Director of Community Engagement and Outreach

City of Philadelphia • Philadelphia, PA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity (CEO) provides leadership on issues of economic justice by advancing racial equity and inclusive growth to ensure that all Philadelphians share in the city’s prosperous future and by alleviating the immediate impact of poverty on individuals, families and communities. CEO is Philadelphia’s Community Action Agency (CAA); CAAs are private or public agencies created by the 1964 Economic Opportunity Act and federally designated to receive Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) funding.

Guiding Principles (We believe…) The people of Philadelphia deserve the opportunity to live happy, healthy, full lives. City Government should both recognize its culpability in creating and sustaining inequity and aspire to its responsibility to provide opportunities, represent the best interests, and promote the well-being of all residents. People can offer meaningful insights into both personal experiences and how systems around them function. Poverty is a deliberately created systemic issue and city government can lead in calling for justice and dismantling the barriers that often prevent opportunities.

Values (How we work) Dignity: We actively respect our individual colleagues and people in the community. Inclusivity: Our work is more beneficial, valuable, and valid when our full range of experiences, knowledge, and skills can contribute. Persistence: We recognize the challenges inherent in this work, and when we get discouraged, we find ways to be resilient, lift each other up, and push forward. Accountability: We are transparent and honest about our plans, our actions, and our results. Honesty: We create a space to have healthy, honest dialogues about systems, people, and misconceptions and then communicate truthfully.

Position Summary The Director of Community Engagement and Outreach serves as the strategic and operational lead for CEO’s resident facing engagement efforts. This role oversees all outreach programming and guides the coordinated approach to initial resident engagement, relationship building, and connection to resources and opportunities within Place-Based Initiatives (PBI). The Director will be responsible for directly supervising the Community Managers who lead day-to-day outreach operations. Through these Managers, the Director ensures consistent execution of door-to-door outreach, phone and text banking, community event engagement, initial needs identification, and resource navigation. The Director will contribute to broader planning for future phases of resident engagement that may involve deeper follow-up, relationship building, and long-term neighborhood capacity building. This position will collaborate closely with internal partners to strengthen cross team coordination, integrate resident feedback into operational planning and ensure that outreach activities support CEO’s commitment to high impact community centered engagement.

Requirements

• Associates degree or equivalent experience. Equivalencies in formal advanced degree and experience will be considered
• Previous work in non-profit or public sector is ideal
• Strong community engagement background is a plus
• At least (6) years of progressive management experience required; (2) years must be in a supervisory or managerial capacity

Nice To Haves

• Deep knowledge of outreach and community engagement best practices
• Strong strategic thinker with the ability to align operations to organizational priorities
• Proven ability to coach, supervise, and develop managers
• Strong cross-team collaborator and systems thinker
• Strong communications skills, including strategic planning, presentations and reporting
• Proven project manager with experience overseeing multi-component operations
• Sound judgement and flexible decision-making in dynamic community environments
• Complex problem solving and ability to anticipate operational needs
• Ability to create realistic action plans and meet deadlines
• Ability to model best practices and foster a culture of community centered engagement

Responsibilities

• Oversee the Community Engagement and Outreach team, including Managers, Coordinators, and contractor-supported outreach roles.
• Lead development and implementation of comprehensive outreach plans that integrate door-to-door canvassing, phone/text banking, event engagement and other visibility strategies.
• Ensure a cohesive and consistent Phase 1 engagement experience for residents, emphasizing initial needs identification, resource navigation, and connection to opportunities.
• Maintain communication with teams responsible for later phases of community engagement to ensure outreach efforts are aligned with broader organizational goals.
• Guide the team’s approach to collecting resident insights through outreach efforts and ensure this information informs programming, partnerships and organizational decision-making.
• Collaborate with internal partners including Data and Evaluation, Community Resources and others to align goals, improve coordination, and operationalize resident voice.
• Provide strategic direction, staffing support, training oversight, and workflow management across outreach operations.
• Identify and apply best practices in outreach, organizing, and community relationship development across PBI and CEO.
• Work closely with the Deputy Executive Director of Place-Based Initiatives and PBI Directors to support and advance the strategic vision of PBI.
• Other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• City employees get unlimited FREE public transportation all year long through SEPTA’s Key Advantage program.
• The City offers its employees 8 weeks of paid parental leave.
• Comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents.
• Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan
• Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Generous retirement savings options are available
• As a qualifying employer, City of Philadelphia employees are eligible to participate in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
• The City of Philadelphia has forged partnerships with over a dozen esteemed colleges and universities in the area, ensuring that our employees have access to a wide range of tuition discounts and scholarships. Experience savings of 10% to 40% on your educational expenses, extending not only to City employees but in some cases, spouse and dependents too!

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: Associate degree