Director of People & Culture

Advocates for Children of New York • New York, NY

22h • $140,000 - $160,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Advocates For Children (AFC) is a social justice organization dedicated to ensuring high-quality education for New York students facing barriers, particularly those from low-income backgrounds. AFC employs integrated strategies to drive systemic reform, empower families, and advocate for individual student educational rights. The organization values family-centered approaches, expertise grounded in experience, passion for dismantling educational obstacles, community collaboration, justice through legal tools, and measurable impact. The Director of People & Culture is a new senior leadership role on the Executive Team, responsible for shaping and sustaining a thriving, equitable, and high-performing organizational culture. This role will lead strategies for talent development, performance, learning, and inclusion during a period of organizational growth. The Director will partner with leaders and staff to operationalize AFC's values, support employees, and ensure a positive and equitable employee experience. The focus will be on culture, talent, leadership development, and organizational learning, working closely with HR, the COO, and the Executive Director to strengthen people and operational practices. This position reports to the Chief Operating Officer.

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, equity, and culture.
• Support and advise the Executive Director, COO, Director of HR & Finance, and executive team on risk management and employee relations.
• 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.
• 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.
• Work closely with other internal committees focused on organizational support.
• 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
• coverage of the premium cost of short-term and long-term disability insurance

What This Job Offers

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