Managing Director, Youth Development Programs

POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE INC•New York, NY

2d•$150,000 - $180,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Police Athletic League (PAL) of New York City is an independent youth development nonprofit serving children and young adults across all five boroughs. PAL's programs include Head Start, after-school programs, summer day camps, Playstreets, teen centers, college readiness, youth employment, juvenile justice, and competitive and recreational sports. The Managing Director provides leadership, direction, and accountability to six Program Leads overseeing youth programming across the five boroughs, as well as MAAP/FF and SYEP. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, this role ensures consistent and effective implementation while allowing programs to respond to community needs, funder requirements, and individual program models. The Managing Director integrates programming across PAL's network and ensures contractual obligations to government, private, and individual donors are met and exceeded. The role works closely with the NYPD, DOH, DYCD, NYCPS, local community partners, and PAL's senior leadership team to support and develop opportunities for young people. It requires travel to PAL locations and partners throughout the five boroughs by car or public transportation, and support for programming that takes place during the day, evenings, and weekends. The Managing Director leads portfolio-wide implementation; supervises and develops Program Leads; monitors performance, outcomes, budgets, and compliance; aligns and integrates programs; leads organizational change and continuous improvement; manages risk and accountability; and supports strategic planning and growth. The role establishes a regular management cadence, including Program Lead meetings, performance and financial reviews, portfolio planning, and after-action learning. Success includes strong program performance and youth outcomes, effective leadership and accountability, timely resolution of implementation barriers, cross-functional collaboration, and sustainable portfolio growth.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required.
Significant senior leadership experience in youth development, education, human services, nonprofit, or a related organization, with demonstrated success; the posting specifies “75% of DYCD portfolio achieving ROP.”
Demonstrated experience managing complex, multi-site programs and/or a significant program portfolio.
Experience directly supervising and developing senior- or mid-level program leaders.
Ability to translate strategy into implementation plans, operating structures, and measurable outcomes.
Strong experience using data and performance indicators to manage programs and drive improvement.
Experience managing change across complex organizations.
Strong financial and operational acumen, including experience managing or monitoring large program budgets.
Excellent communication, facilitation, relationship-building, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to operate effectively at both strategic and implementation levels.
Well versed in youth development best practices.
Expertise in DYCD contract requirements.
Ability to travel to PAL locations or partners in all five boroughs by car or public transportation.
Ability to support programming during the day, evenings, and weekends.
Commitment to supporting ideas and opportunities of on-site Leaders and working as a team across PAL's citywide programming.
Excellent communication and listening skills.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in social work, education, public administration, nonprofit management, youth development, or a related field.

Responsibilities

Translate agency strategy, contractual requirements, program goals, and leadership priorities into implementation plans and operating expectations for the Youth Development portfolio.
Establish consistent program implementation frameworks across boroughs and program areas while accounting for program models and community context.
Build relationships with funders and serve as PAL's lead liaison to them.
Ensure Program Leads understand priorities, timelines, deliverables, decision rights, and measures of success.
Identify implementation barriers, address them with agency leaders, monitor portfolio health, and intervene when programs are off track.
Ensure new initiatives, program changes, contracts, and organizational priorities are implemented effectively and sustained.
Directly supervise, coach, and hold six Program Leads accountable; establish clear roles, responsibilities, performance expectations, and decision-making authority.
Establish a regular management cadence for portfolio reviews, performance monitoring, problem-solving, and planning.
Build Program Leads' capacity to manage change and performance and develop site-level leadership; create opportunities for shared learning and problem-solving.
Establish and maintain a portfolio-level performance management system aligned with funder requirements.
Review enrollment, attendance, participation, staffing, program quality, outcomes, compliance, financial performance, and other key indicators.
Use data to identify trends, risks, underperformance, and improvement opportunities; ensure corrective action and improvement plans are developed and executed as needed.
Communicate portfolio performance, risks, and recommendations to the CEO and senior leadership, and translate lessons learned into improvements in practice, systems, and resource allocation.
Coordinate the four borough-based EL–HS/afterschool portfolios with MAAP/FF and SYEP; identify opportunities to share resources, systems, practices, partnerships, and expertise.
Work with the Head Start Managing Director to identify appropriate alignment between Head Start and Youth Development programming, and coordinate with agency operational departments.
Partner with the CEO, COO, CFO, CAO, and other senior leaders to address implementation barriers, align resources, manage risk, and drive continuous improvement.
Partner with the COO on operational systems, staffing structures, facilities, technology, and other program infrastructure; with the CFO on budgets, expenditures, revenue, contract performance, and financial risks; and with the CAO on grant requests, funder reports, and events.
Lead implementation of significant changes, including new contracts, funding changes, program models, organizational structures, and agency initiatives; develop roadmaps, milestones, ownership structures, and communication plans.
Anticipate the effects of change on staff, programs, participants, and operations; equip Program Leads to lead change and evaluate whether changes are implemented and sustained.
Maintain visibility into programmatic, operational, staffing, financial, contractual, and reputational risks; support risk management, compliance, escalation, and corrective action plans.
Provide the CEO with analysis and recommendations on the future of the Youth Development portfolio; participate in strategic planning, annual planning, budgeting, and organizational priority-setting.
Evaluate potential programs, contracts, partnerships, and funding opportunities for implementation and organizational capacity, and ensure growth is matched with staffing, infrastructure, systems, and leadership capacity.
Establish weekly or biweekly Program Lead meetings, regular performance reviews, monthly financial and contractual reviews with Finance, biannual portfolio reviews with the CEO and senior leadership, annual planning and goal-setting, and structured after-action reviews.
Travel to PAL locations and partners across the five boroughs and support programming occurring during the day, evenings, and weekends.