Engagement Manager

About Mighty Acorn

At Mighty Acorn, we help government agencies navigate complex change safely and leave their teams better prepared to own what comes next. The result is resilient services that build trust in government by improving outcomes for the public and the staff who deliver them. Our goal is a world where “good enough for government work” returns to its pedestal: fast, reliable, and frustration-free.

About the role

We're looking for an Engagement Manager to lead account health and strategy for a portfolio of work with key government partners where Mighty Acorn is currently engaged or hoping to grow. Additionally, you’ll make sure each engagement within your portfolio is healthy, delivering results, and exceeding the expectations of our government partners.

You’ll maintain a strategic focus both across and out in front of each engagement to proactively anticipate challenges our partners may encounter and offer solutions. You’ll connect dots across engagements and translate past performance into repeatable capabilities Mighty Acorn could bring to new markets.

You'll be a senior, trusted voice for agency leaders: the person who understands what they're trying to achieve and brings a clear point of view on how modern, human-centered digital services can help them get there. You won't run delivery, but you'll know the work well enough to understand what's going well, where it's at risk, and what it means for the agency.

On each engagement, you'll work alongside a Delivery Lead who focuses on the team and the work, handling day to day operations while you focus on the bigger picture. That means making sure agencies are well-served and confident in our work, that teams have the right people and capacity as needs change, and that valued work continues through renewals, recompetes, and new ways we can help.

What you'll do

Your work follows each agency partnership from the first conversation about new work, through delivery, to what comes next for the agency and for Mighty Acorn.

Shape new work

When a current or potential government partner feels ready to start something new, you'll turn early ideas into a scoped engagement where Mighty Acorn can effectively deliver.

• Help agency leaders turn their goals into a clear approach, with the right team, timeline, and budget to get there.

• Own the scope and budget for your engagements, and work with our Operations and Growth teams on statements of work, contract modifications, and agreements with teaming partners.

• Work with the Delivery Lead and our practice leaders to ensure each team has the right skills and experience.

• Set clear expectations with the agency about what we'll deliver, how we'll work together, and the risks to watch for.

• Keep the work anchored to outcomes for the people the service is meant to reach, not just the features we'll build.

• Give the team the context it needs to start well: who the stakeholders are, what they care about, and what success looks like.

Support the engagement

Once the work is underway, you’ll be a partner to the Delivery Lead and a steady connection between the team and the agency. The Delivery Lead runs the work day to day.

• Meet regularly with Delivery Leads to understand how the work is progressing, discuss what you're hearing from the agency, and help where it's needed.

• Make sure risks to our commitments are raised early and resolved, and lead the conversation with agency leaders when they need to know.

• Weigh in on delivery plans, staffing, and major deliverables, bringing the big-picture view of what the agency needs.

• Keep an eye on budget and burn with Delivery Leads and Operations, and plan ahead when the work needs to change shape.

• Share what you observe about team members with their managers to support their feedback and growth.

• Bring good ideas from one engagement to another, so each team benefits from what we've learned elsewhere.

Partner with agency leaders

• Build relationships across each agency, beyond the people on a single engagement, and learn what they're working toward, what stands in their way, and what success means for the public.

• Meet regularly to share progress, talk through what's ahead, and raise concerns early and openly.

• Offer a clear recommendation when a decision is hard, and be candid when something isn't working.

• Stay ahead of changes that could affect the work, such as new leadership, budget cycles, and contract timelines, and plan with the agency well before decisions are due.

• Help agencies plan for what happens after our work ends, so what we build together keeps serving constituents.

Expand our impact

Beyond individual engagement work, you’ll look broadly at how Mighty Acorn’s strengths can deliver better outcomes and expand our impact.

• Actively look for ways our work can reach further, such as bringing a proven approach to another program, department, or agency, or helping a client take on its next big challenge.

• Partner with our Growth team to create new opportunities in the context of a constantly changing Public Interest Technology landscape.

• When there's a real need we're well suited to meet, work with the agency, Mighty Acorn leadership, and our Growth team to shape the opportunity, scope and price the work, and lead our proposal.

• Recognize when we're not the right fit, and help connect agencies with partners who are.

• Capture the outcomes of our work as clear evidence and stories, for agency leaders to share with their stakeholders and for Mighty Acorn to share with the world.

Help shape where Mighty Acorn goes next

• Lead the account plan for each of your agencies, working with Mighty Acorn leadership to agree on goals, opportunities, and how we'll get there.

• Set direction for the next six months and commit to clear priorities for the next 90 days, then revisit the plan each quarter based on what you've learned.

• Help turn account plans into Mighty Acorn's annual goals, revenue targets, budgets, and team priorities, so the people closest to the work help decide where we go.

• Work with our practice leaders to identify the capabilities, methods, and proof points agencies will need next.

What we're looking for

• 5+ years in government digital services, civic tech, or public sector consulting, with at least 3 of those spent as the lead on a government client relationship.

• A background in delivering digital services, in areas such as product management, delivery management, or engineering, that helps you understand the work, spot risk, and earn the trust of delivery teams and agency stakeholders.

• A track record of growing client partnerships, whether by extending work, expanding into new areas, or leading successful proposals.

• Experience helping a client partnership take on new and larger challenges, including shaping and contributing to proposals.

• An understanding of how government works and buys: budgets, procurement, contracts, and the people and pressures behind them. State and local experience is a strong plus.

• The presence and judgment to advise senior government leaders, and the instinct to know when to bring others in.

• The confidence to give clients a clear recommendation, even when it isn't what they expected to hear.

• Clear, persuasive writing and the ability to make complex work easy to understand.

Other requirements

• An ability to work efficiently, sometimes under tight deadlines.

• A preference for transparency and an ability to be direct and transparent in your own communication.

• An ability to adapt quickly and cope with temporarily ambiguous situations as requirements change.

• This role requires work be performed from within the contiguous United States.

• Candidates must either hold active US citizenship or a green card, and should possess work authorization that doesn’t require any present or future visa sponsorship by Mighty Acorn Digital.

• Candidates selected for the role must pass a criminal background check before their start date.

• Candidates must have a fast (>100Mbps) and reliable internet connection and have a dedicated workspace with background noise at an appropriate level for audio calls.

If you don’t meet every requirement but believe you’d be great in this role, we’d love to hear from you! We’re committed to building diverse teams, and research shows that women and underrepresented groups often hesitate to apply unless they meet every qualification. Don’t let that hold you back—let’s talk!

Please only submit through this application.

Please apply only through this application process. Direct emails regarding this position will be ignored unless you’re seeking a reasonable accommodation. Further, we aren’t seeking partnerships with recruiters or agencies for this role; unsolicited resumes will not be considered. Only candidates who apply through this application will be considered. Please don’t also send your application materials in a follow-up email.

Mighty Acorn Digital is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to fostering workplace diversity and inclusion. We firmly reject discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, age, gender, religious or political beliefs, national origin or heritage, marital status, disability, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, genetic information, pregnancy, status as a protected veteran, or any characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Mighty Acorn participates in the E-Verify program. Upon hire, we’ll share your Form I-9 details with the US federal government to validate your eligibility to work in the US.

Please contact [email protected] if you’d like to request reasonable accommodation during the application or interviewing process.