Senior Director of Programs

Overview

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Sr. Director of Programs for the Community Schools and Youth Development (CSYD) department is responsible for building a strong team, fostering dynamic organizational culture and strengthening our programs and impact in our communities. The Sr. Director of Programs will embody and lead CSYD in the execution of its mission and vision, while upholding Educational Alliance’s values. As a member of the CSYD senior leadership team, the Sr. Director of Programs is a key liaison between our school-based programs and Educational Alliance internal Operations and Development. The Sr. Director of Programs will have approximately ten direct reports, including seven afterschool program directors and three community school directors. This position oversees all program-related activities, provides vision and strategy around future departmental needs, and strengthens staff capacity and organizational culture.

The Sr. Director of Programs must be an experienced educator and/or youth developer, a skilled manager capable of working with teams and programs across multiple sites, a seasoned collaborator with a demonstrable history working with various stakeholders to achieve desired outcomes. The position will collaborate with program directors to assess, develop plans, and oversee the Community School and CSYD afterschool programs.

Responsibilities:

The Sr. Director of Programs assumes the following responsibilities under the Executive Director and in collaboration with other members of the CSYD leadership team and their staff:

Vision and Strategy:

Inspiring Leadership. Provide effective and thoughtful leadership by building strong relationships with program directors, students, families, school based teams, and all members of CSYD.

Strategic Vision. Provide vision and mission, assisting in the development of a strategic plan. Provide strategy and assistance around the budget for future programming, staffing, training, space, infrastructure and system needs that will help the department more effectively carry out its mission with a focus on continuous quality improvement.

Staff Development:

Staff Growth. Oversee recruitment, onboarding, selection and training for program teams, including drafting and updating job descriptions, conducting interviews and coordinating training opportunities.

Professional Development. In partnership with the CSYD Director of Finance & Operations, foster a work environment that is learning and growing together. Provide training and staff development opportunities for all community school and after-school program staff, building a supportive environment and enhancing the staff’s professional capabilities through training and coaching.

Staff Performance Evaluation. Conduct regular staff evaluations, strengthening the current structure and process, ensuring a smooth, intentional and proactive evaluation process. Oversee the process of conflict resolution within the department as needed to build a cohesive, relationship-driven work environment.

Program Oversight

Program Oversight. Work with community school directors and program directors to strengthen programmatic policies and program spaces. Through effective communication and strategic planning, create clear program goals and expectations. Conduct biweekly site visits, at a minimum twice per month. Fill in in the absence of a director. Conduct site team meetings once a month.

Program Impact and Evaluation. Collaborate with program staff and EA’s Research & Evaluation team, to develop an evaluation system approved by the ED, to assess CSYD school-based programs. Innovate new methodologies and work closely with program directors to ensure and enhance program impact.

Meeting Facilitation. Coordinate the departmental meeting and check-in frameworks for all community school and program directors, ensuring consistency and structured processes for both program directors and programmatic teams.

Policies and Practice. Implement practices and develop new policies that reinforce CSYD’s values, promote professional well-being, staff retention, and long-term sustainability.

External Relations

Government Relations. Coordinate with EA’s compliance team to ensure compliance with regulations and contracts across all partner City Agencies, including the Department of Youth & Community Development (DYCD), the NYC Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Education (DOE), and any other partner funders, donors or other initiatives.

• School Administration.

Meet with site principals and other relevant school administrative staff at least monthly.

Other:

• Stay abreast of best practices in community school, afterschool programs and youth development.
• Maintain comprehensive awareness of the requirements set forth by funders, donors, and partner agencies, and ensure strict adherence to all compliance standards.
• Attend internal and external meetings as requested or required by the ED.
• Perform other tasks as assigned.

Requirements/Qualifications:

To perform this new and critical position successfully, the Sr. Director of Programs must be able to fulfill all the elements of the job description to the highest standard and be able to work well with colleagues and stakeholders in a high energy and collaborative work environment. All employees are expected to contribute to ongoing growth and improvement in their departments via excellent job performance and proactive communication.

• Master’s degree and a background in youth development, education or similar field is required.
• Proven track record of effectively leading direct service programs with the ability to leverage staff strengths across program sites; DYCD experience preferred.
• Strong management and decision-making skills including the ability to influence, engage, and lead others to new levels of effectiveness and programmatic impact.
• Strong emotional intelligence and ability to coach, mentor, relate and listen to team members.
• Demonstrated ability to be an analytic and decisive decision maker with the ability to prioritize and communicate to staff key objectives and tactics necessary to achieve organizational goals.
• Exceptional written, oral and presentation skills with the ability to effectively communicate with senior management, staff, and external stakeholders.
• Experience in program evaluation as well as knowledge in nonprofit assessment methods and tactics.
• Demonstrated computer expertise with Microsoft Office tools, Google applications and email applications; and database systems.
• Self-motivated, results driven, detail oriented, and adaptable.
• Able to exercise good judgment, discretion, and confidentiality.