Senior Director of National Programs: Village Mentoring & Summer Enrichment

Position Summary

The Senior Director of National Programs: Village Mentoring and Summer Enrichment is a leadership role tasked with advancing DREAM’s mission by ensuring the quality, vibrancy, and growth of our Village Mentoring and Summer Enrichment programs. This position requires a visionary leader who can balance strategic planning, program development, staff supervision, and on-the-ground implementation to achieve the organization’s ambitious goals.

As a senior leader, this role requires flexibility, innovation, problem-solving, and an overarching commitment to DREAM’s mission and people. Through this work, the Senior Director will play a central role in achieving the deliverables defined in DREAM’s multi-state mentoring grant and other funding initiatives that are related to growth and program quality.

This is a highly collaborative role with substantial support from multiple leaders and departments across the organization. Ongoing collaboration and teamwork with DREAM’s Empowerment Director across all elements of this role is central to the expectations, as is a close working relationship with other senior leaders and program staff who will help to ensure program quality and sustainability.

Key Responsibilities

• Reach more youth with Village Mentoring and Summer Enrichment: Oversee and scale the Village Mentoring and Summer Enrichment programs nationally, to new regions and within current regions. Work with program and development staff to set and pursue annual organization growth targets, drawing on goals set in DREAM’s multi-state mentoring grant and other expansion-related grants.
• Develop a Village Mentoring “guidebook” to ensure fidelity to the program model and high quality across all sites: Codify the Village Mentoring model by creating, evolving, maintaining, and promoting a comprehensive guidebook for regional program staff to follow. Work closely with the Empowerment Director and other department leaders to design and execute this guide. 
• Assure Village Mentoring quality and vibrancy through accreditation: Create and implement an annual accreditation process for Village Mentoring programs that is aligned with the guidebook described above and incorporates best practices in site visits, a scoring rubric, and quality improvement processes. Incorporate and support evaluation cycles, including regular surveys, dashboards, and strategic planning tools for additional and ongoing program assessment and improvement. 
• Build a highly collaborative and effective program leadership team: Lead the hiring processes for new regional leadership, in coordination with an external consulting firm and DREAM’s ED and HR department. Supervise and support regional leadership, ensuring an exceptional onboarding and DREAM experience for these leaders. Foster team and collaboration, support growth and advancement, and ensure alignment with DREAM’s other departments and goals.
• Achieve relevant grant deliverables: Be a liaison between grant requirements and program staff in order to stay abreast of relevant grant deliverables by engaging in the project planning needed to translate deliverables into action and expected outcomes.
• Lead Summer Enrichment improvement, planning and implementation: Guide regions in preparation for summer programming that meets core standards and has an impact. Lead regions through Summer Enrichment improvement processes. Deepen DREAM’s ability to meet and measure its 4 summer learning objectives. 

*Important note on responsibilities: While this outline attempts to capture the core of this new role, as a senior leader working on new projects in DREAM there is a need for flexibility and willingness to take on additional responsibilities, within reason, in service to the overall objectives of scaling and strengthening Village Mentoring and Summer Enrichment. The goal will always be to have a reasonable workload with the aim of keeping this person around for the long-term.

Required qualifications/experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in an applicable field
• Minimum of five years of fund development experience, preferably in the education and nonprofit fields.
• Superb written, verbal and interpersonal skills.
• Familiarity/experience supporting and expanding a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Strong time management with a flexible approach to job duties.
  
• Creativity combined with a self-starter attitude.
  
• Ability to inspire and lead a team.
  
• Computer proficiency: comfort with Microsoft Office apps, Google's GSuite and email communication; project management software experience (Trello, specifically); CRM experience (Innovative Mentoring Systems and Little Green Light, specifically); accounting software experience.
• Current driver’s license, proof of insurance, and clean driving record.

Preferred/helpful experience:

• Creativity, energy, and an entrepreneurial spirit.
• A contagious energy for DREAM’s work.
• Previous youth work experiences or motivations/preference for youth work and youth services.
• Experience supervising and maintaining organizational property, office, and program space.
• Familiarity with AmeriCorps grant requirements and mentoring programs requirements as expressed by CNCS and state and local regulations, respectively.
• Comfortable working in an outdoor environment in all seasons.

Terms and benefits:

Total compensation value: upwards of $75,000 which includes: 

• Salary range commensurate on experience ($61,000-$69,000), overtime exempt. 
• Group Medical Insurance for the employee paid at 100% of cost the plan (no probationary period - plan is based on our current group offering in Vermont - a “bronze” plan level) 
• five weeks (25 work days) paid time off (PTO) inclusive of vacation, sick and personal days;
• eight (8) paid holidays (including six (6) single days, a winter break from December 24-January 1 and a November break);
• free access to Employee Assistance Program and its corresponding benefits;
• free access to Amazon Prime buying and streaming services;
• paid membership in position-specific professional organization;
• access to professional development opportunities;
• DREAM gear/uniforms;
• access to 3% employer match retirement plan, and
• expanded health benefits (dental and vision) with employee contribution.

Position type/expected hours of work:​ This is a full time, salaried, exempt position. The position will average 35-45 hours per week with regular evenings and occasional weekend events over the course of the year. Participation and leadership at regular multi-day retreats is required (typically up to one each quarter).

Supervisory Responsibility: ​This position supervises a national team of program directors and managers across all regions, with the intention of supporting and leading their regions to program excellence and growth. Additionally, this position is responsible for the supervision of any office or program space and its assets that DREAM occupies/owns in the region which they serve.

Work environment and physical demands: ​This position operates in multiple spaces. The spaces included may have characteristics similar to a professional office environment, an indoor/outdoor environment with active children and students, a community center, a classroom/campus, and the communities of our participants. This role routinely uses standard office/school equipment (such as computers, phones, and printers) as well as equipment characteristic of an outdoor youth day camp (pop-up shade canopies/tents, hand tools, food preparation equipment, storage spaces and sports equipment/toys).

This position requires comfort working in outdoor environments, regardless of the weather. This position can be very active and frequently requires standing, walking, bending, kneeling, stooping, crouching, crawling, and climbing. While performing the duties of this job, the employee/member is regularly required to communicate with individuals who talk and hear. The employee/member must occasionally lift and/or move items over 50 pounds. While performing the duties of this job, the employee/member is regularly required to observe and comprehend using vision abilities that include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Travel: ​Travel includes local travel (schools, colleges, partners and communities with which we work) and regional travel (occasionally visiting other DREAM geographies and for retreats and special events) during the work hours described. This position requires regular travel for program oversight, team building, and strategic planning. Travel frequency will be determined strategically to maximize impact while maintaining work-life balance.

AAP/EEO Statement:​ The DREAM Program is an equal opportunity employer and an incorporated 501(c)3 charitable organization. The DREAM Program prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

At will employment:​ The DREAM Program is an at will employer. Employment with The DREAM Program is voluntary and is subject to termination by you or The DREAM Program at will, with or without cause, and with or without notice, at any time. The policy of employment-at-will may not be modified by any officer or employee.

Other duties: ​Please note this position description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee/member for this position. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Salary : $61,000