Director of Programs

As the Director of Programs, you will serve as a trusted right hand and thought partner to the Founder and Executive Director, advancing the vision and energy that fuel YELLS’ mission. You will help shape programs that not only enrich the lives of youth and families but also ignite their power to transform their community. In this role, you will inspire, coach, and uplift our team, cultivating their strengths and supporting them in delivering high-quality, impactful programming. Through your leadership, YELLS will continue to drive meaningful, lasting outcomes for the youth, families, and neighborhoods we serve.

Hours: Full time, with flexibility for evening/weekend obligations

Compensation: $62,000 – $72,000 based on qualifications, plus excellent benefits package

About us

Through our place-based youth and family programs, YELLS serves as a community hub and center for servant leadership in our students’ own neighborhood. Our mentoring and after-school programs engage the whole child, whole family, and whole community to empower youth with the skills, resources, and character they need to serve as effective leaders and changemakers within their community. After 16 years of place-based work in the Franklin Gateway neighborhood, YELLS recently expanded to bring its powerful programming to the Fair Oaks community, a diverse Cobb County neighborhood with primarily Hispanic and Latino families. As YELLS expands to a new community, this role will ensure we deliver quality, transformational programming in both Franklin Gateway and Fair Oaks.

Key Responsibilities

Program Quality and Continuous Improvement

• Drive programs and initiatives to improve quality and ensure outcomes for youth and families
• Review and approve program curriculum, lessons plans, and agendas and provide guidance for strengthening
• Provide observations, coaching, feedback, and support to program staff to improve services, activities, programs, and events to better align with the YELLS vision and values
• Develop trainings and professional development to increase the effectiveness of staff and ensure they have the knowledge and tools to deliver high-quality positive youth development programming
• Provide sturdy leadership and facilitation to fill program gaps, as needed
• Nurture positive relationships with youth, families, and community
• Build and strengthen partnerships to enhance YELLS programs
• Manage volunteers to support programs and initiatives
• Coordinate and handle logistics to keep all YELLS locations operating effectively
• Manage supplies, orders, vendors, and other needs to support YELLS programs and initiatives
• Implement new programs, events, and initiatives, as needs arise
• Document processes and procedures for the operations of YELLS programs to build sustainability and replicability of the YELLS model

Human Resources and Team Management

• Collaborate with the Executive Director to understand, uphold, and communicate YELLS’s vision and values
• Motivate and mobilize all YELLS team, volunteers, partners, and participants to engage fully as leaders, problem solvers, and partners in community change
• Hire, supervise, support, and evaluate all program staff
• Nurture a positive and professional employee culture that reflects YELLS’s values and work ethic
• Promote teamwork across programs and collaboration with the community

Evaluation and Grants Management

• Track and harness data to improve strategies and interventions to reach outcomes for youth and families
• Develop systems and processes for tracking and reporting quantitative and qualitative program results
• Intentionally utilize and promote reflection, debrief, assessment, data analysis, and revision in all of YELLS’ work to continuously refine YELLS’ program model and activities for better results
• Manage grant deliverables, compliance, and reporting

Our Ideal Candidate

• Master’s Degree in Education, Social Work, Nonprofit Management or related field required
• Minimum of five years’ experience managing and supervising programs
• Employee management and training experience
• Grants management experience (at least three years)
• Wealth of knowledge and experience (at least five years) in positive youth development, service learning, and best practices in program design and development
• Ability to anticipate challenges before they appear and execute solutions smoothly under pressure
• Comfort moving quickly and comfortably between tasks
• Strong writing, speaking, and computer skills for crafting communications with partners and funders
• Enthusiastic, dynamic personality that inspires and motivates both team members and community
• Cultural proficiency and experience working alongside and advocating for Black and Hispanic/Latino youth and families in an empowering and uplifting way
• Bilingual – fluent in both English and Spanish – a plus, though not required
• COVID-19 vaccination required, or willingness to get vaccinated, due to interaction with youth

Hours: Full time, with flexibility for evening/weekend obligations

Compensation Range: $62,000 – $72,000 based on qualifications, plus excellent benefits package

Benefits: YELLS offers an excellent health benefits plan through Kaiser Permanente and contributes at least 50% of the premium for the basic plan option for employees. Full costs of vision, dental, and life insurance are also covered. YELLS invests in our team members’ growth through paid training and professional development opportunities.

Location: Marietta, Georgia – 30067 (Franklin Gateway)

Position to be filled immediately. To apply, please send resume and cover letter promptly to Laura Keefe, YELLS Executive Director, at [email protected].