Director, Youth Exploration & Career Navigation Hub

The Door•New York, NY

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Door | The Hub is launching NYC's first Youth Exploration & Career Navigation Hub in Fall 2026. This initiative addresses the fragmented nature of youth services in NYC by providing a centralized, youth-centered space where young people (ages 16-24) can receive personalized exploration, navigation, and connections to education, training, and employment opportunities across the city. The Hub operates on a 'No Eject, No Reject' philosophy, emphasizing ongoing support and returnability. The model was co-designed with youth input and will feature a paid Youth Advisory Council. The Hub is explicitly external-facing, aiming to connect youth to opportunities citywide through strong cross-sector partnerships. The Director will provide strategic leadership for launching, managing, evaluating, and scaling this innovative model, overseeing operations, staff, partnerships, program quality, fundraising support, and outcomes achievement. This role requires an entrepreneurial leader adept at implementation, partnership building, staff support, and systems-level solutions.

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

Lead day-to-day operations and implementation of the Hub across all program components: 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.
Help 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 as needed.
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 (including NYCPS District 79), CUNY, ACCES-VR, public agency partners (DYCD, SBS, ACS), employers, and funders.
Manage partnerships with the Hub's core implementation partners, including Transfr, Mesa Charter School, the Center for Fair Futures, WPTI, and Shared Lane.
Lead engagement with the Pathway Gap Collaborative and the emerging collective impact effort, ensuring the Hub contributes to and benefits from citywide infrastructure, tools, and field-level coordination.
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 in partnership with The Door's data and program evaluation team.
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 in partnership with the finance department.
Help communicate impact and lessons learned to external stakeholders.
Coordinate closely with The Door's broader Career and Education Services Department to ensure seamless service delivery, warm referrals, and integration with existing programs and supports.
Serve as part of The Door's leadership team, contributing to agency-wide priorities and decision-making.
Handle any appropriate responsibilities and functions assigned by supervisor.