Executive Director, City Experience Team, WWC

Organization: Results for America

Role: Executive Director, City Experience, What Works Cities (WWC) 

Location: Flexible within the United States (Eastern time zone preferred)

Travel: Up to 40% across the US, Canada, and Central and South America

Organization Overview

Results for America (RFA) is the leading national nonprofit helping government decision-makers harness data and evidence to improve outcomes for residents. Our mission is to make investing in what works the “new normal,” ensuring that public leaders use rigorous evidence to inform policy and funding decisions. We believe data-driven governance can dramatically increase the impact of the $2 trillion that governments spend each year to expand opportunity and advance economic mobility.

What Works Cities (WWC)

What Works Cities, a flagship initiative of RFA funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, helps local governments across North, Central, and South America use data and evidence to tackle their most pressing challenges. Through coaching, implementation support, in-person and virtual learning, and a growing professional network, WWC helps cities adopt best practices and meet the international What Works Cities Certification Standard—the first global benchmark of excellence for data-driven, well-managed local government.

Over the last decade, WWC has supported more than 300 cities in improving outcomes related to public safety, health, homelessness, economic mobility, and more. As we mark the program’s 10-year anniversary, WWC is entering a new phase of growth—expanding its footprint across the Americas, exploring new regional markets, and deepening services for both new and Certified cities. The initiative is focused on elevating the WWC Standard globally, embedding it within institutions, and continuously refining the model through research, evaluation, and practitioner feedback.

Position Overview

The Executive Director, City Experience, will help lead the next era of What Works Cities programming by ensuring a high-quality experience for all cities across the network—whether they are just beginning their data journey or sustaining excellence as Certified cities.

This leader will design and oversee the relationship management model that guides a city’s full lifecycle experience within WWC—from initial assessment and capacity-building to Certification, re-Certification, and long-term sustainability. The Executive Director will also ensure excellence and fidelity in the design, delivery, and evaluation of WWC curriculum, content, assessments, technical assistance, and research efforts.

This is a highly strategic, visionary role requiring a collaborative, relationship-oriented leader who thrives in complex environments and can work across teams and partners to drive impact at scale.

This is a full time, exempt position, based in a home office anywhere within the United States.  

International travel up to 40% annually may be required. 

The role reports to the Managing Director, What Works Cities, and supervises multiple team members across the City Experience portfolio.

Key Responsibilities

1.Leadership & Strategy (40%)

• Provide strategic direction for the City Experience team, fostering a culture of growth, collaboration, innovation, and accountability.
• Set team goals, priorities, and milestones in alignment with WWC’s strategy; develop and track KPIs to measure progress and effectively manage the team towards outcomes.
• Ensure team capacity is effectively aligned with core WWC program offerings; leading  ongoing training and professional development to create an environment of continuous learning. 
• Collaborate closely with the Managing Director and cross-functional WWC leadership to refine and advance the initiative’s overall strategy.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a diverse team, modeling strong people-management skills and an inclusive, collaborative culture.
• Promote cohesion and shared accountability across the City Experience team to ensure a unified strategy and user experience.
• Serve as a leader who champions RFA and WWC’s values, culture, and commitment to excellence.

2. Program Design & Oversight (40%)

• Ensure fidelity and excellence in the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of WWC Standard, curriculum, platform-based content, resource library, and technical assistance offerings.
• Assess and assure the quality of WWC assessments and city action plans to ensure they align with the WWC Standard and will drive meaningful progress.
• Oversee the development of a cohesive end-to-end user experience for cities—from initial engagement to resource utilization, Certification, and long-term sustainability.
• Lead content development efforts, ensuring materials are evidence-based, practitioner-informed, and tailored to the diverse needs of cities across the Americas.
• Partner with subject-matter experts and external collaborators to continuously innovate and enhance the learning experience.
• Oversee the strategic design of a research and evaluation strategy to ensure offerings reflect the program’s theory of change while also elevating WWC’s value proposition through actionable insights.

3. Relationship Management (20%)

• Design and implement a comprehensive relationship management model that ensures a consistent, high-quality experience for cities throughout their full engagement and program  lifecycle.
• Lead and coach a team of City Experience staff and help cities embed the WWC Standard into their daily operational models. By doing so, this will help cities achieve as well as sustain overall data practices as well as Certification status. 
• Cultivate strong relationships with municipal leaders, partner organizations, and internal stakeholders to ensure the program remains responsive to evolving city needs. Particularly, attending Certification site visits as part of the efforts to cultivate municipal level engagement. 
• Coordinate with other RFA programs to identify opportunities to leverage expertise to advance the value of the WWC Standard; enhance offerings to support cities on their path towards Certification as well as share learnings, where appropriate. 

Qualifications and Leadership Competencies

Qualifications

• 15 years of relevant professional experience; Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
  • Strongly preferred: experience in public-sector management consulting and/or municipal government.
  • At least 8 years experience supervising multiple full-time staff; Prior experience overseeing the entire program or department, including budget accountability and leading multi-level teams to successful outcomes.
  • Demonstrated experience leading international programs or overseeing work across multiple countries/regions.
  • Experience working with executive-level leaders in government, nonprofits, or philanthropy.
• Familiarity and experience with change management. 
• Familiarity with digital tools such as Google Suite, Zoom, Qualtrics, Salesforce, and Higher Logic.

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic thinker with a demonstrated ability to translate vision into operational plans
• Outcomes-oriented with strong organizational, planning, and change leadership skills
• Outstanding project leader with experience balancing multiple complex workstreams; Skilled delegator who empowers teams and manages up, down, and across complex structures
• Enterprise-wide leader; Effective communicator in any professional setting with a wide set of stakeholders
• Proven practice motivating, influencing & collaborating with internal & external stakeholders to achieve mutual goals
• Strong relationship-builder able to manage diverse stakeholders, navigate conflict, and maintain trust
• Adaptive leader comfortable operating in dynamic environments; models for others a solutions-driven mindset, with demonstrated ability to identify needs and lead to solutions in high-ambiguity scenarios.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in international, virtual, and cross-cultural contexts.
• A commitment to Results for America’s mission and vision and racial justice commitments 
• Respect for Results for America’s organizational values.

Salary and Benefits

Results for America offers a compensation package that includes:   

• A competitive base salary commensurate with relevant work experience; and
• A benefits package that includes choice in medical plans; dental/vision coverage; paid time off; a 403b retirement plan with employer contribution. 

Salary range: $203,056-$267,740 with typical hiring between the minimum and midpoint depending on experience, internal equity, and budget.

New hires are typically brought into the organization at a salary between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint depending on qualifications, internal equity, and the budgeted amount for the role.   

How to Apply

• To apply for this position, please complete and submit all information in the application/application link. 
• RFA is an equal opportunity employer that values/celebrates diversity and that follows a policy of making all employment decisions and personnel actions without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, partnership status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, family responsibilities, matriculation, political affiliation, disability, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual offenses or stalking, military status, veteran status or any other category protected under federal, state or local law.
• Applicants for employment with RFA must have valid work authorization that does not require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the U.S.