Senior Program Manager

Salary: $89,069-$92,185

Benefits:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Unlimited vacation and sick days, 2-week winter break, and federal holidays
• Flexible work schedule
• Annual employee allowance and professional development stipend
• Employer 401(k) contribution matching up to 4%
• Local coworking space stipend for remote staff

Location: Chicago, IL or remote in the U.S.

Start Date: May 2026

Final date to receive applications: March 20th, 2026 or until we hit our cap of 200 applications, whichever is earlier.

Type: Full time

Travel: Up to 8%, dependent on need and public health considerations

When you think about elections, you might think about popular candidates, “I voted” stickers, and all sorts of paperwork and deadlines. But behind the scenes are thousands of election officials in state and local governments who are working hard to make sure ballots are counted and voices are heard.

In order to run excellent elections everywhere, local officials need timely, actionable, research-based strategies. To fill that gap, CTCL’s Research Department produces actionable insights that elevate the voices and needs of local election officials and today’s voters.

As Program Manager of Reach at CTCL, you will lead the field-building research program (REACH) and coordinate across projects to achieve long-term strategic goals. You’ll report to the Associate Director of Strategy.

• Research
  • Support Director and Associate Directors to develop annual research agenda
  • Support Project Managers to choose research methods and quality assurance systems for their projects
  • Ensure strategic alignment and cohesion across research projects
  • Coordinate with Impact, Research, and Learning team to evaluate project impact and support learning agendas
  • Contribute to reports and deliver presentations at conferences
• Administrative Support
  • Determine and communicate scope of work for core projects in a way that supports organizational strategy and meets key stakeholders’ needs
  • Coordinate with the Associate Director of Strategy, our legal team, and partners to share and finalize scopes of work and contracts
• Program leadership
  • Promote collaboration and knowledge sharing across departments
  • Cultivate and manage external partnerships to support our field-building research, and help teammates identify new projects to pursue with partners
  • Participate in departmental strategy conversations, and lead field-building research strategy conversations with partners.
  • Continue learning about demographic and civic participation research to understand how our research can help advance the field
• People Management
  • Manage project managers
  • Contribute to the hiring process of direct reports
  • Support direct reports to set goals, coach them in weekly 1:1s, and evaluate their performance
  • Help direct reports pursue professional development and gain relevant knowledge
• Commitment to priority audiences
  • Ensure CTCL programs for election departments prioritize voters with limited access to the election system, especially when supporting with developing our annual research agenda and evaluating project impact. This includes voters who are newly eligible, have limited English proficiency, live with disabilities, or are from communities that are impacted by the digital divide or historical disenfranchisement due to race

• You are a strategic thinker.

  You’re comfortable with navigating both the detailed nature of our day-to-day work and able to see how our work connects to the bigger picture of our vision. You engage teammates, reflect on internal and external factors, and evaluate strategic options for maximum impact. You can translate strategic initiatives into tangible scopes of work, and share the “why” behind this work with your team.
  
  You carry out your work with an eye toward continuous improvement and collaboration, and proactively identify new ways to collaborate with other departments and partners to advance our work.

• You are self‑motivated.

  You work well independently, manage your own time and workload, and you know when to ask for help.

• You have strong verbal and written communication skills.

  You communicate clearly to a wide variety of stakeholders (including staff and external…