resource hubs, guides, learning modules, scenarios, or other supports that make organizational information easier to find and apply.
- Gather user feedback, address adoption barriers, and refine solutions based on evidence and staff experience.
Cross-Department Collaboration and Governance
- Coordinate leadership-selected improvement priorities across Administration, HR, IT, Finance, Strategic Initiatives, Development, programs, and other functions.
- Preserve functional ownership: department and program leaders remain responsible for policies, compliance, program decisions, and content within their areas.
- Engage cultural, community, program, data, compliance, IT, and other expertise early when their knowledge or responsibilities are implicated.
- Ensure cultural knowledge and community-shared information are used and presented only with guidance from those responsible for that knowledge.
Strategic Initiatives and New Venture Implementation Support
- Support the Director of Strategic Initiatives / Special Projects in translating approved new service areas, pilots, and ventures from concept into implementation-ready operating models.
- Collaborate with the Director and responsible subject-matter experts to develop clear policies, procedures, roles, decision rights, handoffs, and escalation pathways before or during launch.
- Build comprehensive project-management workflows that define scope, milestones, owners, dependencies, decision points, risks, budgets, and implementation timelines.
- Develop and maintain practical dashboards that make progress, key measures, risks, dependencies, decisions, and required leadership action visible.
- Coordinate development of onboarding materials, required training, job aids, resource libraries, and implementation guidance so staff can consistently carry out new work.
- Support development of pilot success measures, baseline data, feedback loops, and stage-gate reviews so leadership can determine whether to refine, expand, pause, or discontinue an initiative.
- Identify implementation risks and unintended operational impacts early, including duplication of existing services, workload shifts, cross-department impacts, participant experience, data/privacy requirements, and long-term ownership after the pilot period.
- Document lessons learned, standard operating procedures, resource requirements, and replicable practices to support responsible scaling to additional programs, communities, or islands when approved.
- Maintain clear distinction between project implementation support and functional ownership; the Director and designated program or department leaders retain authority for venture strategy, programmatic decisions, compliance, and ongoing operations.
Data, Measurement, and Quality Assurance
- Establish baseline measures and practical indicators before implementing selected improvements.
- Track results such as time saved, steps eliminated, accuracy, rework, staff experience, adoption, and sustained use.
- Develop concise dashboards, status reports, or learning summaries for leadership review.
- Document completed solutions so the responsible department or program can sustain them after handoff.
12-Month Pilot Outcomes By the end of the initial 12-month pilot, the position is expected to:
- Complete Kīʻapu transition and wrap-up responsibilities, including required grant reporting, data tracking, documentation, and handoff to designated leadership, within agreed transition timelines.
- Establish an organization-wide innovation intake and prioritization process and assess 100% of leadership-approved priority submissions using consistent criteria for impact, feasibility, risk, dependencies, and capacity.
- Advance at least five leadership-approved organization-wide improvement initiatives from defined need through pilot or implementation, with baseline and post-implementation measures documented for each.
- Implement at least six practical AI, automation, or workflow improvements that demonstrate a measurable reduction in staff effort, repeated steps, rework, or processing time.
- Establish or materially improve at least two organization-wide data, dashboard, quality-assurance, or information-access solutions, including defined ownership, documentation, and staff training.
- For each implemented solution, provide user guidance or training and conduct a 90-day adoption review when timing permits; document use, staff feedback, issues, and recommended refinements.
- Produce a year-end pilot assessment summarizing completed initiatives, measurable results, lessons learned, sustainability/ownership, and recommendations for continuation, modification, or sunset of the role.
Project Documentation and Communication
- Maintain project plans, decision logs, testing notes, implementation documentation, training materials, and supporting evidence.
- Provide concise updates on progress, results, upcoming decisions, risks, dependencies, adoption issues, and requested leadership action.
Other Duties Other duties as assigned that are consistent with the position’s innovation, implementation, and organizational improvement scope.
Work Hours
- Generally 40+ hours per week, Monday through Friday, or as otherwise determined by management;
- Regular and predictable attendance is required;
- Some evening or weekend work may be required based on project needs.
Working Conditions
- Work may occur at the administrative office, PIDF program sites, partner locations, and other approved work locations;
- Interisland or other travel may be required based on project needs.
Equipment Use May include vehicles (company and personal), computers, office equipment, software platforms, AI-enabled tools, and other technology required for assigned projects.
Mental, Physical, and Communication Demands Mental
- Consistently apply Partners In Development Foundation's five core values.
- Analyze ambiguous or inefficient processes, identify root causes, evaluate alternatives, and translate ideas into practical implementation plans.
- Manage multiple cross-functional projects, timelines, testing cycles, and follow-up responsibilities with accuracy and sound judgment.
- Learn unfamiliar systems, experiment responsibly, solve problems creatively, and adjust based on evidence and staff feedback.
- Exercise sound judgment with confidential, proprietary, culturally sensitive, participant, employee, and organizational information.
Physical
- Must be able to work on a computer for the majority of the workday and to sit and stand as needed.
- May require occasional lifting and carrying up to 25 pounds.
Communication
- Maintain a courteous and professional demeanor with participants, staff, administration, partners, and the public.
- Communicate technical and process concepts clearly through facilitation, training, writing, presentations, and electronic correspondence.
- Maintain confidentiality.
Minimum Qualification Requirements Required
- Bachelor's degree in business, organizational development, information systems, education, public administration, human services, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
- At least three (3) years of progressively responsible experience in project management, program operations, process improvement, organizational development, technology implementation, training, administration, or a related field.
- Demonstrated ability to identify process problems, evaluate solutions, test options with users, and implement approved improvements.
- Demonstrated experience coordinating cross-functional projects without direct authority over all contributors.
- Strong working knowledge of productivity tools, shared-document systems, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, project tracking tools, and data/reporting workflows.
- Ability to learn and responsibly apply emerging technology, including AI-enabled tools, to practical organizational needs.
- Strong facilitation, training, writing, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to define practical success measures and evaluate results using staff feedback and quantitative or qualitative evidence.
Preferred
- Experience in a nonprofit, education, human services, Native Hawaiian-serving, or community-based organization.
- Experience with continuous quality improvement, workflow mapping, process redesign, change management, or implementation.
- Experience developing or implementing automation, AI-assisted workflows, dashboards, knowledge/resource hubs, learning modules, or other technology-enabled improvements.
- Experience supporting staff adoption of new systems, tools, or workflows.
- Familiarity with data privacy, responsible AI, information governance, and culturally grounded approaches to technology and knowledge stewardship.
- Experience with grant-funded programs, compliance, reporting, fundraising, or program operations.