Grant Implementation & Academic Director

YMCA of Catawba Valley•Morganton, NC

About The Position

The Grant Implementation and Academic Director is responsible for day-to-day implementation, academic direction, staff leadership, financial stewardship, and performance of the YMCA of Catawba Valley’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) programs. The role ensures that activities and initiatives are implemented consistently across funded sites and remain aligned with the approved grant application, Budget 208, YMCA expectations, and applicable grant requirements. The director leads academic programming and student supports, supervises grant-funded staff, monitors program quality and performance data, oversees budgets and grant deliverables, and maintains relationships with schools, families, evaluators, and community partners. The position also supports licensing, safety, compliance, professional development, continuous improvement, fundraising, and YMCA program operations. It requires travel throughout Burke, Catawba, and Lincoln Counties using a personal vehicle, and may include support during staffing shortages, School’s Out days, summer programming, family events, and other high-need periods. The director may act as Manager on Duty as assigned and perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Education, Youth Development, Child Development, Human Services, Recreation, Public Administration, Nonprofit Management, or a related field.
At least three years of progressive leadership experience in education, school-age programming, youth development, grant-funded programming, nonprofit operations, or a related child-serving field.
Knowledge of youth and child development and developmentally appropriate practices for school-age children.
Understanding of academic intervention, tutoring, enrichment, social-emotional learning, and family engagement in out-of-school-time settings.
Understanding of grant implementation, monitoring, documentation, compliance, and program accountability.
Understanding of staff onboarding, training, background checks, clearances, and personnel documentation.
Leadership skills, including experience managing teams, coaching and providing feedback, and supporting program and professional growth.
Effective verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to document program observations and operational issues clearly.
Strong organizational and time-management skills and the ability to manage multiple programs and priorities.
Proficiency with computers, Microsoft and Google Suite, and other software programs.
Ability to travel throughout Burke, Catawba, and Lincoln Counties using a personal vehicle.
Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.
Ability to design, support, and evaluate engaging and effective school-age programs.
Ability to lead and support multiple school-age programs across several locations.
Ability to coach and support program coordinators while maintaining clear expectations and accountability.
Ability to manage staffing, program operations, and family engagement challenges.
Ability to build and maintain relationships with staff, families, branch leadership, and community partners.
Ability to balance operational oversight with strategic program development.
High energy, creativity, and enthusiasm for working with staff, children, and families.
Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion; ability to work independently and contribute to the YMCA leadership team; and support for the YMCA’s objectives and mission.
Ability to walk, stoop, carry a minimum of 50 pounds, sit, stand, push, climb, kneel, lift a minimum of 50 pounds, and crouch.
Follow stated workplace safety requirements, including reporting accidents, wearing seat belts in company vehicles, keeping work areas clean, using equipment safely, and following supervisor instructions.

Nice To Haves

Experience with program budgets, financial tracking, grant compliance, program monitoring, staffing, and continuous improvement.
Experience with federal or state grant-funded programs, including 21st CCLC.
Experience working collaboratively with schools and educational partners.

Responsibilities

Lead day-to-day implementation of the 21st CCLC grant across funded sites, ensuring alignment with the approved grant application, Budget 208, program goals, YMCA expectations, and applicable requirements.
Recruit, hire, directly supervise, coach, develop, and evaluate the Student & Grant Support Specialist and 21st CCLC Site Coordinators.
Establish expectations and accountability for staffing, program implementation, attendance, family engagement, documentation, spending responsibilities, and grant deliverables.
Lead academic programming, tutoring, enrichment, SEL, and other student supports in response to student and school needs.
Conduct site visits, observations, and program-quality reviews and address concerns with Site Coordinators.
Review enrollment, attendance, participation hours, ADA, academic outcomes, surveys, evaluation findings, and other performance data to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
Develop and monitor annual and monthly spending plans, budget-to-actual performance, and grant-funded purchases.
Work with fiscal and business administration staff to reconcile expenditures, resolve discrepancies, maintain supporting documentation, and prepare spending recommendations or budget adjustments for leadership review.
Oversee grant deliverables, monitoring requirements, continuation activities, amendments, reporting, evaluation, and preparation for NCDPI monitoring, desk reviews, site visits, and audits.
Review grant data, reports, and documentation prepared by the Student & Grant Support Specialist for accuracy, completeness, organization, and monitoring readiness.
Build and maintain relationships with school administrators, teachers, families, evaluators, community partners, and other stakeholders.
Ensure family engagement activities and communication requirements are planned, implemented, documented, and evaluated.
Partner with the Regional Director on NC Child Care licensing, safety, regulatory compliance, and broader regional operational needs while maintaining supervisory responsibility for grant-funded staff.
Ensure grant-funded staff receive appropriate training and professional development related to academics, behavior management, inclusion, SEL, safety, grant requirements, and program needs.
Identify programmatic, financial, staffing, or compliance concerns; develop and monitor corrective action plans; and escalate significant issues to designated leadership.
Maintain active supervision and follow YMCA safety, Child Abuse Prevention, emergency, confidentiality, and reporting requirements when working with students.
Support continuous improvement, annual needs assessment, sustainability planning, and other efforts that strengthen program quality and long-term grant success.
Support program operations during staffing shortages, School’s Out days, summer programming, family events, and other high-need periods.
Support annual fundraising efforts and serve as a spokesperson and advocate for YMCA and 21st CCLC programs in the community.
Travel throughout the YMCA of Catawba Valley Association using a personal vehicle; program assignments and support needs may change based on organizational priorities.
Act as Manager on Duty as assigned and perform other duties as assigned.
Promote a safe, inclusive environment by ensuring staff and volunteers understand and follow YMCA abuse prevention policies, monitoring interactions with participants, addressing boundary violations, and ensuring prompt reporting of concerns.