Director of Postsecondary, Career and Life Coaching

Friends of the Children • Portland, OR

4d • $125,000 - $150,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Friends of the Children is seeking a visionary, data-informed leader to serve as their Director of Postsecondary, Career & Life Coaching. This role will help the program better support young people ages 16-22 to be more ready for work and life, aiming for them to enter adulthood happy, healthy, and productive citizens who have broken the cycle of poverty through purposeful work that supports them at a living wage. This is a unique opportunity to help build and lead a new national program innovation focused on postsecondary access, career readiness, persistence, and life success for young people. The Director will serve as the central point of project management and coordination while helping refine and evolve the program model alongside internal leaders, chapters, researchers, and external stakeholders. The position reports to the Chief Officer of Strategy and Innovation and is part of the National Center of Excellence for Professional Youth Mentoring, working closely with national staff, local chapters, researchers, alumni, and funders.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred)
• 5+ years of experience in college access, workforce development, youth development, or related field
• 2+ years of people management or team leadership experience
• Strong understanding of postsecondary pathways (college, CTE, workforce)
• Experience working with underserved, first-generation, or historically marginalized students
• Project management and strategic planning
• Strong coaching and people management skills
• Data-driven decision-making and analytical thinking
• Relationship-building across diverse stakeholders
• Cultural responsiveness and adaptability
• Ability to manage complexity and drive results

Nice To Haves

• Experience managing outcomes-driven programs with measurable KPIs
• Familiarity with FAFSA, financial aid systems, and admissions processes
• Experience building employer or higher education partnerships
• Proficiency with CRM/data systems and performance tracking tools

Responsibilities

• Leads a team of Life Coaches supporting young people from their junior/senior year of high school through age 22 as program graduates.
• Ensures high-quality, consistent coaching that results in successful transitions to life, postsecondary, career training, or the workforce, and persistence once students get there.
• Serves as the central point of project management and coordination for the new postsecondary, career and life coaching program.
• Evaluates and evolves the program design as lessons are learned.
• Responsible for staff supervision, program quality, and outcomes.
• Helps shape strategy and continuous improvement efforts.
• Partners with internal team to refine the program design and implementation strategy.
• Works with national leadership, external partners and researchers to set key performance metrics.
• Serves as central point of coordination for the new program with stakeholders, including the national team, select chapter leaders, project funders and the national board.
• Manages project against implementation timeline, accountable for key milestones.
• Hires, supervises, coaches, and evaluates a team of Life Coaches and an Alumni Coordinator.
• Provides ongoing professional development, training, and performance feedback.
• Fosters a strong team culture grounded in accountability and youth-led success.
• Supports Life Coaches in managing complex situations and escalations.
• Supports the Alumni Coordinator to steward relationships that enhance partnerships and opportunity for program graduates and alumni.
• Ensures consistent, high-quality coaching aligned to program model and standards.
• Works with national staff to develop and refine coaching frameworks, tools, and resources.
• Observes coaching sessions and provides actionable feedback.
• Ensures alignment across the Friends of the Children program and the postsecondary/career extension program.
• Supports the collection of quantitative and qualitative (focus group) data.
• Works with researcher to analyze data to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities for improvement.
• Ensures coaches are effectively tracking individual youth progress and milestones.
• Leads coordination with chapter program leadership to maximize collaboration and coordination in service to young people ages 16-22.
• Builds and manages relationships at the national level that advance program goals.
• Represents the program in external meetings and events.
• Manages program logistics, including events, communications and reporting timelines.
• Ensures compliance with organizational policies and funding requirements.
• Partners with leadership on budgeting, staffing, and program growth.
• Champions access to postsecondary and career opportunities.
• Ensures culturally responsive coaching practices across the team.
• Addresses systemic barriers impacting underserved youth.

Benefits

• Health insurance (Friends of the Children covers 100% of employee only premium for 2 of the 4 plans)
• Dental insurance (Friends of the Children covers 100% of employee only premium)
• Vision insurance (Friends of the Children covers 100% of employee only premium)
• Basic Life Insurance and Accidental Death and Dismemberment (100% paid by Friends of the Children)
• Short Term Disability and Long-Term Disability (100% paid by Friends of the Children)
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) for healthcare
• Employee Assistance Program
• Voluntary Benefits such as Critical Illness, Hospitalization, Legal, etc.
• 401(k) savings plan with a company match of up to the first 4% of earnings
• Cell phone and/or Internet Reimbursement up to $75/month
• Office reimbursement of $150 per year on anniversary date
• Paid vacation (up to three weeks annually for the first 4 years)
• Paid sick time (two weeks/80 hours annually)
• Eleven paid holidays (three of which are Floating holidays)
• Flexible work schedule/Remote/Hybrid work
• Career Development and Wellness Reimbursement of up to $1000 after the first year of employment
• Summer hours and end of year holiday gift of time off
• Employee Perks and Discount Programs

What This Job Offers

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