About JFF:

Jobs for the Future (JFF) drives transformation of the American workforce and education systems to achieve equitable economic advancement for all.

About the position:

JFF’s Center for Racial Economic Equity (CREE) aims to advance equity in education and the labor market, with an initial focus on accelerating the advancement of Black learners and workers. We seek to create a world where race is no longer a determinant of education and economic outcomes—a world where Black learners and workers secure quality jobs in high-growth sectors, succeed in their careers, and experience economic advancement without facing obstacles based on their race. We aim to identify solutions and best practices to achieve two foundational priorities: disrupt occupational segregation and eradicate the Black-white wealth gap. We do this through research, thought leadership, network building, and advisory services. In the future, we plan to expand our efforts to serve additional populations, including Latine, Indigenous, and AANHPI learners and workers. Check out our impact stories here.

The Senior Director (SD) will report to the Vice President of CREE. The SD will be focused on leading the Center’s overall strategy while ensuring alignment between business development, partnerships, and resources. The SD will also serve as an advisor to a subset of the Center’s projects. The SD will partner with leaders both within and outside of the Center to execute and expand upon JFF’s vision for our work to enhance the experience of Black learners and workers in education and the workforce. This person will be critical to growing CREE’s existing work and in the future, will build out strategies to serve additional populations including Latine, Indigenous, and AANHPI learners and workers.

This is an entrepreneurial, hands-on role within JFF to stand up and secure funding for new bodies of work which center on racial equity, build upon a successful early-stage Center, and integrate the Center’s goals and work across the organization. The team environment is creative, impact-oriented, generative, and highly collaborative.

What you will do:

Lead strategy and ensure the scalability and sustainability of the Center’s work

• Create the Center for Racial Economic Equity’s strategy and annual goals and ensure we are prioritizing efforts to reach our vision and roadmap in partnership with members of our team and other leaders across JFF’s centers and practices
• Scope high-impact projects and partnership opportunities to accelerate the Center’s goals and build new relationships that accelerate and expand the impact of our work
• Understand and foster JFF’s positioning in the racial equity landscape, which will include benchmarking external organizations and engaging with research and data to build out and shift strategy as needed
• Lead business development efforts, including identifying new opportunities to expand and diversify JFF’s Racial Economic Equity work, tracking business development activities and targets, shaping proposals and budgets, and creating fundraising collateral
• Manage the ongoing implementation of the Center's strategy by regularly engaging the CREE team to execute on the team’s goals and deliver work centered on racial equity across JFF
• In partnership with the CREE team, develop strategy, which will include building out the timing and approach, for expanding the Center’s efforts to serve additional populations, including Latine, Indigenous, and AANHPI learners and workers in future work

Collaborate across projects, centers, and other teams to incorporate race equity work at JFF

• Develop and advance touchpoints with representatives across practices and centers at JFF and JFFLabs to proactively identify and pursue opportunities for collaboration and integration
• Continue to build and leverage internal partnerships and data to communicate the value and impact of the Center’s work with external partners to support funding racial equity work across JFF
• Develop and build out a plan to continue to fully integrate racial equity work across JFF’s different teams
• Serve as advisor on projects housed in other practices or centers that include a focus on Black,Latine, Indigenous, and/or AANHPI learners and workers
• Serve as point for the Center’s work with internal shared services teams including Finance, People & Culture, Marketing and Communications, Resource Management, and Project Management and Execution to support the operations functions of the CREE team
• Collaborate with JFF’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Well-Being (DEIBW) team to ensure efforts in the market are aligned with internal DEIBW work underway

Contribute to the Center’s programmatic success and visibility

• Lead or advise on a small portfolio of cross-functional projects across JFF to execute on Center initiatives, including building project plans, staffing models, and overseeing project teams, budgets, and timelines
• Serve as a subject matter expert on initiatives that advance equity in education and the labor market by providing guidance and strategic support to partners in the field and colleagues at JFF to shape program design and development
• Represent JFF and the Center externally in conferences, convenings, working groups, and advisory panels
• Author blogs, reports, and other communications products that contribute to JFF’s thought leadership in the field
• Participate in shaping the Center’s cross-sector network, including contributing to overall strategy and planning for individual convenings and events

Who you are:

• You bring experience in advancing racial equity work and have a demonstrated track record as a trusted and collaborative partner to leaders within the education and workforce development ecosystem (New hires at the Senior Director level at JFF typically bring 10-15 years of prior professional experience through a combination of full-time, part-time, internship, and/or freelance positions)
• You have a successful track record in building new strategies, programs, or initiatives from scratch that are grounded in racial and economic equity
• You are skilled at proposing creative ideas and innovative solutions to advance racial equity work, while also ensuring that decisions, teams and processes respect individual differences and support DEIBW across the organization
• You know how to advance a team’s or organization’s influence through thought leadership around racial equity best practices, specifically for Black Americans, and bring energy for leading strategies to serving other populations including Latine, Indigenous, and AANHPI learners and workers
• You have experience leveraging research and data around best practices from external organizations, in creating strategy to inform and continuously improve the effectiveness, innovation, and quality of cross-organizational project work
• You are a strategic, analytical thinker who blends being visionary with operationally getting work done; you have experience managing disparate and competing priorities with multiple timetables and deliverables, while keeping projects and teams on track and on budget
• You have demonstrated success cultivating and managing relationships with existing and new funders, writing or leading the development of concepts and proposals, and raising money that advances an organization’s work
• You have demonstrated success cultivating and maintaining relationships across internal operations functions including HR, Finance, and/or Marketing and Communications
• You are a strong communicator (verbally, in writing, and/or when presenting) and can tailor your content and approaches to inform and inspire various audiences; you have experience serving as the external face of your projects, teams, and/or organization
• You model inclusive leadership, working effectively with colleagues from a diverse range of backgrounds, and building and stewarding an organizational culture that embraces diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and wellbeing
• You possess high energy and passion for JFF’s mission and the ability to apply JFF’s core values to all areas of your work
• You are able and willing to travel up to 20% for project support, convenings, conferences, and other meetings.

What We Offer

At JFF, we’re fueled by the desire to create a world where everyone has equal opportunity for economic advancement. Our team works hard to push the boundaries of what is possible, and in return, we provide a gratifying work experience, competitive salaries, and a comprehensive benefits program that includes flexibility and choice as core values to support people wherever they are in their lives and careers.

The hiring range for this role is $140,000 - $165,000 annually, in alignment to JFF’s Senior Director salary band and our compensation philosophy. Starting salaries for new hires will be determined based on a combination of the new hire’s relevant experience and market demands.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at JFF:

JFF is committed to sustaining a diverse community with a work environment that is welcoming, respectful, and encouraging to all. JFF fosters a culture of inclusion that celebrates and cultivates diversity along multiple dimensions, including race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, socioeconomic status, religion, ability, culture, and experience. As part of our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, JFF strongly encourages people impacted by the criminal legal system to apply.

To apply:

As part of your application, please include your resume and a thoughtful cover letter, addressed to the VP of the Center for Racial and Economic Equity, Michael Collins, outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position.

Positions at JFF are not eligible for employer-visa sponsorship or open to F-1 student visa holders.

All JFF employees are required to be fully up to date on their vaccinations against COVID-19, unless a medical or religious exemption has been requested and a reasonable accommodation approved.