Director, Youth Exploration & Career Navigation Hub

THE DOOR - A CENTER OF ALTERNATIVES INC•New York, NY

4d•$100,000 - $110,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Door is launching NYC's first Youth Exploration & Career Navigation Hub (the Hub) in Fall 2026. This innovative, youth-centered space addresses a citywide gap in fragmented youth services by providing a single point of access for young people (ages 16-24) to explore interests, receive personalized navigation, and connect to education, training, and employment opportunities across NYC. The Hub operates on a 'No Eject, No Reject' philosophy, offering ongoing support and returnability without stigma. The model was co-designed with extensive youth input and will feature a paid Youth Advisory Council for continuous improvement. The Hub is externally focused, aiming to connect youth to opportunities citywide through strong cross-sector partnerships with various organizations, including workforce providers, community-based organizations, school networks, postsecondary institutions, public agencies, and employers. It is closely aligned with the Pathway Gap Collaborative and other collective impact efforts to improve youth economic mobility in NYC. Every team member is expected to build, sustain, and grow citywide partnerships.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred.
Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in workforce development, youth development, education, postsecondary success, social services, or related field.
Demonstrated success supervising staff, implementing new initiatives and managing programs.
Demonstrated success in grant management and reaching performance metrics.
Demonstrated success building and sustaining cross-sector partnerships; partnership building is a core requirement of the role.
Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills.
Commitment to authentic youth voice as a core accountability mechanism, not a one-time input.

Nice To Haves

Experience launching or scaling new initiatives in a startup or pilot environment.
Experience engaging employers and workforce partners.
Familiarity with NYC workforce, education, and youth-serving systems, including programs offered by DYCD, SBS, CUNY, and NYCPS.
Experience with public-private partnerships, collective impact initiatives, or systems-change efforts.
Deep commitment to youth voice, equity, and trauma-informed practice.
Experience working with young people navigating systemic barriers, including foster care involvement, court involvement, runaway and homeless youth, and others.
Proficiency using Microsoft Office and Salesforce or similar database systems.

Responsibilities

Provide strategic leadership, vision, and oversight for NYC's first Youth Exploration & Career Navigation Hub.
Launch, manage, evaluate, and scale an innovative citywide model for youth career exploration, navigation, employment access, and connections to education and training.
Oversee all Hub operations, including 1:1 Citywide Career Navigation, the Career Exploration & Readiness Continuum, job placement services, and college advisement.
Ensure fidelity to the Hub's youth-centered, trauma-informed, and relationship-based model, including the 'No Eject, No Reject' philosophy.
Develop and execute annual goals, work plans, and performance metrics.
Identify opportunities for innovation, scale, and continuous improvement.
Position the Hub as a citywide model for career exploration and navigation.
Supervise the Assistant Director, Senior Citywide Career Navigators, Employment & Partnership Manager, and other staff.
Foster a positive, collaborative, and mission-driven team culture.
Provide coaching, professional development, and performance management.
Establish and sustain a strong learning culture grounded in youth development best practices and trauma-informed care.
Ensure staff are equipped to provide high-quality services and build strong relationships with young people.
Build, sustain, and grow citywide cross-sector partnerships with workforce providers, intermediaries, community-based organizations, school networks, CUNY, ACCES-VR, public agency partners, employers, and funders.
Manage partnerships with the Hub's core implementation partners.
Lead engagement with the Pathway Gap Collaborative and the emerging collective impact effort.
Represent The Door in citywide initiatives, collaboratives, and strategic planning efforts.
Serve as a thought partner and resource to stakeholders interested in strengthening youth workforce pathways.
Lead Youth Advisory Council engagement, ensuring young people play an active, ongoing role in shaping the Hub's design, implementation, and continuous improvement.
Ensure the YAC plays an active role in staff hiring panels.
Regularly gather and utilize participant feedback to inform program design and operations.
Monitor service quality, participant experience, and outcomes.
Support fundraising efforts, grant reporting, presentations, and funder engagement.
Monitor program outcomes and performance metrics; use data to drive continuous improvement.
Identify long-term sustainability opportunities, including public funding and systems partnerships.
Manage Hub program budgets.
Help communicate impact and lessons learned to external stakeholders.
Coordinate closely with The Door's broader Career and Education Services Department.
Serve as part of The Door's leadership team.
Handle any appropriate responsibilities and functions assigned by supervisor.