Job Abstract

Our teammates are at the core of what we believe in: People, Collaboration, Learning, and Excellence (PeopleCLE). We look to hire individuals who are committed to our purpose of uniting and inspiring our city through the power of team. We want to add unique individual who can support us in accomplishing our mission is to win the World Series while creating a compelling fan experience. If you believe you possess these important traits, please consider a career with the Cleveland Guardians.

PRIMARY PURPOSE: The Cleveland Guardians’ vision for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) is to become the most inclusive organization in sport where our teammates, fans, and members of our community feel a strong sense of belonging and connection to our team, are respected and treated fairly, and are empowered to always show up as their authentic selves. For us, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is at the heart of what we do and is integral to us achieving our purpose. Our greatest competitive advantage is our people and their ability to build culture, make great decisions, innovate, and contribute to a thriving community. To do so, we strive to create an environment that bring out the best in people. The Manager of DEI will be crucial in us working towards this objective.

The purpose of Manager of the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) is to support the DEI Department in providing strategic management, oversight, and evaluation of internal and external DEI programs to ensure all teammates have the skills and mindsets needed to become inclusive leaders in our organization. The Manager will work closely with the Head of DEI and Assistant Director of Community Impact & Diversity Initiatives to ensure the vision and strategy for DEI across the organization is actualized in a thoughtful manner that leads to a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture. The focus of this position will be on implementing strategic initiatives and measuring progress to help drive DEI priorities with our teammates, community, and fans.

RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

The Manager of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) will support the DEI department by implementing a comprehensive DEI strategy, programs, and initiatives for the organization. This role acts as an internal DEI partner and provides support to employees at all levels by taking a consultative and systemic approach to enable the organization to optimize our efforts to become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

Program Management, Development, & Implementation

• Innovates, expands, and manages existing and new DEI programming including our Affinity Groups, Three Team Alliance, and Diversity Leadership Council
• Manages and serves as the primary point of contact and department liaison for all DEI Community Celebrations at the ballpark
• Assists with the collection of DEI data for internal purposes, MLB reporting, etc.; reviews Employee Engagement survey results to highlight areas of growth and opportunity

Strategic Thought Partnership & Consultation

• Serves as a DEI business partner, consulting with teammates from various departments and the DEI department to understand and identify areas of opportunity to deliver on our emerging strategies
• Builds trusting relationships with teammates and influences colleagues to create awareness, support, and advocacy for DEI priorities
• Represents the DEI department on various cross-functional project teams, bringing a strategic equity lens to on-going organizational improvement opportunities including pay equity, clubhouse inclusion, employee benefits, organizational scorecard, etc.

Internal Learning & Education

• Develops, implements, and delivers synchronous and asynchronous learning and awareness programs to foster a more inclusive culture in partnership with our Learning and Development teams
• Manages and facilitates targeted DEI learning opportunities throughout the year including lunch & learn sessions, seasonal employee training, new hire onboarding, anti-harassment learning and education sessions, hiring workshops, and more
• Maintains a database of DEI resources and creates content for Learning and Development Digest, social media, employee intranet, internal DEI communications, and external DEI webpage

External Connection & Advocacy

• Proactively builds and maintains relationships with community partners and external stakeholders to ensure authentic collaboration within the greater community, especially within historically marginalized communities
• Assists with the development and management of strategic partnerships including DEI consultants, diverse vendors & suppliers, faith-based organizations, diverse job boards, etc.
• Participates in various conferences, networking events, and communities of practice with local and national DEI practioners, MLB clubs, and more to enhance the Guardians DEI brand

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

Who You Are & What You Bring

• You are passionate about people and making sure everyone can be their authentic selves at our ballpark. You have an empathetic approach to this work that you bring to every interaction. A big plus if you have worked in a role that has required you to collaborate with multiple departments on a daily basis.
• You love planning and organizing meetings and events of all sizes. You have a high level of organization and attention to detail and understand and value the impact that planning ahead has on final outcomes.
• You are an effective project manager. You have a demonstrated ability to multitask, meet deadlines and solve problems as they arise. You are also able to take a project from start to finish and constantly refine along the way.
• You think outside the box and are unafraid to share your ideas, ask lots of questions, teach others new concepts, and develop new systems or solutions to streamline processes.
• You communicate clearly and directly but also know how to meet people where they are at and call them into conversations vs. calling them out
• You have a working knowledge of and experience with current DEI best practices in sports that impact hiring, learning & development, team culture, and more.

Required Qualifications

While we are looking for a variety of diverse skill sets for this role, we believe that possessing the following unique skill sets will help you be most successful and thrive in this role:

• You hold an MBA or Master’s degree in another relevant field of study (sports management, education, sociology, social work, etc.)
• You have experience working for a professional or collegiate sports team or athletic department.
• You have experience executing large scale events and programs within an athletic department or professional sports team with minimal oversight.
• You have experience working with professional or student athletes.
• You know how to use data to generate insights and identify root causes, building short and long-term plans and drive meaningful action
• You have a firm understanding of how social inequities disproportionately impact historical marginalized groups
• You have the ability to meet people where they are on their personal DEI journey and approach partnership through the lens of empathy and understanding.
• You have a proven track record of working collaboratively with others

ORGANIZATIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Reads, speaks, comprehends, and communicates English effectively
• Represents the Cleveland Guardians in a positive fashion to all business partners and the general public.
• Ability to develop and maintain successful working relationship with members of the Front Office.
• Ability to act according to the organizational values and service excellence at all times.
• Ability to work with diverse populations and have a demonstrated commitment to social justice.
• Ability to walk, sit or stand for an entire shift.
• Ability to work extended days and hours, including holidays and weekends.
• Ability to move throughout all areas and levels of the Ballpark.
• Ability to work in a complex and changing environment.
• Occasional physical activity such as lifting and carrying boxes up to 25 lbs.

The Cleveland Guardians are committed to developing and maintaining an environment that embraces all forms of diversity to enrich our core values, enhance our competitive position, strengthen our impact within our community, and foster a greater sense of belonging for our employees.

In this spirit, we know studies have shown that people from historically underserved groups - including women and people of color - are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every one of the qualifications as described in a job description. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job and understand that candidate may bring certain skills and experiences to the role that are not listed in our job description, but that would add tremendous value to our organization. We would encourage you to apply, even if you don’t believe you meet every one of our qualifications described.