Executive Director

About Our Organization:

Building on a proud history of serving youth growing up in concentrated disadvantage for nearly 100 years, Youth Guidance is a leading provider of outcomes-driven programs and capacity-building initiatives, directly serving more than 18,000 youth across the country.

In 2001, the Becoming A Man (BAM) program was launched at Youth Guidance to help young men navigate difficult circumstances that threaten their future. The BAM program is a school-based counseling and mentoring program that guides young men in 6th – 12th grades to learn, internalize and practice social cognitive skills, make responsible decisions for their future, and become positive members of their school and community. BAM integrates clinical theory and practice, rites of passage work, and a dynamic approach to youth engagement. BAM has gained national attention, serving as a model for Former President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative to support boys and young men of color.

In 2020, Youth Guidance was selected to deliver JPMorgan Chase’s The Fellowship Initiative (TFI) in Chicago. TFI is an innovative and comprehensive program created by JPMorgan Chase in 2010 to expand opportunities for African American, Latino, and other young men of color. Through hands-on academic, social and emotional and civic leadership support it helps young men of color acquire the skills, knowledge, experience, networks, and other resources they need to succeed academically and professionally.

Youth Guidance and JPMorgan Chase have combined their signature programs to deliver a counseling, mentoring, and postsecondary readiness program that empowers young men of color with the tools and confidence they need for personal, academic, and career success. The joint program branded as The Becoming A Man Fellowship Initiative (The BAM-FI), supports District of Columbia Public School (DCPS) students in 9th – 12th grade.

The BAM-FI program empowers young men of color with the tools and confidence needed for personal, academic, and career success.

Youth Guidance sees a bright and successful future for every student and is excited about bringing this vision to Washington, DC. Because we believe that success in school is not only possible but should be achieved and celebrated, we are present in the schools to facilitate an environment that truly engages students in the learning process and Social Emotional Learning, and through careful guidance, enables them to realize their full potential and graduate with a meaningful plan for successfully managing life.

Learn More at: https://www.youth-guidance.org

Position Summary:

DC Public Schools has identified Youth Guidance and JPMorgan Chase’s integrated and comprehensive counseling, mentoring, and postsecondary readiness program as a key strategy in its mission to ensure that every school guarantees students reach their full potential with a particular focus on promoting equity for students of color and educating the whole child. The plan is to begin implementation in Ron Brown High School, Dunbar High School, Eastern Senior High School, and Woodson, H.D. High School beginning in the Fall of 2021 and the District is committed to expanding to 8 schools by the Fall of 2023.

Youth Guidance is currently seeking a dynamic and passionate leader to spearhead this expansion, partnering with the Youth Guidance National Office and the DC Advisory Council to grow our presence in Washington, DC. As the leader and spokesperson for the program in DC, the Executive Director will facilitate the launch of programming by raising funds, building brand awareness, hiring team members, and guiding a strategic vision to ensure long term sustainability in the region. This is an exciting opportunity to thoughtfully scale a program at the forefront of innovative youth development work in the National Capital Region.

Ideal Candidate

Youth Guidance is currently seeking a dynamic and entrepreneurial leader to steward and grow its presence in the Washington, D.C. region. As a leader and spokesperson for YG in the region the Executive Director must be passionate about the mission of Youth Guidance, BAM and TFI programs, and the future of Washington DC’s youth. The candidate will lead the programming with a clear vision, courage and the ability to plan, execute, and continuously improve quality programming to meet our youth’s needs and our school partners’ expectations. The candidate will operate from an equity lens and help mobilize stakeholders to improve young people’s lives. The candidate must have strong supervisory skills with proven ability to develop, motivate and engage a team and possess the communication skills, both written and verbal, to articulate the vision, goals and objectives. Lastly, the ideal candidate must have a proven track record of successfully establishing and maintaining relationships with a variety of constituents and stakeholders (i.e., funders, partners, schools, etc…)

Reporting to the BAM National Director, A.J. Watson, the ED will work closely with DCPS and other Districts that have agreed to enable the implementation of The BAM-FI program in their classrooms and YG DC Leadership Team.

Key Responsibilities

• Set vision and direction for Youth Guidance DC market by working with the YG National Office to set and define priorities, assess the current and future needs of the community, and adjusting course as needed.

• Utilize inclusive team management practices that result in high levels of engagement, belonging and growth among the leadership team and staff.

• Cultivate an intentional organizational culture representative of Youth Guidance’s core values and norms while being responsive to local needs of the DC community and team members

• Collaborate with the DC Program Supervisor, TFI Manager and College and Career Manager and Youth Guidance National staff to ensure the effective implementation of programming across DCPS sites, including program planning, training, implementation, and evaluation

• Serve as the external spokesperson for Youth Guidance with key partners in local school districts, corporations, nonprofits, philanthropic organizations and the media

• In partnership with the Director of Development, proactively develop and execute strategies to increase organizational brand awareness and visibility, relentlessly pursuing partnerships that highlight the work of the organization and develop a wider community presence among funders, community members, and elected officials

• Partner with, and support, the Director of Development to advance all DC-based fundraising activities, leveraging detailed fundraising plans to secure gifts across a wide array of revenue streams including individual donors, corporate partners, foundations, and state and federal competitive programs

• Partner with, and support, the Director of Development to recruit, manage, and support Advisory Council members in enhancing local fundraising efforts and building connections that advance programmatic goals

• Build and maintain strong, positive relationships with existing and prospective investors, deploying robust prospect research, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship action steps to expand the individual funding base

• Refine and lead process to build annual and multi-year development plans aligned to our strategic growth goals

• Develop the annual budget in alignment with national strategic plans and programmatic priorities

Education/Experience/Training

• Bachelor’s degree required, with an advanced degree in public/non-profit administration, education, mental health, business or relevant field preferred
• At least 8 years of progressive leadership experience, with a successful track record managing a diversity of strategic relationships to impact organizational growth
• At least 5 years of progressive staff management experience including prior exposure to recruiting and developing high performing teams during times of growth in a manner that cultivates and sustains a strong team-oriented culture, with an emphasis on accountability and empowerment

Skills/Abilities

• Proven ability to engage and develop local champions focused on resource development
• Proven ability to evaluate and initiate diversity, equity and inclusion frameworks that address the needs of youth
• Knowledge of program evaluation and performance measurement tools alongside a track record of proven success advancing projects and initiatives that feature a multitude of stakeholders
• Comfort with making decisions independently, combined with an ability to work collaboratively
• Experience designing and implementing strategic fundraising plans that incorporate robust individual giving programs; knowledge of DC philanthropic, political, and educational landscapes strongly preferred
• Passionate commitment to the mission of Youth Guidance and the BAM and TFI programs in particular; ability to tell a compelling story about why the mission of the program resonates with you
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills, demonstrating an ability to conceptualize and describe funding needs in a way that is compelling to a diversity of external audiences
• Passion for, and commitment to, BAM Core Values, alongside demonstrated success enhancing mental health and educational access and/or youth development initiatives
• Ability to travel on a quarterly basis to the Youth Guidance National Office in Chicago and/or other Youth Guidance and TFI sites

Core Competencies

• Continuous improvement-minded:  Takes initiative to identify and execute strategies and processes to continuously improve one’s leadership to strengthen organization’s overall impact.​
• Develops and motivates others: Motivates others and supports their development through strong coaching and mentoring. Effectively stewards self and others through both small- and large-scale change**.** ​
• External representation and relationship building: Represents the organization among external stakeholders, and builds strong, trusting relationships with stakeholders​
• Leads with vision: Has an inspiring vision for the future of the organization, beyond the status quo, and communicates it effectively; leads with courage and willingness to take risks in service of impact​
• Manages with data: Understands data; analyzes data and identifies insights and implications​
• Strategic thinking and resource management:  Considers the future of the organization proactively and responsively; weighs diverse inputs to inform strategies; identifies innovative opportunities when relevant; makes and communicates decisions that effectively balance tradeoffs between financial sustainability and impact​
• Team building: Builds strong relationships with teams and colleagues; fosters effective teams and collaborative interactions​

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

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.

• This job operates in a professional office environment, school setting and working with the public, COVID-19 vaccination is required
• Occasional local and national travel

DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) Statement

At Youth Guidance, we understand that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion)) are fundamental to realizing our vision of bright and successful futures for all young people. We celebrate the diversity of youth and recognize them as empowered leaders, problem-solvers, and experts of their own experiences. At the same time, we acknowledge that many systems and institutions meant to support youth are inequitable and unjust.

As such, we are committed to advancing DE&I through our words and our actions, both internally and externally, by:

• Strengthening cultural competence as well as policies, practices, and organizational structures that foster belonging and leverage the unique backgrounds and talents of staff;
• Offering youth-centered programs that are accessible and responsive to people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, abilities, sexual identity, gender identity and expression, language, and cultural and religious beliefs and practices;
• Influencing systems that youth, their families, and communities are impacted by, such as schools, organizational networks, governmental bodies, researchers, and the funding community, to apply approaches that embrace DEI in addressing the needs and supporting the aspirations of young people.