About New_ Public

New_ Public is a nonprofit product studio that’s reimagining social media. Join us in building digital public spaces that connect people, embrace pluralism, and build community.

We are researchers, engineers, designers, and community leaders. We want more healthy, flourishing spaces on the internet. Up until now, we’ve used two main strategies to achieve this: helping local communities across America create more flourishing digital spaces and developing prototypes for digital conversation with public service media organizations.

Today, we’re leaning more into supporting the folks building products and platforms outside our walls, through our Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) program and our research into what works and what doesn’t. 

We’re in this to serve, remove obstacles to power, and make life significantly better for all people — especially folks from underestimated communities — because we believe this work is essential for democracy and a flourishing society.

About the role

We are seeking a Program Lead for our EIR program. In this role, you will help shape the next wave of social technologies by supporting the people building it.

You'll join in time to lead our first full program with the lessons from our fall pilot in hand. You'll own the program from start to finish, making sure every detail is handled and every resident has what they need to do their best work. You'll also always be thinking about how to make the next cohort better.

You must be comfortable as a program operator: running a smooth application, selection and onboarding process, and making sure contracts, payments and logistics just work. As well as a curator: designing excellent programming and bringing in the experts, speakers and mentors who help our EIRs move faster. You will also help build relationships across civic, responsible and pro-social tech, and introduce EIRs to the people and funders who can help them grow.

Key responsibilities

• Own the EIR program end to end, from outreach and applications through selection, onboarding, programming and follow-up after the program

• Own the Open Social Awards going forward and ensure they complement the EIR program and our efforts to support and recognize prosocial product builders

• Lead recruitment: build outreach and referral pipelines; run an application process that draws a strong, diverse pool; refine selection criteria, and run a fair, rigorous selection process

• Work with our operations team so every EIR is onboarded, contracted, paid and ready on day one

• Design and deliver excellent programming, including workshops, expert sessions and guest speakers

• Build a network of experts, mentors and advisors across civic tech, responsible tech, pro-social tech and the nonprofit and for profit sectors

• Pair EIRs with the right support at the right time, matching people from New_ Public’s network to each resident considering what they need next

• Connect EIRs with funders, partners and collaborators, and follow up so those introductions lead somewhere

• Keep improving the program: gather feedback, track outcomes, build on what we learn, and propose new pieces such as structured mentorship

• Partner with the Head of Strategic Communications on the program's story, including recruitment campaigns, cohort announcements and EIR spotlights

• Partner with the Head of R&D so what we learn from EIRs feeds into our research and our research informs their EIRs work

• Support the Managing Director in fundraising by reporting on program outcomes and contributing to funder materials

About you

• You believe in our mission and want to back the people building better social technology

• You're strategic and operational. You'll catch the unsigned contract, and you'll also develop a vision for what the program could become in two years

• You're entrepreneurial and a self-starter. You may have built something yourself

• You work well with a wide range of people, from senior, well-connected professionals to people earlier in their careers or making a career change

• You're personable and responsive, and you follow through

• You have high EQ. You're good at facilitating conversations, running a meeting and holding a (virtual) room

• You're a clear communicator who can write a sharp application, a warm introduction and a good program update

• Nice to have: experience running a fellowship, accelerator, incubator or other cohort program; founder experience; relationships with funders

• Nice to have: You know the civic, responsible and prosocial tech landscape, and you know which experts to call.

More information

• Location: United States or Canada (fully remote)

• Compensation: $115,000 - $145,000 USD per year. This is a full-time position.

• Reports to: Angelica Quicksey, Managing Director

The Process

• Submission: Submit your application using the “Apply here” link below. 

• First Interview: After screening all applications, we will select candidates for Round 1 interviews, Those candidates will be contacted to interview with our Operations Lead.

• Second Interview: Selected Round 1 candidates move forward to Round 2 of our interview process. Those candidates will be invited to interview with Angelica.

• Assignment: Following Round 2, selected candidates will be asked to complete an assignment that evaluates their technical and practical skills. Candidates will receive a  $250 via Tango gift-card for completing this assignment.

• Final Interview: Finalist candidates will have a short conversation with Deepti Doshi.

• Reference Check: After reviewing assignment submissions, we will request contact information for three (3) professional references from selected candidates. If you need time to inform your references of our upcoming outreach, please let us know!

• Offer: We will extend an offer to the candidate who best aligns with the key criteria for this role. 

We know confidence gaps can hold great candidates back — so if you’re excited about this role but don’t check every box, please apply anyway. What matters most to us is genuine interest in building healthy digital public spaces, a willingness to learn and grow, and a commitment to fostering an inclusive, respectful workplace. We especially welcome applications from people whose backgrounds and experiences are underrepresented in tech.