Executive Director - Chicago, IL

THE URBAN ALLIANCE FOUNDATION INC • Chicago, IL

23h • Hybrid

About The Position

Urban Alliance (UA) believes that all young people deserve equal access to the paid work experiences, professional networks, and skills training needed to achieve economic mobility. As the Chicago Executive Director, you’ll have the opportunity to leverage your leadership, relationship building skills, and passion for youth development to help young people aspire, work, and succeed. This role is ideal for an individual who is highly adept at developing strategic relationships, wants to manage a program and team that serves hundreds of young people every year, and has a deep understanding of the needs, landscape, and key stakeholders of the Chicago area. This position currently directly reports to UA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO). For more than 25 years, Urban Alliance has provided thousands of young adults from historically excluded communities with the skills, social capital, and career exposure needed to overcome systemic barriers to equal employment and economic mobility. Urban Alliance is a bridge between young adults, employers, and schools that provides high school students with comprehensive soft skills and digital literacy training, paid internships with local employers, individualized mentoring and case management, and ongoing post-high school planning support. In Chicago, Urban Alliance has formed strong strategic partnerships with more than 100 corporate partners who host, guide, and develop interns within their organizations.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of leadership experience in the youth, education, or workforce development field with a strong track record of developing and implementing strategic, innovative, and data-driven programming.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively across a diverse portfolio of programs and a history of problem-solving complex issues by bridging the gap between strategy and implementation.
• Thoughtful, collaborative, and empowering leader with strong management qualities and demonstrated success in building, leading, and retaining diverse teams.
• Committed to building staff capacity and elevating the work of their team.
• Experience managing a geographically disparate or remote team.
• Excellent communicator with strong writing and speaking skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills to connect with diverse stakeholders, including youth and their families, staff, business leaders, volunteers, senior government officials, community leaders, and funders.
• Enjoy public speaking and will advocate for important youth workforce development issues.
• Unwavering commitment to advancing racial equity and will ensure that it is reflected throughout the organization’s programs.
• Recognize the intersection of race and economics in shaping education and employment opportunities and will work to elevate and amplify the voices of the young people we serve.

Nice To Haves

• Deep understanding of the challenges facing today’s young people, the key stakeholders in the Chicago workforce development field, and the region’s philanthropic landscape.

Responsibilities

• Establish strategic relationships to develop and implement regional sales and fundraising plans that secure and grow revenue-generating partnerships with employer partners
• Collaborate with the Chief Development Officer to establish fundraising and paid internship targets for the region
• Collaborate with the national fund development team to solicit and secure grants from regional philanthropic organizations
• Ensure accurate tracking of the fund development and paid internship pipeline via Salesforce
• Represent the organization externally by participating in public speaking engagements, maintaining a robust social media presence, and regularly participating in and attending community events
• Serve as a thought partner to youth workforce development peers in the field and collaborate with the national team on high-visibility publications and events
• Assure that the organization makes consistent and timely progress in achieving its mission and target programmatic impact
• Lead the Chicago team by directly supervising program directors and managers to ensure programmatic delivery meets key deliverables, outcomes, and targets
• Collaborate with the Chief Operating to establish the annual budget and track and project expenses
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of the region and ensure overall successful long-term operations
• Manage program and alumni directors to ensure that all staff meet goals for the region
• Facilitate strong working dynamics between the National and Chicago teams
• Provide professional development for members of the Chicago team
• Promote strong organizational health and culture throughout the region

Benefits

• Competitive benefits
• Paid time off
• Options for remote work
• Paid time off between December 25th and January 1st
• 18 days of paid time off
• 10 paid federal holidays
• Birthday paid holidays
• Diversity paid holidays
• Additional days are provided to staff after three years
• Additional paid closure days and early closure days are established each year
• Comprehensive health plan with 90% individual healthcare coverage for employees
• 403(B) retirement plans with a 3% match
• Whole life insurance
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Working remotely up to two days per week
• Flexible hours when possible

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 1-10 employees