Deputy Director

The U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC) is the national grassroots membership organization for worker cooperatives and other democratic workplaces. Our mission is to build a thriving ecosystem for worker-owned and controlled businesses and their cooperative leaders to power movements for racial justice and economic democracy.  Our Federation currently includes over 450 business and organizational members, representing the estimated 1,300 worker co-ops in the U.S. and their 15,000 workers. Our work advances worker-owned, -managed, and -governed workplaces through cooperative education, organizing, advocacy, and development. 

USFWC is seeking a Deputy Director to help realize the bold potential of our worker cooperative movement. Reporting to the Executive Director (ED), the Deputy Director will be a strategic partner in translating the vision of the ED and Board of Directors into clear priorities, coordinated plans, and meaningful results. This role is central to strengthening USFWC’s organizational capacity and impact as we work to uplift labor, expand worker ownership, grow economic democracy, and promote cooperative businesses.

The Deputy Director translates organizational vision into coordinated action. Working closely with the ED and program directors, they ensure that USFWC’s programs, people, and resources are aligned around shared strategic priorities – and that the organization has the structures, communication, and accountability needed to carry those priorities forward.

This is both a leadership and an implementation role. The Deputy Director directly supervises a team of directors, supports coordination across program teams, and helps the organization make clear, informed decisions about priorities, capacity, and resources. This role brings a systems-level perspective while remaining attentive to practical details that enable teams to do excellent, sustainable work.

An ideal candidate brings inspirational leadership and a demonstrated ability to think expansively, sequentially, and strategically with directors, staff, the union, and member-leaders from our Board of Directors and throughout our programs. They can navigate tensions constructively, facilitate shared understanding of organizational strategy, and build the practical structures that move our vision for expanding worker ownership and economic democracy into reality.

Reports to: Executive Director
Direct reports:  The Director of Communications & Donor Relations, the Director of Government Relations, the Membership Director and the Director of Education & Training
Application deadline: Priority given to applications received before December 1, 2026
Anticipated start date: January 2027
Work arrangement: Remote; occasional in-person travel required

Supervisory responsibilities

Directly supervise the positions listed above, including coaching and performance evaluation. Coordinate program teams’ work through their designated supervisors.

Responsibilities

• Strategy and Organizational Planning: Work with the ED to coordinate the leadership team and program managers to express organizational strategy as annual priorities and coordinated work plans.  Shape organizational staffing structure and staffing plan, together with the ED, to support strategic priorities and organizational sustainability. Regularly review commitments, staff capacity, and effectiveness with team leads; recommend and implement agreed adjustments to scope, timelines, or activities.   
• Program Oversight & Evaluation: Guide program delivery, resolve potential cross-team barriers, and establish practical measures of quality, results, and prioritization. Work with staff to standardize data tracking and impact metrics across programs, to demonstrate our reach and impact through grant proposals, reports and communications for members and relevant audiences. Co-create and monitor program budgets with program leads, the ED, and the Director of Operations & Finance.   
• Staff Supervision & Development: Coach and evaluate direct reports; support supervisors in setting expectations, developing staff, strengthening management & supervision, and addressing performance concerns. Coordinate with the Director of Operations & Finance  on employee relations and consistent policy implementation. Serve on the Labor Management Committee (LMC) meetings alongside the union, reporting out to the board and leadership team, and ensuring follow-through on LMC agreements. 
• Internal Coordination & Communication: Establish communication norms that clarify what requires action, protect staff attention and capacity, and facilitate staff understanding of dynamic circumstances and leadership’s emergent priorities. Curate agendas and establish the cadence of routine leadership meetings, all-staff meetings, staff retreats, and project and program team meetings as relevant. Clarify project ownership and communication needs; improve workflows and collaboration tools with staff with a problem-solving mindset. 

 

Qualifications

Required:

• Previous leadership experience, such as a Managing Director, Deputy Director, Interim Director, Campaign or Cross-Team Programs Director, Executive Director, or other senior leadership team member, with strong supervision skills for coordinating work across multiple functions.
• Big-picture thinking that can foster clear prioritization and implementation of strategic goals with ingenuity. This includes the ability to translate strategy into realistic plans and manage complex projects across teams, including priorities, timelines, and outcomes.
• Effective facilitation, communication, deep listening, and conflict-resolution skills; ability to make decisions, give direct feedback, and establish accountability that is both timely and responsible.
• Fluency in organizational, cooperative, grassroots, labor, membership, or nonprofit governance; having served on and worked with boards of directors who carry fiduciary duties alongside strategy, vision, and risk management. (Experience with national organizations in the above fields is beneficial but not required).
• Experience developing and monitoring budgets and coordinating grant-funded work, compliance, and reporting.
• Experience leading or supporting a dynamic team and building a highly collaborative culture. (Familiarity with this work in a remote work environment is advantageous).
• Experience in economic justice, worker/tenant organizing, worker cooperatives, unions, or employee ownership; demonstrated stewardship of anti-oppressive, liberatory structures.

Desired:

• Experience supervising union-represented employees and applying a collective bargaining agreement in day-to-day management and labor-management collaboration.
• Experience with business management, cooperative development, employee ownership, impact investing, or social entrepreneurship.
• Knowledge of membership organizations and experience working in cooperatives, unions, collectives, immigrant rights, solidarity economy, or other organizations that practice participatory governance and workplace democracy.
• Experience leading or working closely with Human Resources 
• Experience overseeing conferences or other large events
• Formal training or certification in project management approaches and tools.
• Training or practical experience in mediation, conflict resolution, reconciliation, or de-escalation.
• Proficiency or fluency in Spanish to support communication with Spanish-speaking members, partners, and colleagues.

What Success Looks Like

The Deputy Director helps USFWC turn its ambitions into coordinated, sustainable, and measurable progress. Success means:

• Strategic Partnership: Thoughtfully engaging with the Executive Director to ensure USFWC’s success in meaningfully contributing to the larger worker cooperative movement. 
• Clarity of direction: Directors and program teams understand organizational priorities, their roles, and how their work contributes to the larger mission.
• Effective supervision: Direct reports receive clear expectations, useful feedback, and support for their development and performance.
• Reliable program delivery: Programs and cross-functional initiatives have realistic work plans, clear ownership, and consistent follow-through.
• Strong organizational stewardship: Budgets, grant commitments, staffing, and staff capacity are actively monitored, with timely adjustments when priorities exceed available resources.
• Healthy collaboration and accountability: Communication is clear, decisions are followed through, and workplace tensions are addressed constructively.
• Demonstrable impact: Consistent program data and evaluation help USFWC communicate its reach, learn from its work, and strengthen its value to members and the field.

The ED and Deputy Director will establish specific first-year priorities together.

 

Details about the position

Compensation & Benefits

This is a 40 hour/week salaried position with a starting salary of $90,000-$100,000.  USFWC staff receive routine annual raises in most years, contingent on the fiscal health of the organization. 

The USFWC covers 100% of employee-only medical and prescription drug insurance premiums through Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, as well as dental and vision premiums for employees and their dependents. Benefits include 13 paid holidays annually, including six floating holidays; 3-4 weeks of accrued annual vacation, depending on tenure; and two additional five-day paid organization-wide rest periods each year. We also provide support for professional development and work-related technology expenses.

Location

Our workplace is remote, with staff residing all over the U.S. Current staff reside in California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.  Where possible, we prefer to hire in these states, but will accept applications from qualified candidates anywhere in the contiguous U.S. 

We maintain a flexible work schedule and work environment. Our activities occasionally require out-of-town travel.

About Being on Staff:

The U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives is guided by a democratically elected, nine-member Board of Directors. Our staff includes a union-represented bargaining unit.

As our membership and demand for our programs evolve, we are focused on strengthening our impact, supporting our members, and meeting the needs of the worker cooperative field.

Applying:

To apply, please visit this application portal to submit a resume, cover letter, and 3 references. The position will be open until filled. Questions may be directed to Farzana Serang, Interim Deputy Director at far@usworker.coop. Please do not email your application – use the application portal linked above.

The USFWC is an Equal Opportunity employer. We highly encourage applicants of color, applicants who grew up poor or working class, LGBTQIA applicants, and applicants from other historically marginalized communities to apply.