Director of Communities

Thread•Baltimore, MD

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Thread is a relationship-based model that re-engages academically underperforming, disconnected high school freshmen, equipping them with tools and resources to complete high school, pursue post-high school pathways, achieve self-efficacy, and experience upward economic mobility. Thread maintains a 10-year commitment to all enrolled young people, with a 65% high school completion rate, which is 10 times the rate of their peers. The organization annually enrolls 40% of the lowest-performing freshmen at the lowest-performing schools in City Schools and engages over 1,500 young people and alumni with the support of more than 4,000 volunteers and collaborators. The Director of Communities will serve as the executive leader of one of Thread's school-based sites, reporting to the Managing Director. This role will lead a cross-functional site team, be responsible for community performance and outcomes, and strengthen the network of relationships, resources, and opportunities surrounding young people and volunteers. This is a people-first leadership role focused on ensuring all aspects of the site function cohesively, creating a connected community experience for young people, volunteers, and staff.

Requirements

Six or more years of progressively responsible leadership experience in youth development, community engagement, nonprofit management, education, or a related field.
Demonstrated success leading teams and achieving measurable outcomes.
Experience building and maintaining relationships across multiple stakeholder groups.
Strong coaching, facilitation, and people management skills.
Experience using data to drive strategy and performance improvement.
Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
Strong organizational and project management abilities.

Nice To Haves

Eight or more years of progressively responsible leadership experience in youth development, community engagement, nonprofit management, education, or a related field.
Experience managing institutional partnerships and formal agreements.
Experience with collective impact, community development, or place-based initiatives.
Familiarity with Baltimore City communities, schools, employers, and community resources.
Knowledge of relationship-centered youth development practices.

Responsibilities

Serve as the executive leader of an assigned site, implementing Thread's mission, strategic plan, and relational model.
Set annual, quarterly, and near-term site priorities aligned with organizational goals and local needs.
Lead regular reflection and planning routines that use data and community insight to adjust strategy.
Represent Thread as a senior leader within the school and surrounding community.
Own young person and volunteer recruitment, engagement, retention, and progress toward Thread's outcomes, including high school completion, post-high school pathways, and employment.
Monitor site performance data to identify trends, disparities, and areas requiring intervention.
Identify barriers to engagement and deploy staff, relationships, and resources to address them.
Supervise, coach, and develop Community Managers, the Program Manager, the Resources & Opportunities Manager, and other site staff.
Build a high-performing team culture grounded in Thread's values, accountability, trust, and learning.
Lead performance management, including goal setting, regular feedback, and annual reviews.
Deploy people and resources toward the community's highest-priority needs as conditions evolve.
Steward the site's Relational Resource Hub, ensuring volunteers, partners, resources, and opportunities are activated around young people's goals.
Maintain key local relationships, including school leadership and neighborhood anchors.
Identify gaps in the local ecosystem and communicate needs to Thread's centralized teams.
Build a site culture that uses data to ask questions, make decisions, and improve practice.
Implement Thread's practice standards, playbooks, and operating routines consistently at the site.
Ensure site operations meet policy, safety, and grant requirements, and escalate risks promptly.
Serve as the primary point of alignment between Thread's centralized teams and the site, including recruitment, pathways, practice, operations, data, development, communications, and HR.
Ensure cross-lane work strengthens rather than fragments the experience of young people, volunteers, and staff.