Organizational Overview:

Friends of the Children’s goal is to break the cycle of generational poverty for the highest priority youth in our community through a 12 ½ year program that emphasizes development of socioemotional assets and the skills to succeed in postsecondary programs and sustainable careers. We are seeking a talented Director of Program Operations to join our diverse team of dedicated and passionate professionals.

Friends of the Children is at an exciting point in our trajectory. We have completed a year-long racial equity initiative, in partnership with the Center for Equity & Inclusion, and are poised to transform our organization through the development and implementation of a staff-driven equity action plan. Additionally, we have just launched a five-year strategic plan that sharpens our programmatic focus on supporting long-term self-sufficiency for our program graduates.

Position Overview:

The Director of Program Operations (DPO) is a new position that plays a critical role in our mission and strategic goals. Reporting to the Deputy Director, the DPO is responsible for 1) Overseeing delivery of program services for more than 400 youth, K-12; 2) Ensuring operating efficiencies across all day to day functions of the program department; 3) Monitoring and utilizing program data to ensure program quality; 4) Overseeing training and performance management for all Friend positions.

Our five-year strategic plan outlines specific objectives toward the goals of growing our program, and enhancing our ability to promote long term self-sufficiency for our graduates. The DPO is responsible for critical strategies and objectives in this plan:

• Improve professional development opportunities for Friends, and oversee implementation of a new approach to define and evaluate the professional mentoring role.
• Improve operational systems and processes across all program department functions.
• Improve utilization of program data to inform youth services.
• Increase communication and partnership with program families to better engage their support on youth achievement of Friends program objectives.
• Assess and lead improvements to organizational structure through a trauma informed lens.

If these statements and skills describe you, please apply:

• You are centered in racial equity.  
• You are energized by the challenge of developing new systems and processes to reflect organizational growth.
• You are committed to a strength-based approach to serving youth and families who face systemic barriers to their success.
• You are excited by the opportunity to lead an organizational shift toward a youth empowerment approach that enhances outcomes related to self-sufficiency.

Friends of the Children offers our employees an excellent work environment that includes:

• Respect for work-life balance, with flexibility in managing your daily schedule.
• An emphasis on collaboration and shared leadership, where all staff are expected to participate in developing and furthering key organizational goals.
• Generous benefits package.

Essential Functions:

• Actively participate as a member of the senior management team in leading the organization, participating in strategic planning and budgeting, and making, implementing, and upholding decisions or policies related to the operations of the organization. 
• Ensure high quality, trauma informed, youth services in alignment with Friends of the Children’s theory of change and established programmatic goals, objectives and measurable outcomes.
• Collaborate with the Director of Program Partnerships & Innovation and Program Managers to ensure consistent, high quality program delivery and seamless integration of partnerships and new initiatives within the core program model.
• Oversee hiring, training, professional development and performance management for all Friend positions; Lead, motivate and supervise a team consisting of seven Program Managers and additional program support staff.

• Actively participate as a member of the organizational Equity Team to develop and implement equity action plan objectives.
• Build systems of continuous improvement through youth, family and Friend feedback, review of data and best practices, and program results. Ensure youth, family, and Friend input is reflected in program offerings.

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities:

• Strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills; able to clearly articulate, present, and promote ideas and issues before a wide range of stakeholders.
• Change management skills; proven ability to positively engage staff in new initiatives.
• Strong leadership skills; able to proactively and promptly take action to achieve objectives, and conscientious about following through on commitments.
• Exceptionally organized, with strong time management, delegation, supervisory, and problem-solving skills; able to effectively prioritize and lead projects along multiple work streams.
• Experience with prioritizing and integrating youth voice in organizational objectives; understanding of positive youth development principles.
• Ability to cultivate relationships with youth, colleagues, volunteers, donors, and program partners to accomplish organizational objectives.
• Demonstrated understanding and utilization of the principles of trauma informed care.
• Extensive knowledge of local community resources and programs to support youth who have experienced early childhood trauma.
• Ability to understand youth service data; demonstrated knowledge of best practices in applying social service data to inform direct services.

 Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in social work or a related field; MSW preferred. Extensive experience may substitute for education.
• Minimum of five years’ experience working with youth-focused programs; experience in programs serving youth who have experienced early childhood trauma strongly preferred.
• Minimum of three years in senior leadership or management roles with significant supervisory duties and responsibilities; experience managing a team of direct service supervisors strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience in successfully developing and improving operational systems and processes.
• Working knowledge of employment law, as relates to employee supervision, and experience managing performance of direct service staff.
• Experience applying a racial equity lens preferred.
• Experience with an organization’s senior leadership team, including strategic planning, budgeting, and high-level organizational performance monitoring preferred.

Salary range: $64,000-$70,000

We are committed to our community, to equal employment opportunity, and to diversity in our workplace.