This resource was developed by Bright + Early.
Before you can measure performance, you need to define it. That is where your performance framework — including job levels, competencies, and career ladders — comes in.
Job levels explain, on paper, how progression works within your organization. What is a Coordinator responsible for, versus a Manager or Director? Ideally, these are universal across the organization’s different teams or departments.
For example:
Competencies describe the skills, abilities, and attributes needed for success at each level. These are often based on what that organization values and wants to encourage and reward.
For example, an organization that values communication and collaboration may have the following general competencies outlined:
Communication: Communicates ideas and impact clearly and transparently, listens actively to understand, and engages in open dialogue.
Collaboration: Works effectively with others to achieve shared goals. Builds trust, shares knowledge, and supports collective success.
Career ladders (or career frameworks) combine these into a clear, documented pathway to view how growth works, and how roles and levels differ. They define how the competencies apply to each job and level.
Here’s an example of part of a career framework, using the same levels and competencies outlined above:
| Coordinator | Manager | Director | |
| Responsible for carrying out day-to-day tasks that they are assigned. | Responsible for the overall success of projects, and the mentorship and supervision of others. | Responsible for the overall success of their department. | |
| Communication: Communicates ideas and impact clearly and transparently, listens actively to understand, and engages in open dialogue. | Communicates clearly and concisely with their manager and team. | Communicates with influence, providing clear context on responsibilities and how a team’s work connects to the broader organizational goals. | Communicates with vision and clarity, setting the tone for a culture of open communication and inspiring confidence in the organization and its mission. |
| Collaboration: Works effectively with others to achieve shared goals. Builds trust, shares knowledge, and supports collective success. | Demonstrates active participation in team collaboration efforts and contributes to group discussions. | Coaches others towards a collaborative approach. Seeks to understand the needs and motivations of those outside your team and find solutions that benefit the wider organization. | Cultivates a culture of collaboration at the senior leadership level, modelling transparency, shared accountability, and trust across departments. |
Once a general career framework is mapped out for the organization, it can then be applied to each specific role or team. For example, a fundraising team may have their own career framework, based on the above, outlining what the specific competencies and responsibilities of a coordinator/manager/director are on their team, while the operations team may have another.
When well-designed, these tools:
Bright + Early is a friendly and forward-thinking HR consultancy providing embedded HR support as well as custom policy work, people programs, and compensation consulting for nonprofits and other values-driven organizations. If you’re looking to build your own career frameworks and performance management systems, they can help.
