Director of Innovation and Impact

United Way of Tarrant County•Fort Worth, TX

About The Position

The Director of Innovation and Impact is responsible for identifying, developing, testing, and advancing innovative solutions that strengthen nonprofit capacity, expand community impact, and position United Way of Tarrant County (UWTC) as a catalyst for systems-level change. This position is externally focused on innovation activation, opportunity development, market and community insight gathering, partnership cultivation, and translating emerging trends into scalable community solutions. The role serves as a bridge between strategy, innovation, and implementation—helping UWTC and community partners identify unmet needs, emerging opportunities, and promising practices that can evolve into new programs, initiatives, partnerships, and revenue-generating opportunities. The Director leads innovation pipeline development, environmental scanning, pilot design, and cross-sector collaboration efforts that strengthen UWTC’s role as a nonprofit capacity-building and innovation leader. The Director champions a culture of creativity, experimentation, adaptive learning, and human-centered problem-solving while supporting nonprofit organizations and community stakeholders with innovation frameworks, strategic insight, and implementation support.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required
Minimum of 5–8 years of experience in innovation strategy, business development, nonprofit leadership, community development, organizational strategy, or related fields.
Demonstrated experience leading innovation initiatives, pilot programs, strategic partnerships, or new business/community solution development efforts.
Experience conducting market research, stakeholder engagement, community assessments, or innovation-focused research activities.
Strong understanding of nonprofit ecosystems, systems change, collective impact, and community-centered innovation.
Experience facilitating collaboration across sectors and managing complex strategic initiatives.
Strong strategic thinking, communication, facilitation, and relationship-building skills.
Ability to identify opportunities, synthesize complex information, and develop innovative, actionable solutions.
Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to move ideas from concept to implementation.
Commitment to equity-centered, community-informed, and inclusive innovation practices.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred in Nonprofit Management, Public Administration, Organizational Leadership, Business, Community Development, Social Innovation, Public Policy, or related field.
Experience with strategic planning, organizational change, and innovation methodologies preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop, refine, and execute UWTC’s innovation strategy focused on nonprofit capacity building, community solutions, and systems-level impact.
Identify emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities in education, workforce development, economic mobility, community health, technology, philanthropy, and nonprofit sustainability.
Conduct environmental scans, market research, SWOT analyses, landscape assessments, and opportunity mapping to identify areas for innovation and strategic growth.
Research county, state, national, and international promising practices and translate findings into actionable insights for UWTC leadership, nonprofit partners, and community stakeholders.
Lead the exploration and development of innovative programs, partnerships, service models, and community initiatives that address systemic social challenges.
Develop and manage a pipeline of innovation initiatives from concept development through pilot implementation, refinement, and scaling.
Identify opportunities for new partnerships, funding streams, earned revenue concepts, and community impact investments that align with organizational priorities.
Support the commercialization or scaling of innovative concepts into sustainable programs, initiatives, or strategic offerings.
Champion a culture of creativity, experimentation, learning, and adaptive thinking throughout UWTC and the broader nonprofit community.
Establish innovation cycles and processes that support ideation, pilot testing, evaluation, iteration, and scaling, and lead United Way Local Lift program.
Provide nonprofits and community partners with innovation tools, research, evaluative frameworks, and strategic guidance that strengthen organizational effectiveness and innovation readiness.
Support the successful launch and implementation of innovative initiatives designed to improve outcomes in education, health, workforce development, and financial stability, (i.e. UWTC Local Lift)
Convene nonprofit leaders, funders, employers, educators, and community stakeholders to foster collaboration, shared learning, and innovation exchange.
Co-design and facilitate innovation labs, learning cohorts, workshops, roundtables, and collaborative problem-solving sessions in collaboration with VP of Research & Learning
Build and sustain strategic partnerships with nonprofits, corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, entrepreneurs, philanthropic organizations, and civic leaders.
Position UWTC as a recognized leader in nonprofit innovation, capacity building, and collaborative community problem-solving.
Represent UWTC at conferences, convenings, panels, and community events related to innovation, social impact, and systems change.
Support external communications, thought leadership content, and community engagement strategies related to innovation and emerging opportunities.
Collaborate cross-functionally with Community Impact, Resource Development, Marketing, Research, and Leadership teams to align innovation efforts with organizational priorities.
Support organizational strategic planning efforts by identifying future-focused opportunities and innovation pathways.
Assist in developing innovation-related grant proposals, strategic partnerships, presentations, and funding opportunities.
Monitor innovation initiative performance, lessons learned, and strategic outcomes to inform future investments and organizational decision-making.
Foster collaboration and alignment across teams to ensure innovation efforts support UWTC’s mission and long-term strategic vision.
Lead special projects and strategic initiatives as assigned.