Vice President of Youth Development

Vice President Of Youth Development

The Vice President of Youth Development is a key member of the YMCA of Greater Springfield's senior leadership team, responsible for the strategic vision, operational excellence, and financial sustainability of all areas of educational programming. This position provides dynamic leadership and oversight to ensure high-quality program delivery, safe and impactful youth development initiatives. The Vice President will foster collaboration across departments, cultivate strong relationships with staff and stakeholders, and ensure alignment with the YMCA's mission, values, and strategic goals.

Essential Functions:

• Provide visionary leadership and strategic direction for early childhood education, school age child care, summer camp programming, ensuring alignment with the Y's overall strategic plan.
• Develop and implement strategic plans, goals, and objectives for each area of oversight, focusing on program quality, growth, innovation, and financial sustainability.
• Establish the unified framework by which all youth programs are designed, evaluated, and improved while setting the standard for access, inclusion, quality, and age-appropriate progression, and charging directors with consistent execution.
• Define what programmatic excellence looks like at the Y of Greater Springfield, ensuring all program models reflect national best practice standards and local mission values while remaining responsive to the evolving needs of the community.
• Stay abreast of best practices, trends, and regulations in relevant fields and implement them as appropriate.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, evaluation, and data-driven decision-making across all areas of responsibility.
• Collaborate with the CEO and other senior leaders on organizational strategy, policy development, and resource allocation.
• Oversee the effective and efficient operation of all programs within their portfolio, ensuring high-quality service delivery, program outcomes, and positive member experiences.
• Ensure compliance with all relevant licensing requirements, regulations, and Y standards for program quality and safety.
• Develop and manage annual budgets for each area of responsibility, ensuring fiscal responsibility and sustainability.
• Develop and secure public and private grant funding to expand youth development programs, support strategic initiatives, and ensure long-term organizational sustainability.
• Oversee the recruitment, hiring, training, supervision, and evaluation of department directors and key staff within their portfolio.
• Establish performance indicators and accountability systems to measure youth impact, participation, quality, growth, and outcomes.
• Develop and expand partnerships with schools, community organizations, municipalities, and public agencies.
• Manage structures and systems to ensure compliance with all licensing requirements across all areas of responsibility.
• Represent the YMCA at relevant community events, coalitions, panels, and public forums, elevating the organization's profile as a leader in youth development across our communities.
• Set the strategic direction for participant pathways across the full youth development continuum from first program experience to long-term engagement.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in education, child development, youth development, business administration or a related field required; master's degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10-15 years of progressive leadership experience in a complex organization, with significant experience overseeing multiple program areas and administrative functions, preferably with a youth development setting.
• Demonstrated experience in strategic planning, budget management, program development, and staff supervision.
• Strong understanding of best practices in early childhood education, school age childcare, youth development, and camping operations, including a working knowledge of local licensing bodies i.e. EEC, DPH etc.
• Proven ability to build and maintain effective relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Commitment to the mission, values, and goals of the YMCA.
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative and team-oriented environment.

Work Environment & Physical Demands:

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to sit, stand or reach for extended periods of times, move around the work environment independently, push, pull or lift up to 25 pounds for short periods of time.
• Employee is exposed to noise and fluctuating temperatures.

YMCA of Greater Springfield