Executive Director of Safety in Youth Development

Position Summary:
The Executive Director of Youth Safety at the YMCA of Greater Houston plays a vital role in supporting the organization's mission as a leading nonprofit dedicated to strengthening the community through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. This position is responsible for developing and implementing strategies, policies, and programs that ensure the safety, security, and well-being of youth-focused programs.

The Executive Director promotes a culture of proactive risk management, incident prevention, and continuous improvement in youth safety standards, aligning these efforts with the YMCA's mission and values. In this position, the Executive Director serves as a technical expert and resource for youth-focused programs, fostering partnerships and providing resources to empower staff, volunteers, and community stakeholders to prioritize youth safety in all programming aspects. 

Essential Functions: 

1.    Design and oversee comprehensive youth safety frameworks, ensuring adherence to YMCA safety guidelines and compliance with local, state, and federal regulations. 
2.    Integrate youth safety priorities into organizational strategic plans, aligning with community needs and YMCA mission objectives.
3.    Regularly review and update safety protocols to meet industry standards for youth-focused programs, child care and day camp licensing requirements, and the needs of the specific programs.
4.    Develop and deliver tailored training programs to staff and volunteers, focusing on youth safety, abuse prevention, incident reporting, and emergency response.
5.     Establish proactive risk management plans, focusing on incident prevention, safety standards, and continuous improvement.
6.    Establish, oversee, and enforce clear protocols for documenting and reporting safety incidents, near-misses, and violations. 
7.    Review, analyze, and follow up on all incident reports to identify root causes, corrective actions, system improvements, opportunities for prevention, and policy updates.
8.    Maintain a secure and confidential incident reporting database, ensuring timely communication with necessary stakeholders and regulatory bodies. 
9.    Serve as the lead investigator for significant safety incidents, coordinating with legal, regulatory, and community partners as needed.
10.    Conduct regular risk assessments and safety audits in youth-focused programs and facilities. 
11.    Collaborate with program directors to address identified risks, implement best practices, and ensure continuous improvement in youth safety protocols. 
12.    Provide immediate response and leadership in the event of an incident, emergency, or critical safety concern. Be available at all times to address urgent safety issues, including after-hours when necessary.
13.    Tracks and measures product line safety audits and program quality assessments.
14.    Ensure youth programs comply with all safety standards, certifications, and legal requirements. Conducts audits to ensure compliance with required state regulations.
15.    Emergency Preparedness Drills: Conducts drills and audits to ensure readiness for various scenarios, including natural disasters, medical emergencies, and security threats.
16.    Track and report key safety performance indicators, providing regular updates to senior leadership.

17.    Report suspicious and inappropriate behaviors and policy violations.

18.    Follows mandated abuse and incident reporting requirements.

19.    Meet timelines and deadlines related to supporting systems and employee compliance. Example includes but are not limited to Kronos Workforce Ready for review and approval of time sheets.

20.    Other duties as assigned.

YMCA Culture & Cause Expectations
Our mission and core values are brought to life by our culture.  It’s who are, who we aspire to be and how we show up every day.  We are cause-driven.  We don’t just show up, we show up with purpose.  As a cause driven leader you are expected to be:

Welcoming-Accept neighbors eagerly, warmly, hospitably, and as equal participants. 
Nurturing-To care for, support, and help develop through encouragement.
Hopeful-Take an optimistic or positive view of future outcomes.
Determined-To devote full strength and concentrated attention to the cause.

Qualifications:
1.    Bachelor's degree in Child Development, Safety Management, Risk Management, or Education or equivalent combination of education and experience.
2.    Five or more years of professional/leadership experience in safety and risk management, preferable in a youth development setting.  
3.    Experience in management and development of staff.  
4.    Proven ability to maintain tight control of confidential material and information.
5.    Ability to assess safety risks and develop appropriate solutions in a timely manner.
6.    Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and respond effectively to emergencies.
7.    Strong critical thinking skills, including the use of collaborative and creative approaches to problem solving.
8.    Flexible schedule with the ability to be available at all times, including evenings, weekends, and holidays, to respond to incidents and emergencies. 
9.    Ability to establish and maintain collaborations within the organization. 
10.    Effective written and verbal communication skills. 
11.    CPR and First Aid certifications as well as YMCA Compliance training required.

LANGUAGE SKILLS 
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.  Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.  Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS
Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume.  Ability to apply concepts of basic algebra and geometry.

REASONING ABILITY 
Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Sufficient strength, agility and mobility to perform essential functions of position and to supervise program activities.  Ability to lift up to 50 pounds. Ability to perform all tasks demanded from employees inclusive of but not limited to sitting and standing for long periods of time, able to work in both indoor and outdoor weather conditions for extended periods of time and an ability to perform computer work for lengthy hours of operation.

WORK ENVIRONMENT
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

TRAVEL
Travel is 50-75%, primarily locally assigned to centers within the business unit in the Greater Houston area during the business day. Some out-of-area and overnight travel may be expected.

HOURS  
Flexible with scheduling and available to work operational hours of the YMCA, which may include day, evening, weekends, and/or holidays, based on the center and operational needs. 

BENEFITS
•    Competitive compensation
•    Generous and flexible PTO
•    Health, dental, and vision insurance
•    Long term disability, basic life insurance and other voluntary benefits
•    12% paid Retirement Plan
•    403(B) retirement savings plan
•    Free city-wide YMCA family membership and discount on programs

The YMCA of Greater Houston provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.