Senior Director of Youth Development Programs

EL PUENTE DE WILLIAMSBURG INC•New York, NY

5d•$90,000 - $110,000•Onsite

About The Position

El Puente is a human rights institution founded in 1982 with a mission to inspire and nurture leadership for peace and justice. Based in New York City and Puerto Rico, El Puente creates community-led movements for self-determination through a holistic leadership and membership model, high-impact youth and community development programs, arts and cultural organizing, education, and civic engagement. El Puente is a youth-centered organization rooted in the belief that young people are leaders, artists, organizers, and agents of change. Its work integrates leadership development, education, the arts, wellness, civic engagement, and community building to support young people and families in creating more just and equitable communities. Position Overview El Puente seeks an experienced, visionary, and collaborative Senior Director of Youth Development Programs to provide strategic and operational leadership for a diverse portfolio of youth development programs across its Brooklyn-based Leadership Centers. The Director will oversee the organization’s Youth Leadership Programs, including a Beacon program, Cornerstone programs, community school programming, and related special community events and initiatives. This position will ensure that programs are high-quality, mission-aligned, youth-centered, culturally responsive, financially sustainable, and responsive to the evolving needs and aspirations of the communities El Puente serves. As a member of El Puente’s Executive Team, the Director will contribute to organization-wide strategy, planning, fundraising, partnerships, organizational development, and decision-making. The Director will work closely with the Executive Director and other senior leaders to strengthen the integration of youth development with El Puente’s broader work in arts, education, environmental justice, wellness, civic engagement, and community organizing. This is a highly collaborative leadership position requiring both strategic vision and strong operational execution. The Director will lead and develop a multidisciplinary team, manage significant program budgets and resources, cultivate external partnerships and funding opportunities, and help ensure that El Puente’s youth programs remain innovative, impactful, and sustainable.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in youth development, education, social work, nonprofit management, community development, public administration, arts administration, or a related field.
4+ years of progressively responsible experience in youth development, education, community development, nonprofit programming, or a related field.
At least 3 years of supervisory and program management experience.
Demonstrated experience managing program budgets and financial resources.
Experience with government-funded programs, contracts, grants, and compliance requirements.
Strong understanding of youth development principles and experience designing or managing programs for children, adolescents, and/or young adults.
Demonstrated ability to build trusting relationships with young people, families, schools, community organizations, artists, funders, and public agencies.
Experience with staff development, coaching, performance management, and organizational capacity building.
Strong written, verbal, facilitation, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
Commitment to racial, social, economic, and educational justice and to youth leadership and community self-determination.
Ability to work collaboratively across diverse teams and communities.
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a complex, fast-paced nonprofit environment.
Willingness and ability to work some evenings and weekends in support of programs and community events.

Nice To Haves

Experience managing Beacon, Cornerstone, community school, DYCD, or comparable NYC youth development programs.
Experience working in Brooklyn communities and/or with Black, Brown, Latine, immigrant, and historically underserved communities.
Experience with community organizing, civic engagement, or social justice programming.
Bilingual English/Spanish proficiency.

Responsibilities

Provide overall vision, leadership, and direction for El Puente’s portfolio of youth development and Leadership Center programs.
Develop and implement a comprehensive youth development strategy grounded in El Puente’s mission, values, leadership model, and commitment to peace, justice, self-determination, and community transformation.
Ensure strong alignment and integration across Beacon, Cornerstone, community school, arts, and other youth-serving programs.
Establish clear goals, performance expectations, program standards, and measures of success across the portfolio.
Strengthen pathways for young people to move from participation and membership into leadership, civic engagement, organizing, education, and employment opportunities.
Ensure that young people and families have meaningful opportunities to shape program priorities, activities, and community initiatives.
Identify emerging opportunities to expand or strengthen youth programming in response to community needs and organizational priorities.
Ensure that programs meet contractual, regulatory, educational, safety, and quality requirements while maintaining El Puente’s distinctive leadership-development approach.
Support site leadership in creating engaging after-school, evening, summer, academic support, mentoring, arts, wellness, civic engagement, and family programming.
Oversee program planning, staffing, enrollment, participation, outcomes, compliance, and continuous quality improvement.
Support strategic partnerships with funders and other education stakeholders.
Provide vision and leadership for youth-centered and intergenerational community events, cultural celebrations, performances, showcases, forums, campaigns, and special initiatives.
Work across programs to ensure that events reflect El Puente’s mission, values, cultural identity, and commitment to community leadership.
Ensure the recruitment, supervision, mentoring, and retention of a high-performing team of youth development professionals, site leaders, and other program staff.
Create a culture of collaboration, accountability, learning, creativity, and care.
Establish clear roles, goals, performance expectations, and professional development plans for direct reports.
Develop and implement training opportunities that strengthen staff skills in youth development, leadership development, culturally responsive practice, arts integration, facilitation, community organizing, restorative practices, and program management.
Build internal leadership pipelines and support staff members in advancing their professional growth.
Promote effective communication and collaboration across program sites and organizational departments.
Model El Puente’s values and leadership principles in all aspects of staff management.
Oversee the development, management and monitoring of annual program budgets across the youth development portfolio.
Ensure responsible stewardship of public, private, and restricted funds.
Monitor program spending, staffing costs, contracts, revenue, and financial performance.
Work closely with Finance and Operations to ensure accurate forecasting, reporting, compliance, and financial controls.
Identify opportunities to increase program efficiency, sustainability, and impact.
Participate in annual organizational and departmental budgeting and financial planning.
Collaborate with the Executive Director, development staff, and program leaders develop compelling proposals, budgets, and cases for support.
Participate in donor meetings, site visits, presentations, cultivation events, and other fundraising activities as needed.
Ensure program outcomes, stories, data, and community impact are effectively communicated to funders and partners.
Ensure timely completion of reports and deliverables for funders, government agencies, partners, and organizational leadership.
Serve as an active member of El Puente’s Executive Leadership Team.
Participate in organization-wide strategic planning, budgeting, policy development, risk management, and organizational decision-making.
Help shape the future direction of El Puente’s youth, education, and community development work.
Collaborate with senior leadership to strengthen integration across departments and program areas.
Represent El Puente with external partners, public agencies, funders, schools, community leaders, and other stakeholders.
Contribute to organizational culture, leadership development, and long-term institutional sustainability.
Step into broader organizational leadership responsibilities as needed.