Director of Communities

Director of Communities

First 5 LA is in its second year of implementing the First 5 LA Strategic Plan 2024-2029, marking a new era of impact-focused, equity-based, partnership-driven, and integrity-centered efforts to create a future where every child is born healthy and thrives in a nurturing, safe, and loving community. First 5 LA's strategic plan reflects a profound commitment to ensuring that all children prenatal to age 5 and their families have their basic needs met, have nurturing relationships and environments, and a solid foundation for well-being, lifelong learning, and success. It also recognizes both the community's tremendous assets and the structural inequities that disproportionately impact marginalized communities. The shift towards an equity-based approach focused on race, poverty and geography underscores the importance of community empowerment and cross-sector partnerships that grow social movements, catalyze public policies, and promote systemic reforms that prioritize high need children prenatal to 5 and their families.

Guided by our values of impact, equity, partnership, and integrity, First 5 LA works to address structural inequities and drive systemic change that prioritizes marginalized families. First 5 LA's strategic plan reflects a profound commitment to ensuring that all children prenatal to age 5 and their families have their basic needs met, have nurturing relationships and environments, and a solid foundation for well-being, lifelong learning, and success.

The Director of Communities is a member of the First 5 LA Leadership Team and holds organization-wide leadership responsibilities. This role serves as a direct report and thought partner to the Vice President of Community Engagement and Policy (VPCEP), contributing to strategic decision-making and cross-functional alignment across the organization. The position requires strong management capabilities and a deep commitment to multi-racial and multi-cultural work and strategies, ensuring that equity is embedded across all aspects of leadership, strategy and decision-making.

The Director of Communities, in partnership with the Vice President, is responsible for providing strategic direction to and oversight of the Communities Department, ensuring First 5 LA's strategic vision for the department is advanced through the design, implementation, and refinement of the department's strategies and initiatives. The Director of Communities serves as a thought leader on the landscape in Los Angeles County, supports First 5 LA's advocacy agenda in various leadership arenas, and acts on opportunities for alignment and integration of Communities strategies with other organizational investment portfolios to maximize impact.

First 5 LA's strategic direction centers equity; therefore, as a member of the Leadership Team, the Director of Communities is expected to lead with a deep equity lens and maintain a broad organizational perspective, while modeling strategic and inclusive leadership across all levels of the organization. As head of the Communities Department, the Director is responsible for leading through change, coaching and mentoring direct reports, leveraging team strengths, addressing areas of growth, and driving high team performance. This role requires a high level of emotional intelligence to build, nurture and sustain trusting relationships with both internal colleagues as well as external stakeholders and partners.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Direction and Integration

• The Director of Communities is supervised by the Vice President of Community Engagement and Policy (VPCEP) and is expected to work under the guidance of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to ensure alignment and coherence across the organization.
• Serves as a thought partner to the VPCEP, identifying and supporting points of integration between the various components of the Department to other strategic priorities outlined in the 2024-2029 Strategic Plan.
• Works with other members of the Leadership Team to inform the vision, cohesive direction and alignment, and collaboration across areas to maximize impact and organizational effectiveness.
• Ensures the Communities Team is centering community voice, specifically of families with young children to inform and advance First 5 LA's policy agenda, and systems change goals and priorities. Partners with the Impact & Accountability Department (I&A) to develop and implement population level and performance measures, evaluation frameworks, and data plans grounded in Results Based Accountability (RBA). This includes using the Equity Index and data to inform decision making, track progress, and assess the impact across initiatives.
• Provides deep content knowledge in the Communities Department, applies critical and creative thinking, effectively articulates and advances a strategic vision and theory of change in alignment with the Strategic Plan.
• Leads workforce planning by recommending strategic assignments and approaches to effectively execute work plans. Ensures the department is structured and resourced to meet organizational goals while fostering accountability and performance.
• Works to align the budget priorities across the Center of Community Engagement & Policy (CCEP) to foster integration, realize cost savings, and maximize impact.
• Ensures sound financial management of programs and grants portfolio consistent with First 5 LA fiscal and contract monitoring policies.

2. Initiative Design and Contract Procurement

3. Strategy and Portfolio Management, Grant Monitoring and Learning

4. Leadership and Collaboration