Colorado Nonprofit Association
Director, Career Pathways
Mi Casa Resource Center is seeking a seasoned professional with strong leadership and management skills, excellent relationship building skills and experience in workforce development, education or training to join as Director, Career Pathways.
The Director of Career Pathways is responsible for the strategic advancement and direction of the Career Pathways (CP) team as they support adult job seekers through education and employment. This work involves developing, planning, coordinating, implementing, and managing Mi Casa’s educational and career pathways strategy, based on proved best practices. The Director is part of the agency’s leadership team, guiding the implementation of strategic and operational plans, ensuring innovative, effective, and efficient outcomes and operations that support, inform, and assist staff, clients, and other stakeholders. A key focus of this role is establishing and maintaining partnerships with employers, community agencies, and higher education institutions to create direct pipelines for participants to enter the program and secure employment.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Leadership
- Collaborates with the leadership team on agency-wide strategies, objectives, and initiatives to achieve strategic and operational goals.
- Creates departmental program strategy and leads CP team, monitoring program quality and evaluation for successful outcomes.
- Supervises management staff, interns and volunteers as needed.
- Stays abreast of local and national workforce, and education efforts, developing partnerships with key industry stakeholders to facilitate employment opportunities for program participants.
- Ensures processes and procedures are followed as per organization and grant guidelines.
- Leads assigned staff committees as needed.
Operations
- Leads creation, implementation, and evaluation of Career Pathways, ensuring alignment with industry and educational partners to maximize participant success.
- Manages department grants.
- Develops and manages strategic community relationships, including partnership with employers, trade organizations, postsecondary institutions, and community-based organizations.
- Collaborates with businesses and higher education institutions to create apprenticeship, internship, and job placement opportunities.
- Develops and manages the department budget.
- Seeks opportunities to improve workflow in the department.
- Tracks expected outcomes to ensure proper completion of a program goal.
- Fills in for instructing and coaching staff as needed.
- Exports data reports to monitor program goals.
Independent Judgement
- Develops and manages MOUs and contracts related to the department, including those with employer and education partners.
- Makes departmental staffing decisions.
- Has day-to-day operational and financial decision-making responsibility.
Fundraising and Grant Management
- Works side-by-side with the Development team on programming specific grant applications and grant reports.
- Actively supports and participates in fundraising efforts, to identify, prioritize and strategize revenue generation opportunities.
- Maintains knowledge of the requirements of grants and contracts.
- Works with the Development and Marketing department on program specific grant applications and grant reports.
- Implements grants and monitors the programs’ financial and outcomes goals.
QUALIFICATIONS
- 7 or more years of experience in workforce development, education, training, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Demonstrated experience in workforce development is a plus.
- Experience in employer engagement, industry partnerships, and collaboration with educational institutions is a plus.
- Bachelor’s degree is preferred.
- At least 5 years of supervisory/management experience.
- Experience with and respect for low-income and underserved communities.
- Understanding of barriers facing those living in poverty.
- Demonstrated experience in implementing and tracking large grants a plus.
- Proven ability to develop and sustain strategic partnerships with employers and education providers.
- Bilingual English/Spanish is strongly preferred.
- Background check required along with valid driver’s license, good motor vehicle record and valid auto insurance.
KEY COMPETENCIES
- Strategic thinker with strong leadership and management skills
- Proactive individual that takes initiative
- Understanding of data collection, interpretation, and ability to make data informed decisions.
- Adaptability and flexibility to meet the needs of funders and participants
- Excellent interpersonal communication including ability to listen respectfully to different perspectives
- Ability to build and manage employer and education partnerships to support program success.
- Commitment to a strengths-based approach
- Ability to develop/manage strategic partnerships
- Budget and grant management
- Supervision and team management
- Passion for Mi Casa’s purpose and vision.