Senior Director, Community Response Operations

American Red Cross • Statewide, DC, DC

2d • $145,000 - $155,000

About The Position

Joining the American Red Cross offers a unique experience as part of the world's largest humanitarian network. This role provides strategic leadership and end-to-end oversight of regionally-managed level 1 response operations. The position ensures programs are delivered consistently, aligned with organizational priorities, and grounded in a strong understanding of the systems, processes, and infrastructure that enable effective service delivery. Responsibilities include shaping and assessing program strategies, overseeing operational performance, and identifying opportunities for continuous improvement, with a focus on client experience, capacity building, and community mobilization. The position ensures that community response efforts are supported by scalable, sustainable infrastructure and integrated workflows across teams, partners, and technology platforms. This role designs flexible, community-informed approaches while maintaining visibility into the full operational ecosystem, from field execution to underlying support systems. Additionally, the position leads the integration of community response and recovery operations priorities into the organization’s overall business plan, ensuring alignment between strategic objectives, operational capabilities, and infrastructure readiness.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Minimum 10 years of related experience or equivalent combination of education and related experience required.
• 7 years of management experience.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to think critically and strategically required.
• The ability to develop and implement an organizational vision which integrates key American Red Cross goals, priorities, values, and other factors is critical.
• Candidate must demonstrate the ability to balance change and continuity--to continually strive to improve customer focus and organizational performance within the Red Cross framework, to create a work environment that encourages innovation, and to maintain focus, intensity and persistence, even under adversity.
• The ability to design and implement strategies which develop direct reports and others in the organization, and foster integrity and trust in meeting the organization’s vision, mission, and goals and the ability to make timely and effective decisions and produce results through strategic planning and the implementation and evaluation of programs and policies is required.
• Demonstrated ability to acquire and administer human, financial, material, and information resources in a manner which instills public trust and to use new technology to enhance decision making while fostering an environment of accountability and continuous improvements.
• The ability to explain, advocate and express facts and ideas in a convincing manner and negotiate with individuals and groups internally and externally is required.
• It also involves the ability to develop an expansive professional network with other organizations, and to identify the internal and external politics that impact the work of the organization and the ability to hammer out tough agreements and settle disputes equitably.
• Must be able to read situations quickly and listen with focus.
• Ability to work on a team.

Nice To Haves

• Travel may be required 10-20%.

Responsibilities

• Formulate community response operations strategy in the development and implementation of programs.
• Evaluate overall activities of programs to ensure consistency with the direction of the organization.
• Exercise control over management personnel responsible for specific programs.
• Ensure consistent delivery of community response operations programs, quality and growth of programs and the integration with other programs within the organization.
• Review community response operations program to ensure progress is being accomplished toward overall program objectives and make change recommendations based on business needs.
• Develop and implement short and long-term strategies to integrate community response operations priorities into the overall organization business plan and manage the execution of those strategies.
• Hire, manage, and evaluate direct and indirect staff.
• Direct staff in the development and implementation of departmental policies, procedures and programs.
• Engage volunteers in a meaningful way.
• Collaborate proactively with cross-functional colleagues to align strategies, share expertise, and support the development and execution of complementary program initiatives across the organization.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental Vision plans
• Health Spending Accounts & Flexible Spending Accounts
• PTO: Starting at 15 days a year; based on type of job and tenure
• Holidays: 11 paid holidays comprised of six core holidays and five floating holidays
• 401K with up to 6% match
• Paid Family Leave
• Employee Assistance
• Disability and Insurance: Short + Long Term
• Service Awards and recognition

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director