Senior Manager, Youth Grants & Educator Engagement

Position Title: Senior Manager, Youth Grants & Educator Engagement

Status: Full Time

FLSA: Exempt

Location: Flexible

JOB SUMMARY & KEY PRIORITIES

The Youth Leadership Team equips and mobilizes youth and young adults to strengthen their leadership, advocate for mental health, and create change in their schools and communities through accessible, high-quality, equity-centered leadership programs and opportunities. The team works directly with youth and young adults, schools and Youth Champions (adult stakeholders, such as educators, counselors, and caregivers) to foster youth-led initiatives that drive school-based mental health change.

The Senior Manager, Youth Grants & Educator Engagement oversees two initiatives within the Youth Leadership portfolio: the Active Minds Youth Mental Health Innovation Fund, a national microgrant program for youth-designed mental health projects, and Youth Champions, Active Minds’ engagement strategy for adult stakeholders. This role manages microgrants, mentorship, technical assistance, and scaling support for youth grantees, while centering BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth. The Senior Manager also manages professional development, coaching, and training that equip adult allies to sustain youth mental health leadership in schools and communities.

Reporting to the Senior Director, Youth Leadership, this role manages program operations, cultivates school and community partnerships, tracks impact metrics, and stewards grant resources to advance youth mobilization. The Senior Manager directly supervises the Manager, Middle School Engagement.

ABOUT ACTIVE MINDS

Active Minds is the largest nonprofit in the United States mobilizing youth and young adults to transform mental health norms across society. For more than 20 years, we have equipped the next generation of peer mental health advocates through a variety of programs, including the Active Minds Chapter Network, A.S.K., and Send Silence Packing. Our advocacy, initiatives, and campaigns foster lasting change in how youth view and discuss mental health, encouraging them to use their voices to influence broader conversations and inform mental health supports within their communities. Together, we are building a diverse movement of champions committed to improving mental health for all.

KEY RESULTS

Oversee Functional/Tactical Goals

• Manage the annual planning, launch, and distribution cycle of the Active Minds Youth Mental Health Innovation Fund, awarding microgrants to youth-designed mental health projects.
• Develop, implement, and maintain clear eligibility, selection, and equity criteria for the Innovation Fund that actively center BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth and historically under-resourced communities.
• Facilitate virtual and in-person Youth Champion workshops and Connection sessions, equipping adult stakeholders with the language, resources, and tools needed to champion youth-led mental health advocacy.
• Track and report the number of youth and young adults mobilized through Innovation Fund and Youth Champion programming, contributing to the Program Department’s annual goals.
• Maintain organized tracking of project milestones, partner interactions, grant awards, and participant data in Salesforce and ClickUp.

Cross Functional Program Collaboration

• In collaboration with other teams within the Programs Department, partner with schools and districts to position peer-led mental health strategies as actionable solutions within school wellness priorities and Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) frameworks.
• Collaborate with the Chapters and Community Programs teams to support Chapter Advisors as local technical assistance providers and frontline champions for high school youth mobilization, in line with Active Minds’ integrated high school engagement approach.
• Serve as a collaborative thought partner across the Youth Leadership team to ensure seamless handoffs and consistent youth advocacy pathways.
• In partnership with team leadership and the Development Team, cultivate and maintain relationships with K-12 school districts, education associations, charter networks, and funding partners, and contribute to grant proposals, concept notes, and stewardship reports highlighting the Youth Innovation Fund and Youth Champion results.
• In collaboration with Marketing & Communications, guide the development of outreach campaigns, newsletters, web content, and spotlight stories that showcase youth grantees and Youth Champion accomplishments.
• In collaboration with the Measurement Team, collect standardized data on participation, completion, participant experience (maintaining a new promoter score of 80% or higher), and intended leadership outcomes across the Innovation Fund and Youth Champion programming. Establish baselines and improvement targets, and document data-informed program improvements annually. Establish annual participation baselines and demographic tracking across applicant and grantee pools to ensure continuous equity-centered representation.

Budget Management

• Manage Innovation Fund disbursements and program budgets, maintaining accurate records, fiscal compliance, and timely stipend and grant payments.
• In partnership with the Senior Director, Youth Leadership, contribute to annual budget planning for the Innovation Fund and Youth Champion programming.

Program Development

• Build and manage mentorship, coaching, and technical assistance for Innovation Fund grantees, connecting them with subject matter experts to support project implementation, sustainability, and scale.
• Manage the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of professional development, coaching, and training for Youth Champions, including educators, school administrators, counselors, and caregivers.
• Grow networks of Youth Champions and parent/caregiver allies, building ongoing engagement pathways that reinforce youth mental health leadership locally.
• Position the Innovation Fund within Youth Leadership’s mental health champions continuum, connecting grantees to related leadership opportunities (e.g., Mental Health Advocacy Academy, Mental Health Advocacy Institute, High School Advisory Board, Chapters) so they can deepen their leadership over time.
• Engage BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth, including High School Advisory Board members and past grantees, in shaping Innovation Fund design, selection, and resources, and document how their input leads to program improvements each year.

Proactive Innovation

• Collaborate closely with Active Minds’ Measurement Team to establish, monitor, and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) evaluating the impact of Youth Champions on youth mobilization and school climate, sharing results and learnings to inform future program strategy.
• Partner with Innovation Fund grantees as co-creators, documenting project outcomes, case studies, and scalable practices to inform Active Minds’ programmatic strategy and external thought leadership.

Team Supervision

• Supervise, coach, and develop the Manager, Middle School Engagement and any assigned interns, establishing clear performance expectations, deliverable timelines, and meaningful professional development pathways.
• Oversee middle school engagement goals and deliverables, including growing the number of new sites implementing the Middle and High School Mental Health Curriculum year over year.
• Share tools, training, and practices with colleagues outside the direct team to strengthen adult support for youth leadership across the department.

Organization-Wide Competencies

• Actively advance Active Minds’ racial equity and social justice goals, ensuring programming reflects inclusive, trauma-informed, and strengths-based practices.
• Represent Active Minds externally at conferences, symposia, and working groups as a subject matter expert in youth-led innovation and adult stakeholder engagement.
• Support cross-functional organizational initiatives and strategic planning deliverables as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 6+ years of demonstrated professional experience working within K-12 schools and/or higher education settings or youth serving organizations (school-based or campus-based environments), with deep familiarity with school culture, administration, and student programming.
• Proven track record of cultivating and sustaining positive relationships with adult and parent/caregiver stakeholders, including teachers, school counselors, building and district administrators, parent-teacher associations, and community partners.
• Demonstrated expertise in youth development, student mentorship, and leadership coaching, with a strong background in guiding youth-led projects, advocacy campaigns, or social entrepreneurship initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience in program design and project management, including managing multi-phase initiatives, establishing timelines, coordinating cross-functional deliverables, and tracking budgets.
• Experience designing and facilitating adult learning or interactive youth programming, with the ability to lead engaging workshops and trainings in both virtual and in-person environments.
• Demonstrated commitment to racial equity and social justice, with direct experience designing culturally responsive programming and centering the lived experiences of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth and adult communities.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, with proven experience translating programmatic data into compelling narratives, presentations, and stakeholder reports.
• Willingness and ability to travel periodically for conferences, summits, site visits, and team retreats, along with occasional scheduled evening programming to accommodate student and educator schedules.
• Proficiency with collaborative technology, including Google Workspace, project management software (e.g., ClickUp, Asana), and CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce).

OUR CULTURE

Active Minds is a place where every employee matters. We value diverse perspectives, radical authenticity, and a community-driven approach. We dream big, offering flexibility to staff while we work to achieve our mission. As such, we are proud to offer competitive salaries and benefits and an environment that is friendly to remote working and life/work balance.

Active Minds is an equal opportunity employer that works to advance racial equity and social justice in an increasingly multicultural and globally connected world. We value diverse experiences, including educational background, intersectional identities, and lived experiences. We make a particular effort to recruit people of color, LGBTQ individuals, people with disabilities, and people with other marginalized identities. Active Minds encourages all to apply for our open positions as we depend on a diverse staff to carry out our mission.

COMPENSATION

This position offers an initial salary range of $80,850–$91,700 along with robust benefits. The starting pay for this position is equal to others at the same level throughout the organization. The role sits within Active Minds Level 4 salary band, and as such, has the potential to grow to $113,400 over time. FLSA Status: Exempt.

Active Minds has an industry-leading and competitive benefits package that includes Health, Vision, and Dental Insurance, Paid Vacation and Sick Leave, Paid Holidays, Company Wide Mental Health Days, 401(k) Matching, HSA and FSA Options, Life Insurance, Short Term and Long Term Disability, Fully Paid Parental Leave, Wellness Reimbursement Program, and Professional Development Stipends.

Active Minds recruits, hires, trains, compensates, and promotes our staff regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law.

ACTIVE MINDS RECRUITING PROTOCOLS

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