Assistant Director, Career Exploration & Readiness Continuum

THE DOOR - A CENTER OF ALTERNATIVES INC•New York, NY

3d•$75,000 - $85,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Assistant Director will oversee the Hub's Career Exploration & Readiness Continuum, ensuring young people have immediate opportunities to engage, explore career pathways, build skills, earn stipends, and develop confidence while preparing for employment, postsecondary education, and training opportunities. The Continuum includes four stackable pathways: Virtual Reality Career Exploration (in partnership with Transfr); the Career Readiness Certificate Program (9-session workshop series); Transfr Trek (6-week cohort-based career exploration); and the Mesa Alumni Lab (7-week cohort-based career exploration, in partnership with Mesa Charter School). The Assistant Director will lead implementation and instruction of exploration and readiness programming, facilitate the Transfr Trek and Mesa Alumni Lab cohorts, supervise Peer Advocates and other facilitators, coordinate external partners, and continuously refine programming based on youth feedback, labor market trends, and participant outcomes. The Assistant Director will be trained by both the Transfr and Mesa teams in their respective models and will own those critical partnerships on behalf of the Hub. This role combines program leadership, curriculum oversight, youth engagement, workshop facilitation, partnership development, and innovation.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required.
Minimum 5 years of experience in youth development, workforce development, education, career readiness, or related field.
Experience facilitating workshops, groups, or educational programming with young adults.
Experience supervising staff or peer leaders.
Demonstrated ability to build and sustain partnerships with external organizations; partnership building is a core requirement of the role.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in social work, education, counseling, or related field.
Curriculum development experience.
Knowledge of NYC career pathways, labor market trends, and the workforce and postsecondary ecosystem.
Experience working with opportunity youth or young people facing systemic barriers (foster care involvement, court involvement, housing instability).
Experience with experiential and project-based learning; comfort with technology including virtual reality.
Commitment to trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and youth-centered practice.
Commitment to authentic youth voice as a driver of program design.
Bilingual (English/Spanish/French) skills preferred to support diverse populations

Responsibilities

Oversee all Career Exploration & Readiness Continuum programming.
Manage implementation of Transfr VR career exploration, the Career Readiness Certificate Program, Transfr Trek cohorts, the Mesa Alumni Lab, workshops, and related activities.
Facilitate Transfr Trek (6-week cohort-based career exploration) and Mesa Alumni Lab (7-week cohort) sessions.
Manage participant flow across the Continuum's four pathways, including same-day intake for drop-in Transfr VR sessions and cohort enrollment for Transfr Trek and Mesa Alumni Lab.
Ensure high-quality, youth-centered participant experiences across all pathways.
Develop annual program goals and outcomes.
Refine and strengthen curriculum and workshop content in close partnership with the Hub's Youth Advisory Council, integrating youth feedback into ongoing program design.
Ensure programming remains responsive to labor market trends and emerging career pathways.
Utilize participant data and youth feedback to improve services.
Coordinate with Transfr and Mesa Charter School to ensure model fidelity and receive ongoing technical assistance, with the goal of building full internal capacity by Year 2.
Track participant progress, completion rates, and outcomes across all Continuum pathways.
Create engaging, youth-centered learning environments.
Ensure participants have opportunities to explore careers, develop skills, build social capital, and earn stipends.
Manage participant recruitment, retention, and progression.
Engage the Youth Advisory Council in ongoing curriculum design, program evaluation, and continuous improvement; participate in YAC-led staff hiring panels.
Coordinate distribution of program incentives and completion stipends.
Supervise Peer Advocates and other workshop facilitators.
Provide coaching and professional development.
Ensure staff are equipped to deliver high-quality programming.
Own and steward partnerships with Transfr and Mesa Charter School.
Build and sustain additional partnerships that extend the Continuum's reach, including with employers (in coordination with the Citywide Employment & Partnership Manager), postsecondary institutions, training providers, and community-based organizations.
Coordinate closely with Citywide Senior Career Navigators to ensure participants transition from Continuum experiences into best-fit next steps (training, education, employment, or further exploration).
Support development of experiential learning opportunities, guest speakers, industry visits, and career exposure activities.
Represent the Hub in relevant external meetings and partnerships.
Coordinate with The Door's broader Career and Education Services Department, social workers, and wraparound supports.
Demonstrate an understanding of and practice the principles of positive youth development and trauma-informed care.
Handle any appropriate responsibilities and functions assigned by supervisor.