Director, Educational Programs

Job Description

Job Description

Reports to : Vice President, Education Equity

Organization Summary :

United Way of New York City (UWNYC) is a nonprofit mobilizing people and organizations to eradicate barriers and create opportunities that improve the lives of low-income New Yorkers.

Part of the United CS1 Way Worldwide system, one of the world's most recognized charitable brands, we envision caring communities in which all individuals and families have access to quality education and the opportunity to lead healthy and financially secure lives.

We strive to model our values in all our relationships, both internal and external : Collaboration, Compassion, Integrity, Accountability, and Superior Performance.

Position Overview :

UWNYC’s Education Equity strategy consists of a multi-dimensional approach to ensuring that all young people graduate New York City (NYC) high schools in four years prepared for workforce and / or college pathways.

The four key dimensions include : literacy development, curriculum and teaching, parent engagement, and wraparound services.

The Director of Educational Programs will focus on realizing education equity in NYC by leading the charge on educational programs that operationalize the four dimensions.

Key programs for the 2025 fiscal year include : 1) expanding the Books from Birth program to over 8,000 families in NYC, 2) creating community libraries with school and community partners, and 2) overseeing the implementation of the Read & Write + Code Fellowship.

UWNYC seeks to expand upon the successes of three programs that support literacy development in NYC for children from ages 0-18 :

• Books from Birth delivers books to thousands of eligible NYC families every month. In partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and UWNYC community-based organization partners, UWNYC recruits new families, manages Tier 1 support needs, builds the capacity of recruitment partner organizations, and collects data to both refine the program and ensure its continued expansion and sustainability.
• Community libraries help make literacy more publicly available to children and families. UWNYC partners with community organizations to identify spaces to create new access to books and literacy resources.
• The Read & Write + Code Fellowship is an innovative program that prepares middle and high school English Language Arts (ELA) teachers to integrate computer science concepts and activities into their existing teaching.

By doing so, UWNYC helps ensure that all students have exposure to the 21st literacy skills that are needed in an increasingly AI-powered world.

Primary Responsibilities :

Primary responsibilities include day-to-day and operational management and oversight of Books from Birth expansion, community libraries, and Read & Write + Code Fellowship.

The Director will work with the VP, Education to advance strategic leadership within UWNYC and will leverage cross-functional resources within the Community Impact department (Health Equity, Food and Benefits Access, Justice and Opportunity), Marketing & Communications, and Resource Development, as well as external corporate, philanthropic and community partners.

The Director is expected to help education and community partners to rally around a shared vision of education equity and to be a true catalyst for collaborative change.

Primary responsibilities include :

Overarching Expectations

• Own the deliverables for programs in your portfolio (Books from Birth, community libraries, and RWC Fellowship), communicating proactively with key stakeholders, and reporting regularly both progress and barriers to the team
• Contribute to the quality of whole-team performance, including optimizing team systems and structures to execute programmatic work to the highest standards
• Inform budget development and implementation, including ensuring the integrity of program spending as related to impact goals, commitments to funders, and procurement guidelines
• Establish and maintain highly communicative relationships with current and prospective program partners, including the collection and reporting of impact data
• Build productive relationships, including regular touchpoints, with key internal teams, including Finance, Strategic Initiatives, Legal, Resource Development, and IT
• Ensure regular and consistent performance management mechanisms with direct reports, consultants, and / or vendors
• Support work with UWNYC’s CBO partners, funders, and other stakeholders to consistently refine the network’s collective approach to addressing the root causes of challenges, proposing and mobilizing changes in strategy when appropriate

Administrative Expectations

Contribute to and maintain thorough project planning practices to ensure all programmatic work, including evaluation, is planned, documented, and tracked with fidelity both within the team and with key internal and external stakeholders as projects demand.

This includes the following key competencies

• Organization : Constantly capture explicit and implicit needs related to the project, prioritize them, communicate them, assign them, and ensure timely delivery
• Time management : Estimate time commitments effectively, set realistic deadlines, and prioritize tasks to meet project milestones
• Problem-solving : See issues coming well in advance, analyze root causes, and develop effective solutions to keep the project on track
• Risk management : Identify potential risks, assess their impact on project objectives, and implement mitigation strategies
• Manage staff, including at least one direct report, in a manner that fosters high expectations, including
• Ensure expectations are clearly defined and regularly monitored
• Offer consistent feedback and solicit feedback from report
• Build relationships on trust and lean into challenging conversations
• Foster a culture of mutual growth and service to communities
• Ensure that the program budget is executed with fidelity to program goals and with administrative integrity, including regular monitoring of spend-down, communication with Finance teams, and proactive communications with partners concerning invoicing and payments
• Initiate and oversee the creation of contracts, including grant awards, with partner organizations that map to UWNYC’s goals, data and reporting requirements, and anticipate funding and spending cycles
• Work closely with peers in the Resource Development and Marketing & Communications departments to ensure strategic alignment between Education Equity programs, fundraising, communications objectives
• Contribute to a team culture of excellence and equity via innovation
• Anticipate internal administrative needs to move work forward and proactively reach out to colleagues to support

The Director, Educational Programs is expected to lead others to a place of clarity and commitment and demonstrate UWNYC’s core values (Collaboration, Compassion, Integrity, Accountability, and Superior Performance) in all internal and external relationships.

Skills, Knowledge, and Experience :

• Backer Degree required. Master’s degree in education, public policy, and / or a related field preferred
• A minimum of 3 years of progressively responsible positions in public education or related social services field of strategic program planning, management, and evaluation, including government grant administration and financial management
• Experience in literacy education settings preferred
• Facilitation and management of cross-sectoral initiatives and people management
• In-depth knowledge of public education, curriculum and pedagogy, education policy and other systemic barriers that contribute to educational inequities
• Excellent writing, editing, verbal, and presentation skills
• Innovative thinker, with a track record for translating strategic thinking into action plans and results
• Experience with using population and program data to inform strategic and programmatic decisions
• Demonstrated experience building, leading, and mentoring a team of program leaders and specialists, both internal and external
• Demonstrated fluency with project planning
• Excellent judgment and creative problem-solving skills
• Perform other duties assigned by supervisor or manager

Key Competencies :

• Network Oriented
• Strategic Relationship Building & Collaboration
• Effective and Engaging Communicator
• Embracing and Managing Change
• Brand Steward
• Program Development & Implementation
• Strong analytical and data skills

Salary Range :

• $80,875-90,000*
• The final determination of salary, within this range, will depend on the candidate’s education, skills and experience required for the particular position.

Additional Requirements :

• Background Check
• UWNYC is presently on a Hybrid / In-Person work schedule.

United Way of NYC Core Competencies for All Staff

Mission Focused : Catalyze others’ commitment to the mission to create real social change that leads to better lives and healthier communities.

This drives their performance and professional motivation.

• Relationship-Oriented : Understands that people come before processes and is astute in cultivating and managing relationships toward a common goal.
• Collaborator : Understands the roles and contributions of all sectors of the community and can mobilize resources (financial and human) through meaningful engagement.
• Results Driven : Dedicated to shared and measurable goals for the common good : creating, resourcing, scaling and leveraging strategies and innovations for broad investment and impact.
• Brand Steward : Steward of the brand and understands his / her role in growing and protecting the reputation and results of the greater network .

How to apply :

Please apply on our United Way of New York City career page No phone calls or faxes accepted.

United Way of New York City is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer