Deputy Director

The Deputy Director is a senior leader and strategic partner to the Executive Director, responsible for advancing SparkShare's mission through exceptional relationship-building, program leadership, and organizational growth. The DD leads and stewards SparkShare’s network of partner youth organizations, oversees the strategic design and delivery of annual Summits, and partners with the Executive Director to cultivate and steward healthcare partnerships that strengthen SparkShare’s model for community health and youth wellbeing. As a member of the senior leadership team, the DD will help shape the organization’s strategy and serve as a principal architect of SparkShare’s next chapter.

The DD reports to the Executive Director. The Design Thinking Chair reports to the ED with a dotted line to the DD.

Key Responsibilities

Network Relationships & Growth

• Serve as the senior relationship-holder for SparkShare's network of partner youth organizations (currently 34, growing toward 100), including organizations across Boston, Brockton, and the suburbs.
• Lead network expansion by strengthening engagement with existing partners, reactivating former participants, and recruiting new organizations in priority communities, including Gateway Cities such as Brockton.
• Cultivate trusted, long-term relationships with youth-serving organizations and their adult youth team leaders through regular in-person and virtual engagement, a vibrant community of practice, and responsive year-round support.
• Ensure partners experience SparkShare as a collaborative, high-value, and responsive resource that enhances their work with young people.

Summit Design & Delivery

• Provide strategic leadership for the design and delivery of SparkShare's annual Summits, working closely with the Design Thinking Chair and facilitators.
• Ensure each Summit reflects SparkShare's core principles, including youth leadership, human-centered design, cross-community collaboration, authentic institutional partnership and real problem-solving by young people.
• Oversee the overall Summit experience and operations, including logistics, registration, venue coordination, and event execution.
• Lead post-Summit evaluation and continuous improvement, including survey design, qualitative analysis, and integration of learning into the next Summit cycle.

Healthcare Partnership Development

• Partner with the Executive Director to cultivate and strengthen relationships with healthcare institutions and other strategic partners, helping position SparkShare as a leader at the intersection of youth development and community health.
• Translate SparkShare's model for healthcare audiences and shape how youth-led work connects to institutional priorities in community health and youth wellbeing.
• Contribute to the development of new partnership opportunities, including of train-the-trainer initiatives, evaluation collaborations, and revenue-generating contracts with healthcare partners. Current healthcare partners include Boston Children's Hospital, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Boston Medical Center, and Mass General Brigham.

Organizational Leadership & Fundraising t

• Partner with the Executive Director on organizational strategy, fundraising, leadership, culture, board engagement, and key organizational initiatives.
• Contribute compelling stories, outcomes, and data that strengthen program delivery, fundraising, communications, grant proposals, and funder reporting.
• Represent SparkShare in meetings with funders, institutional partners, and community leaders, helping build visibility, deep partnerships, and advance the organization’s mission.

Who You Are

SparkShare is seeking an experienced, collaborative leader with an entrepreneurial spirit who is energized by building partnerships, developing people, and creating opportunities for young people to lead meaningful change. We recognize that no one candidate will bring every qualification listed below, and encourage individuals with many of the following strengths to apply.

• Demonstrated success in a senior leadership role with responsibility for leading people, managing programs, and driving organizational results.
• Experience in youth development, education, community engagement, or a closely related field. Familiarity with community health or healthcare settings is a plus, but not required.
• A proven ability to build trusted relationships across diverse communities and sectors, including grassroots organizations, schools, healthcare institutions, higher education, philanthropy, and public-sector partners.
• Strong program design and delivery, and strategic planning skills, with experience leading complex initiatives, convenings, or multi-stakeholder collaborations.
• Deep commitment to youth leadership and voice, equity, and building meaningful connections across diver communities..
• Experience supporting fundraising, partnership development, external relations, or business development..
• Outstanding written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to engage effectively with young people, community leaders, institutional partners, funders and board members.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience required; graduate degree or comparable leadership experience welcomed.

Why Join SparkShare?

SparkShare is a small, entrepreneurial nonprofit at an exciting stage of growth. With an expanding network of youth organizations and deepening partnerships with healthcare institutions, we are building a model with the potential to transform how young people connect across communities and contribute to healthier, more civically engaged neighborhoods.

The Deputy Director will play a central role in shaping that future. This is an opportunity for a leader who enjoys building organizations, creating new partnerships, and helping define strategy, not simply maintaining existing programs. As SparkShare grows, this role offers the opportunity to grow in responsibility and leadership alongside the organization.