Regional Program Director

At Summer Search, we believe in 'No Ceilings' and envision a world in which young people, regardless of circumstances, can chart their own destiny. In the United States, students from underserved communities – disproportionately BIPOC and first-generation – face systemic inequities in school, in the workforce, and in life. Nevertheless, these young people possess unique strengths, resilience, and limitless potential.
Since 1990, Summer Search has partnered with young people during their transition from adolescence into adulthood by connecting them to expansive opportunities, professional mentoring, and a community of support. Summer Searchers recognize their potential and build a toolkit to navigate and challenge systemic barriers, break new ground for their families and communities, and achieve economic equity and a life of purpose.
THE OPPORTUNITY Summer Search Boston is looking for their next Regional Program Director to lead an established and far-reaching program serving over 350 high school students, 560 post-secondary students, and a growing alumni base of over 1,400.
Reporting to the Executive Director, this position will support high-quality program delivery and performance for the entire region for all elements of the Summer Search program: school and community engagement, high school mentoring, summer experiences, and post-secondary access and success. The Regional Program Director will manage a team of three to four and indirectly coach and support a team of 16 program staff who are critical to delivering our program and goal of empowering young people to discover their purpose through mentoring, summer experiential learning, and by providing support from high school to post-secondary education through to launching a fulfilling career.
Dedicated to advancing the objectives of both the Boston site and Summer Search as a whole, this dynamic role requires someone who will exercise organizational leadership, build and foster cross-departmental relationships, strategically drive and manage key projects and priorities for the Boston site, and foster a healthy and collaborative regional culture.
WHAT YOU'LL DO Specifically, the Regional Program Director will support:
Supervise a program leadership team comprised of a Director of Programs, Associate Director of Program Operations, and School & Community Engagement Manager; coach and mentor frontline staff and indirect reports through critical issues and programmatic barriers.Oversee high-quality program delivery and performance in the following areas: 1) increasing overall program quality and data culture, 2) grow the number of high school participants served to 400+, 3) improve achievement of bachelor's degree and other vocational certification attainment for the participants we serve, 4) oversee the design and implementation of an internship placement and financial well-being strategy for our participants.Create and implement internal site policies and expectations to ensure programmatic successes and alignment.Collaboratively lead the development and implementation of program strategy, innovation, and evaluation in partnership with the program leadership team and National Program Team; set corresponding benchmarks annually to implement national strategic initiatives and meet key metrics.Serve as Boston's Program Site Lead (PSL) on national cohort to ensure site priorities and participant needs are included in organization decisions and recommendations and contribute to the growth of the organization, as a whole; Partner with other PSLs across the network to gain perspective to inform local strategies and decisions.Champion positive staff morale and retention by modeling Summer Search's values and cultivating communicative, relationship-driven, open, and inclusive team environment.Establish and promote clear expectations for accurate and timely data collection by program teams, as well as utilize data to analyze key drivers/barriers to program progress and performance.Help set and implement the Executive Director's strategic vision, assisting staff to interpret, understand and carry out the vision and strategic intent.Serve as a thought partner to the Executive Director, helping resolve key programmatic and personnel challenges, advocating for staff and participant needs, offering strategic perspectives that may be less visible to him or his direct reports, and helping identify risks and tradeoffs.Partner with Boston Development Team and Executive Director on fund development activities, including event strategy and execution, major donor and grant proposals, grant implementation, and meetings with donors and Board members, as needed.Serve as an ambassador for Summer Search to cultivate alliances with schools, summer partners, academic partners, donors, and other external key stakeholders.Talent Acquisition and DevelopmentSupport program leadership in local hiring, onboarding and offboarding, coaching, and enabling shared leadership and best practice sharing across the Boston team.Oversee and support site level program trainings in partnership with program leadership and in collaboration with our National network.Program OperationsOversee the preparation and management of the annual program budgets, tracking and reporting of finances in partnership with the Executive Director and program leadership team.Oversee and promote fidelity of systems and processes to manage complex program operations and increase staff capacity across a geographically dispersed site.Identify and address operational bottlenecks in effective delivery of program, enabling participant-facing staff to focus on relationship development and participant support.WHO YOU AREThe Regional Program Director will embody Summer Search's values and provide team leadership through a standard of excellence, spirit of gratitude, a practice of collaboration, and an authentic and unwavering commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. These are complex times in our sector. Strong candidates will bring the ability to hold deep understanding of all of that complexity while still maintaining a solution-based orientation and world view is critical to leading this team. Additionally, this hire will bring:
EXPERIENCE: At least 10+ years of professional experience, including 5+ years in a leadership role with responsibility for managing programs and teams. Leadership experience in education, youth development, or similar mission area required. Experience in these sectors in Boston a plus.PEOPLE MANAGEMENT: You coach, guide and support members of your team towards achieving individual and collective goals. As a leader you embody practices to effectively hold space, facilitate professional growth, amplify strengths, and hold staff members accountable. Your management style reflects your ability to be adaptive, responsive, and supportive of your team to show up as their authentic and full self.STRATEGIC ACUMEN: You anticipate, articulate, and prepare for various outcomes and use this skill to collaboratively develop objectives and priorities that are informed by data and align with the organizational direction.PROJECT MANAGEMENT: You take initiative to create systems and structures to achieve goals and objectives. You succeed at managing multiple workstreams and motivating, coordinating, and directing others to stay on track.CRITICAL CONCIOUSNESS: You have an understanding of the root causes of societal discrimination and injustices and are self-reflective about your own privilege and positional power. You apply critical thinking and take action toward liberatory and inclusive practices.CHANGE MINDSET: You have a desire to learn, grow and improve with an evolving organization. You prioritize transparency and communication and recognize that it is critical to supporting others to thrive amidst change.In addition, all Summer Search staff bring a commitment to our mission of unleashing students' potential through mentoring and transformative experiences, as well as the ability to thrive in an environment that values excellence, gratitude, well-being, diversity, authenticity, and collaboration.LOCATION AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS Work hours are Mon-Fri 10am-6pm with occasional weekend and evening events. This position is hybrid with 3 days in office (at our Jamaica Plain office), 2 days working remotely, with some in-person trainings and meetings that may fall out of that expectation. Our programming schedule varies based on the participant needs and academic calendar. There are weeks where this position will be in the office more than 3 days to ensure leadership presence and support for student events. Along with other site leadership, this position is on-call for student emergencies throughout the year; these are not regular occurrences, but this position is responsible for supporting program staff should they arise.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS This is an exempt position with an annual salary range starting at $ 108,389 - $118,914. Summer Search is committed to transparent, equitable compensation practices. Salaries are benchmarked using current market data and salary bands are created to demonstrate the growth potential within the band. Typically, offers are made at the starting place of the salary band. The Hiring Manager partners with the Talent Team to ensure offers are appropriate, competitive and maintain internal equity.
Well-being, flexibility, and ongoing learning and development are pillars of our culture. We value our staff and are committed to creating an environment where every individual feels seen, heard and valued. Investments in our staff include:
Medical insurance with up to 90% employer contributionDental, vision, FSA, life and disability insurance plans401 (K) and Employer Match up to $2,000 annuallyGenerous time off including 15 vacation days, 10 sick days, and 18 holidays (2 floating holidays of your choice, a birthday day-off, 10 company-wide holidays, and a 1-week December closure).Refresh Fridays – a paid day off the first Friday of every month!A comprehensive Employee Recognition Program (years of service awards, spot awards, and professional development funding).A four-week paid sabbatical after five years of continuous employment.Individual, local, regional and national trainingA commitment to developing leaders from within the organization.An organizational culture that supports staff well-being and holistic self-care/community careAmple opportunities to connect with the students and communities we serve.OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSIONWith a staff that cares deeply about social justice and racial justice, we believe that diverse perspectives and backgrounds create a rich work environment and enhance our ability to pursue our mission. We are committed to building an organization with raised consciousness in order to impact how we work with students, as well as how we work together as a team. We hope you will join us as we continue to build a justice-centered organization that fosters a work environment where people from all backgrounds are welcomed and valued.
TO APPLY Submit a resume and targeted cover letter that answers the question, "Why are you interested in the Regional Program Director role at Summer Search?" Please address cover letters to Stephanie Tafur, Interim Executive Director.

SUMMER SEARCH IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

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