Managing Director, Young Adults (New York)

Robin Hood is New York City's largest poverty-fighting philanthropy. Over our 35-year history, we have invested $3 billion in the most impactful poverty-fighting solutions, partnering with community organizations across all five boroughs, collaborating with government, and mobilizing the generosity of supporters. Our board covers 100% of Robin Hood's operating expenses, so every dollar donated fuels a New Yorker's journey to permanently escape poverty.

Robin Hood is deepening its focus on the moment when young people age out of the systems built to support children and must chart a path to economic independence. As the labor market is reshaped by automation and AI, as the safety net for youth leaving foster care or the justice system remains thin, and as the path from high school to a sustaining career grows more complex, Robin Hood is investing in a bold portfolio to help young adults chart pathways to economic mobility.

Position Overview

The Managing Director, Young Adults will provide strategic direction, external leadership, and portfolio accountability for Robin Hood's grantmaking focused on young adults as they move into economic independence. This high-visibility portfolio operates at the intersection of several of the most consequential dynamics facing low-income New Yorkers today, and it is built for a leader who wants to design and develop a vision for creating impact.

The portfolio spans four interconnected areas:

• Workforce development and the future of work: Building young people's readiness for a labor market being rapidly reshaped by AI and automation, including next-generation skills, credentialing, and career-pathway models.
• College success: Investments that help low-income young adults not just enroll in, but complete, postsecondary education and credential programs that lead to living-wage careers.
• Justice-impacted youth and community safety: Programs that support young people who are involved in, or at risk of involvement with, the justice system, and that strengthen safety in New York City neighborhoods.
• Basic needs for youth navigating instability: Targeted investments in mental health, housing and legal programs that address the foundational stability young adults need before they can take advantage of economic opportunity.

Robin Hood is looking for a leader who brings both strategic vision and a builder's instinct: someone with a demonstrated track record of standing up new programs and initiatives from the ground up, who is energized by ambiguity and fast-changing conditions, and who can move fluidly between big-picture strategy and hands-on execution. Given how quickly the future of work is evolving, this Managing Director will play a leading role in helping Robin Hood, its grantees, and the broader field understand and respond to the implications of AI for young people entering college and the workforce.

The Managing Director will represent Robin Hood with funders, board and leadership council members, employers, community partner leaders, government, and national peer institutions, with significant latitude to design and build out a portfolio of grants and strategic investments that reflects where the field is heading, and will guide a team while working effectively across departments.

Responsibilities

Sitting within the Program & Impact Department and reporting to the Chief of Grant Strategy, the Managing Director will oversee the Young Adults grant portfolio of $20 to $25 million annually, serve as an external thought leader, and work closely with current and new community partners, collaborating with Policy, Management Acceleration, and Development teams, and providing direction and management for a team of program officers.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Portfolio Design, Strategy, and Innovation

• Develop and refine the strategic vision for the young adults portfolio, setting strategies for workforce development, college success, justice-impacted youth and community safety, and basic needs programs, and translating the approach into a concrete pipeline of grants and initiatives.
• Direct grantmaking activities within the portfolio, including reviewing and advising on program design and theories of action, interpreting fiscal information and evaluation data, and structuring partnerships with community-based organizations, government, and philanthropic co-investors.
• Identify, research, and pilot new models for preparing young people for a labor market being transformed by AI and automation, and develop promising ideas into concrete initiatives with clear measures to assess success.
• Conduct due diligence, including assessment of organizational financial stability, evaluation evidence, and the development of metrics and success measures for new and renewing investments.
• Direct a critical, quarterly review of the grant docket, assessing strategic alignment, program delivery, and opportunities for grantee technical assistance.
• Bring an entrepreneurial, test-and-learn approach to the portfolio, willing to sunset what isn't working and reallocate toward what is.

External Leadership and Partnerships

• Serve as Robin Hood's external voice on the future of work, AI's impact on entry-level and early-career employment, and pathways to economic mobility for young adults, including representing Robin Hood in media, conferences, and cross-sector convenings.
• Build, maintain, and grow relationships with nonprofit, government, employer, and philanthropic partners, including national funder collaboratives and peer institutions working on youth economic mobility.
• Identify opportunities to import promising models from other cities or sectors into New York, and to share Robin Hood's learnings with other funders and geographies.
• Communicate regularly with the Young Adult board subcommittee through written overviews, grant analysis and recommendation reports, and oral presentations on portfolio direction, performance, and emerging trends.
• Partner with Robin Hood's Development team to engage donors around the young adults portfolio, including representing Robin Hood at fundraising events and donor meetings.

Cross-Departmental Collaboration and Team Management

• Work in partnership with other Managing Directors, the Chief of Grant Strategy, and the Chief Program & Impact Officer to help lead the program team and shape the organization's overall strategy.
• Lead, manage, and coach a team of program officers overseeing research, due diligence, site visits, and proposal development; edit and strengthen grant recommendations.
• Collaborate closely with the Policy team on policy priorities affecting young adults, and identify opportunities for scaling programs and driving systemic change within government systems.
• Work with Robin Hood's Development team and other internal functions to inform donor engagement and support the solicitation of funds for priority initiatives.
• Partner with Robin Hood's Management Acceleration team to identify opportunities to strengthen community partner organizations through paid and pro bono capacity-building projects.

Qualifications

• Deep knowledge of, and a strong network within, at least one core area of the portfolio (workforce development, college success, justice-impacted youth/community safety, or basic needs), with genuine curiosity about the others.
• Demonstrated track record of building programs, initiatives, or organizations from the ground up, ideally in a fast-changing field, with comfort operating amid ambiguity and incomplete information.
• Fluency in — or strong, demonstrated interest in developing expertise on — how AI and automation are reshaping entry-level work and the skills young people will need to compete for living-wage jobs.
• A confident external presence and genuine enthusiasm for representing an organization publicly, including with media, at conferences, and in front of donors and government leaders.
• Strong research, analytical, writing, and oral presentation skills.
• Extensive management experience and insight into nonprofit performance and operations, including a basic understanding of statistics, evaluation methods, and not-for-profit accounting.
• Broad knowledge of social problems, programs, and policies, government programs, funding streams, and cost structuring.
• 10-15 years of relevant, full-time work experience, including senior operational responsibility in a nonprofit, foundation, government, or private-sector role; grantmaking experience preferred.
• Master's or professional degree preferred, along with a minimum of 10 years of post-graduate professional experience; equivalent experience will also be considered.
• Commitment to poverty issues and to Robin Hood's model of engaged grantmaking.
• Ability to be both a long-term strategic visionary and to understand current on-the-ground realities.
• Experience managing a team of seasoned, professional staff.
• Highly effective interpersonal and relational skills, including a demonstrated ability to work successfully across complex, matrixed teams and with roles at multiple levels.
• High degree of self-awareness, humility, and diplomacy; a sense of humor and a skillful listener.

Our work is grounded in three Guiding Principles: diversity, equity, and inclusion; proximity and humanity; and risk-taking and innovation. Our professional community reflects diverse identities across gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, ability, and socioeconomic status.

Salary and Benefits

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