Program Manager (June 2026)
Community Purchasing Alliance Cooperative (CPA Co-op) is a social-purpose cooperative that helps community organizations—schools, congregations, and other nonprofits—negotiate better contracts for their facilities. We strive to lower operating costs so that they can spend more on their missions. At the same time, we strive to shift contract spend to local, woman-owned, and BIPOC-owned vendors.
We are seeking your experience to support the growth of our cooperative into a national network through our referral programs and network-wide events.
Areas of Responsibility:
Area #1: Managing the co-op’s national referral programs.
You own delivery for our widest reaching national purchasing programs. Starting with the commercial insurance program, over time you will take over the co-op’s two national level referral programs – commercial insurance and copiers. This will require partnership with other staff members from network and local program, engagement, and operations teams. You are responsible for ensuring that our members and participants receive the coverage and services that they need. This could include additional referral programs as they are launched in future years.
You run all steps of the program for our participants from initial conversations with members, to creating a scope of work, to connecting them with the appropriate vendor, to vetting new potential vendors, to helping our members make vendor selections.
You manage our national outreach about these programs, including coordinating with engagement and other program teams at the network and local levels. This covers everything from setting timelines to drafting emails, and may include running a full-scale RFP in some years (not likely until 2028 or later).
You partner with our internal staff: engagement teams to communicate with participants, program teams to confirm scopes and needs, and operations teams to finalize contracts and budgetary questions. After contracts are signed, you monitor for possible renewals or other needs, and provide active troubleshooting as needed or when requested by engagement.
During the first 6-9 months of taking on each program, you will do this work in active partnership with current and past program directors. You will start with taking over commercial insurance and then the copier program. These transitions will all happen in concert and consultation with program directors, local co-op teams, your coach, and you!
Growth in this area, in addition to taking on additional national referral programs, would include higher level ownership of program delivery such as strategic planning, independent work on program management, and generating additional revenue or program opportunities.
Area #2: Support the co-op’s Janitorial and Facilities Management Program in all regions.
You support delivery of one of our longest standing and highest touch programs. This will require coordination with program, engagement, and operations team members to deliver on RFPs, renewals, and other contract processes. In partnership with the Janitorial and Facilities Program Director, you are responsible for ensuring that our members and participants receive the coverage and services that they need.
You are responsible for maintaining a portfolio of CPA’s janitorial contracts, including all steps of the program for those participants as listed above. This includes participant and vendor relationships within that portfolio, as well as the entire RFP, contracting, and renewal process.
You will support the Program Director with program operations, including but not limited to: RFP walkthroughs at any of our CPA regions (but particularly in DC), data management, renewal contract processing including soliciting pricing from vendors, creating contracts, and reviewing pricing with participants.
You are the “go to second set of eyes” for the janitorial program, supporting the review of important documentation like RFPs, bid sheets, and contracts.
You would begin management of this program area after acclimating to the national referral programs listed above. Growth in this area would include a higher level of ownership of program delivery such as strategic planning, independent work on program management, and generating additional revenue or program opportunities, in consultation with the Program Director.
Area #3: Co-own CPA with us.
At CPA, we practice workplace democracy. We invite you to co-own the ongoing creation of CPA’s workplace democracy that allows staff to thrive and do their best work.
As a dynamic team with many ongoing projects, there are times when the work requires "all hands on deck" and this role would be another critical addition to making both external and internal work happen through our sociocratic structure.
You will work alongside our local co-op circles, and be an active partner to CPA staff in our mutual effort to build an effective, mission- and values-aligned organization.
You will bring your energy and creativity to team spaces with a spirit of openness, collaboration, and willingness to share and receive constructive feedback.
Must Haves
Strong communication and relationship building skills. Part of your job is connecting with people from many different backgrounds. You find (and even create) opportunities to deepen connections and build authentic, mutual relationships with members, participants, vendors, and colleagues across lines of difference, such as race or other identities. You clearly communicate the nuances of different contracts and vendors, helping to steer our participants towards action.
Cooperative values and continuous learning. You thrive by sharing power and working with others to accomplish the tasks at hand. There’s always more to know out there, and you’re hungry for it. You absorb information from your colleagues, your work, and from keeping up with your field. If something doesn’t make sense, you ask questions until it does, and you apply what you learn in your work.
High volume, high efficiency. We’re pretty busy here, and your job is to make it easy for our team members to do their jobs. You maintain systems for keeping tasks from slipping through the cracks. You’re able to juggle competing demands and prioritize without sacrificing quality. You get back to people in a timely manner and take pride in providing clear, helpful information.
Location
DC Metro Area. This is a remote friendly work environment, but the role may require in-person, on-site meetings. This role will require travel to staff events, retreats and conferences.
Competitive Compensation & Benefits
($70,100 - $105,500) starting salary, adjusted based on CPA’s compensation matrix
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance (100% employer paid premiums)
$2,500/dependent compensation addition for up to two dependents
Retirement contributions (CPA will match your contributions to our employer retirement plan, starting with a 100% match up to 3% of your salary in the first year of employment, up to 4.5% of your salary the second year, and up to 6% of your salary after two years).
Flexible schedule + “Flex Fridays” (time to catch up on deep work and/or personal needs)
Be your own boss while practicing workplace democracy
25 days of PTO + all federal holidays
3 months parental / primary caregiver leave
Remote office reimbursements
Professional Development Budget of $500/year of employment up to $2,500
CPA will pay for any licensing or compliance needs required by your programs