Director of People & Culture

Advocates for Children of New York • New York City, NY

10h • Hybrid

About The Position

Advocates For Children (AFC) is a dynamic social justice organization dedicated to ensuring high-quality education for New York students facing barriers, particularly those from low-income backgrounds. AFC advocates for children and youth at risk due to poverty, race, ethnicity, disability, homelessness, immigration status, or involvement with the child welfare or legal systems. The organization employs integrated strategies for systemic reform, empowering families, and advocating for individual student rights. AFC's core values include being Family-Centered, leveraging Expertise from over 50 years of experience, demonstrating Passion for dismantling educational obstacles, fostering Community through collaboration, utilizing Justice through legal advocacy, and driving Impact through concrete results.

This new senior leadership position, the Director of People & Culture, will join the Executive Team to shape and sustain a thriving, equitable, and high-performing organizational culture. Building on existing policies, this role will lead strategies for talent development, performance, learning and development, and equity and inclusion during a period of organizational evolution and growth. The Director will partner with leaders and staff to operationalize AFC’s values, support staff, and ensure a positive and equitable employee experience. Focusing on culture, talent, leadership development, and organizational learning, this role will collaborate with HR, the COO, and the Executive Director to refine people and operational practices, ensuring alignment across all people-related functions and supporting workforce investment.

Requirements

• Understanding of and alignment with AFC’s mission.
• Bachelor’s degree required.
• At least 10 years of relevant work experience in a managerial role.
• At least 3-5 years in senior management level positions, preferably in nonprofit organizations.
• Desire to learn, both as an individual and as part of an organization, and apply diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism principles.
• Experience with furthering anti-racist practices and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.
• Strong interpersonal and “people management” skills and a talent for teamwork and team building.
• Exceptional relationship building and influencing skills, with the ability to work across teams and effectively engage staff across levels, cultures, identities, ethnicities, and diverse perspectives.
• Proven ability to lead and work through an evolving landscape.
• Track record of serving as an advisor to executive level partners.
• Strong strategic thinking.
• Strong project management skills and a track record of successful project design and management.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, and ability to identify and implement solutions that have impact.
• Exceptional judgment, professionalism, and discretion in handling confidential and sensitive information and situations.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Organized, detail-oriented, flexible, and dependable.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office 365 applications.
• Experience with hiring software required.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with organizations like AFC (e.g. nonprofits of similar size that provide services to low-income communities, legal organizations, education advocacy organizations, etc.) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serve on the Executive Team, contributing to organizational strategy, decision-making, and long-term planning.
• Operationalize AFC’s mission and values into clear organizational practices, norms, and systems that foster a people-centered, equitable, and inclusive culture.
• Partner with leaders and staff to design and guide organizational change initiatives supporting learning and development, advancing equity, strengthening culture, and prioritizing data-informed decisions.
• Support and advise the Executive Director, COO, Director of HR & Finance, and executive team on risk management and employee relations matters.
• Collaborate to design a talent development and performance feedback strategy aligned with organizational goals.
• Lead AFC’s talent development strategy focusing on performance feedback, growth pathways, and leadership development structures.
• Review, implement, and oversee staff performance feedback processes, assessing effectiveness and recommending improvements.
• Coach supervisors on inclusive leadership, effective feedback, conflict resolution, and staff development.
• Plan and deliver training for supervisors and managers to strengthen management capabilities and align leadership practices with AFC’s values.
• Plan and deliver training for all staff to strengthen shared skills in communication, collaboration, inclusive practice, and alignment with AFC’s values.
• Lead and continuously improve structured, equitable recruitment and hiring processes.
• Support effective hiring practices by helping staff streamline processes, ensure consistency, and provide a positive candidate experience.
• Collaborate with hiring managers to define role competencies, design hiring timelines, and support inclusive decision-making.
• Oversee the strategic use of the Greenhouse applicant tracking system.
• Support the Director of HR & Finance in staff onboarding and integration, ensuring cultural and equity-based components are strong and consistent.
• Design, manage, and implement staff engagement, satisfaction, and demographic surveys; analyze results and partner with leadership to implement responsive action plans.
• Collaborate to build shared norms around communication, collaboration, and problem-solving.
• Serve as a strategic thought-partner on employee relations concerns, bringing an equity and culture lens.
• Represent AFC leadership on designated committees and/or at designated community events.
• Lead AFC’s internal equity and inclusion initiatives by reviewing and building upon existing frameworks, committees, and initiatives.
• Partner with staff-led committees to support shared goals while ensuring clarity of roles and accountability.
• Manage external consultants, trainings, and learning initiatives related to equity, anti-racism, accessibility, and inclusive practices.
• Establish annual goals, metrics, and accountability mechanisms to assess progress in advancing equity and inclusion.

Benefits

• medical and dental insurance, with a plan option that covers full payment of medical plan premiums for staff and their qualified dependents
• 10 federal holidays
• office closure between Christmas and New Year’s Day
• 15 vacation days
• 15 paid time off days in the first year of employment
• 403(b) plan with a fully vested employer match
• coverage of the premium cost of life insurance
• short-term and long-term disability insurance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior