AI Innovation & Portfolio Lead

Year Up United; Atlanta (GA); Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Year Up United is seeking an AI Innovation & Portfolio Lead to own the organization’s AI operating picture and to vet and pilot business problems before scaling. The role sits in the Product & Design team within Transformation & Technology and is hybrid, requiring in-person engagement with Year Up United sites across the United States.

You will lead strategic AI governance (SAIL), manage intake, champion a national Champions network, and partner with political and education stakeholders to align

Qualifications

• 5–7+ years in product/portfolio management, innovation or digital transformation.
• Experience building portfolio views/dashboards that leaders rely on.
• Proven track record standing up pilots or prototypes with evidence-based go/kill decisions.
• Deep fluency in AI; can distinguish real capability from hype.
• Passion for AI and experimentation with new tools to transform student and staff services.
• Comfort operating with ambiguity, bias toward multiple low-cost tests over perfect plans.
• Strong facilitation and stakeholder management; able to run vendor pilots quickly.

Responsibilities

• Maintain a trusted, current view of all AI initiatives for leadership decisions.
• Move AI use cases from intake to discovery to go/kill decisions.
• Graduate validated pilots into scaled builds with fast, evidence-based decisions.
• Lead AI governance, intake and community of practice across Year Up United.
• Partner with non-technical teams and agile delivery to transition pilots to production.

Skills

Portfolio management

AI fluency

Stakeholder facilitation

Leadership through influence

Community of practice

Workforce development knowledge

Salesforce familiarity

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

Overview:Year Up United is a $160M national workforce development nonprofit operating in 20+ locations, closing the Opportunity Divide for tens of thousands of young adults every year. The AI Innovation & Portfolio Lead sits within the Product & Design team — the transformation function inside Transformation & Technology (TnT) — and owns two things at once: the operating picture of AI across the organization, and the engine that turns a business problem into a tested pilot before we commit real build capacity.This is not a project management role. The AI Innovation & Portfolio Lead does not run delivery standups, manage tickets, or chase status team to team — the portfolio is a living operating picture leaders pull from, not a report that gets chased. It is also not a technical build role: turning validated pilots into production systems belongs to our technical AI build capability and agile delivery teams. This role’s job is to decide what is worth building, prove whether it works, and hand winners off to be scaled.Year Up United is already investing in AI and using it to solve real business problems, and this role connects that work — giving the organization one place where AI initiatives are seen, tested, and moved forward. To succeed, you will breathe AI: you track the frontier, know the latest tools and capabilities, and can tell a real advance from hype.This is a hybrid role requiring regular in-person engagement. Applicants must live within a reasonable commutable distance to a Year Up United location.In keeping with Year Up United’s values, this leader also engages directly with students as a mentor and advocate.Key Responsibilities:Key MetricsMaintain a trusted, current view of every AI initiative in flight that leaders use to make decisionsMove AI use cases from intake through discovery to a clear go/kill decision each cycleAchieve a healthy graduation rate of validated pilots into scaled builds — and end the rest quickly and cheaply (a fast, evidence-based “no” is a successful outcome, not a failure)Grow cross-org participation in AI through the community of practiceEvaluate pilots on validated learning against defined milestones — not on features shipped or first-quarter ROIInnovation PipelineTake a business problem and stand up a fast, low-cost pilot to test whether it is worth solving — “here is the problem, and we are going to pilot X, Y, Z”Run discovery with the people closest to the work to surface the problems most worth solvingDesign and orchestrate experiments using flexible resourcing (contractors, vendor pilots, borrowed capacity) rather than a standing teamMake evidence-based go/kill decisions and retire most pilots quickly and cheaplyPrepare validated pilots to graduate into scaled buildsAI Portfolio ManagementMaintain the single trusted view of every AI initiative — status, cost, adoption, outcomes, and readiness to graduateOwn the state of every bet and what it teaches usSurface portfolio insights that inform prioritization and investment decisionsStrategic AI Leadership (SAIL) Governance & IntakeCo-chair the Strategic AI Leadership group (SAIL), Year Up United’s AI governance committeeOwn the SAIL intake process — collecting and triaging AI use cases from across the organizationTreat intake as the top of the innovation funnel: where the problems worth piloting surfaceBring SAIL the pipeline and the evidence it needs to decide what graduates to a real buildBring a workforce development lens to every AI decision, understanding how Year Up United’s work intersects with opportunity talent, employer expectations, and the students we serveAI Community of PracticeLead the biweekly AI skill shares (Lunch & Learns) that bring staff together from across the organizationUse these sessions to sense what teams are building on their own and feed that into the funnelBuild cross-org AI fluency and a culture of safe experimentationCo-lead and manage the AI Champions program, a national network of staff building with AI across every function and marketSet the strategy for how future Champions are recruited, developed, and activated, ensuring the network grows in reach and depth over timeUse Champions as eyes and ears across the organization, surfacing what teams are building independently and feeding promising use cases into the innovation funnelCreate shared infrastructure for Champions, including resources, playbooks, and peer learning, so staff can experiment safely and effectivelyTrack program health through participation, use case volume, and the quality of what surfaces into SAIL intakeRepresent the Champions program to senior leadership as a leading indicator of organizational AI fluency and cultureCross-Functional PartnershipPartner across program, partnerships, marketing, Development, and operations to surface AI opportunities and ensure initiatives reflect the full scope of Year Up United’s workServe as a connective layer between TnT and the rest of the organization, not a siloed technical functionStaying at the FrontierTrack the latest and greatest in AI — tools, models, and capabilitiesEvaluate what is real and applicable, and bring it back to sharpen the bets we makeServe as a go-to resource on current AI capabilities for teams across the organizationMonitor the external AI landscape, including major model releases, philanthropic investments, policy developments, and sector initiatives, and brief internal leaders on what matters for Year Up UnitedIdentify opportunities to position Year Up United’s AI work within larger national conversations and funding momentsHandoff to ScaleWhen a pilot earns it, hand it cleanly to the technical AI build capability and agile delivery teams to be hardened and scaledEnsure a clean transition from “proven it works” to “built to last”Learning CommunityServe as a coach/mentor to a small group of current studentsParticipate in weekly group sessions, staff meetings, and training as part of the broader Learning Community* Other duties as assignedQualifications:Minimum 5–7 years of experience in product management, portfolio management, innovation, or digital transformation — we welcome strong portfolio and operations backgrounds paired with genuine drive to innovateExperience building and maintaining portfolio views, operating dashboards, or initiative roll-ups that leaders rely on to make decisionsDemonstrated track record standing up pilots or prototypes and making evidence-based go/kill decisionsDeep, current fluency in AI — you follow the field closely and can distinguish real capability from hype without needing to be an engineerGenuine passion for AI — you actively experiment with new tools and are energized by finding where they can transform how we serve students and staffComfort operating with ambiguity and lean experimentation; a bias toward running several low-cost tests over writing one perfect planStrong facilitation and stakeholder skills — able to hold a room with senior leaders and run a scrappy vendor pilot in the same weekAbility to partner with technical builders and agile delivery teams to move validated work into productionA senior operator comfortable leading through influence, without a dedicated teamExperience building or scaling a community of practice, ambassador program, or distributed change network across a complex organizationAbility to track and synthesize external AI developments and translate them into strategic implications for a mission-driven organizationUnderstanding of workforce development, skills-based hiring, or economic mobility, or genuine drive to develop it quicklyA passion for the mission of Year Up United and belief in the potential of young adults navigating the Opportunity DividePreferredProficiency with Salesforce or a similar ecosystemExperience in nonprofit, education, or workforce development environmentsPrior experience presenting to senior leaders or an executive/governance committeeAdditionalOccasional travel to Year Up United sites for discovery and pilot workCommitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belongingSalary Range : $135,000 - $160,000#LI-HybridWORKING AT YEAR UP UNITED:Starting January 5, 2026, employees are expected to work on-site at least two days per week (Monday through Thursday dependent on job requirements). To be eligible for employment, candidates must live and work in a state (or an approved proximate state*) where Year Up United operates. For a list of eligible locations, please visit: https://www.yearup.org/job-training/locations*Approved proximate states where Year Up United operates are: Connecticut, Indiana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, South Carolina and Virginia.COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:Year Up United has established salary ranges for each of our sites, which allows us to pay employees competitively, equitably and consistently in different geographic markets. For roles in which the location is listed as flexible, the range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations. Salary offers take into account a candidate’s skills, experience, and location. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process.Benefits: Comprehensive healthcare options and dental coverage; 401(k) match for eligible participants.Vacation: Earn three weeks paid vacation in first year of employment; four weeks after initial year.** This is an exempt role (paid on a salaried basis). **ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION:Year Up United is a national 501(c)3 workforce development organization committed to ensuring equitable access to economic opportunity, education, and justice for all young adults—no matter their background, income, or zip code. Employers face a growing need for talent while millions of talented young adults lack access to meaningful careers. These inequities only further perpetuate the opportunity gap that exists in our country—a gap that Year Up United is determined and positioned to close through three interconnected strategies: providing targeted skills training and connections to livable-wage employment for students and alumni; empowering others to serve and support young adults, and changing systems that perpetuate the opportunity gap. Year Up United’s intensive training program utilizes a high expectations, high support model where students learn in-demand technical and professional skills and apply them during a corporate internship. Year Up United has directly served more than 40,000 young adults since its founding in 2000. Year Up United's nationwide presence includes Arizona, Austin, Bay Area, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Greater Atlanta, Greater Boston, Greater Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, the National Capital Region, New York City/Jersey City, Pittsburgh, Puget Sound, Rhode Island, South Florida, Tampa Bay, and Wilmington.Voted one of the Best Nonprofits to Work For in the country by The NonProfit Times, Year Up United is a rewarding and impactful place to work. Our staff is passionate, supportive, mission-driven, and committed to positive change and continuous learning. We set high standards for both ourselves and our students and live by a set of core values that reflect an unshakable belief in the talent and potential of our young people. The work we do is life-changing, and we know that our team is the greatest asset in achieving our mission.COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY:Year Up United embraces diversity and equal opportunity in a serious way. All aspects of employment, including the decision to hire, promote, discharge, or discipline, are based on meritocracy. We do not permit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristics protected by federal, state, or local laws. Learn more about our commitment to diversity: http://www.yearup.org/about-us/careers/commitment-to-diversity/Year Up United is also committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. Your recruiter can provide details regarding the expected work environment and any physical requirements. Please let our hiring team know if you need an accommodation at any point during the interview process. Information received relating to accommodation will be addressed confidentially.TO APPLY:Please submit a thoughtful cover letter and resume through our website.We respectfully request no phone calls.