Director, Youth Programs

Deep’s Director, Youth Programs is a salaried full-time position (40 hours/week) reporting directly to the Executive Director. The Director is responsible for designing, implementing, and evaluating the effectiveness of youth programs at Deep Center. The Director manages three of our programs serving youth from grades 6-12: Young Author Project, Block by Block, and the Slam Team.

Deep Center is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes everyone to join our team. We strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and those with lived experiences that reflect the Savannah community to apply.

Aren’t sure if you meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that people from marginalized communities are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Deep Center, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and equity-driven workplace. So if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Youth Programs Director Core Competencies

• Knowledge of out-school time programming and community resources in Savannah, preferable from Savannah/Chatham County 
• Experience effectively managing a team of full-time staff 
• Experience developing curricula, managing and facilitating programming for middle school and high school aged youth from a wide range of backgrounds
• Confidence managing high-level strategic partnerships, especially with institutions that intersect with the public school system
• Comfort and skill interacting with a wide range of stakeholders in a variety of institutional and community settings, including youth and parents, public school educators and administrators, visiting artists, and vendors
• An assets-based framework for working with youth and families from diverse cultural backgrounds towards a more just and equitable world
• The ability to think strategically at the systems level to identify and articulate equitable solutions
• Having an anti-racism lens, and an ability to talk fearlessly about race, class, gender, sexuality, migration, ability, and structural injustices
• Expertise with program evaluation

General Responsibilities

• Develop and implement long-term goals and objectives to ensure successful impact and outcomes of youth programs
• Build and maintain strong, strategic relationships with community stakeholders to further Deep’s mission and goals, especially formal partners, organizational leaders, and underground or informal community leaders in the communities we serve and/or want to serve, as well as in regional and national networks strategically important to Deep
• Develop an annual budget to ensure successful operations of youth programs
• Compile, maintain, and report on annual programs statistics
• Recruit and manage creative partners (illustrators, designers, photographers, etc.), as needed

Human Resource Management

• In consultation with the Executive Director, oversee the selection, hiring, coaching, and management of program employees
• Direct work of program staff, including supervision and evaluation, training, and team building
• Oversee the development, implementation, and evaluation of recruitment strategies to expand the number of volunteers and staff to support programs
• Identify program needs and facilitate training and professional development of program staff to respond to those needs

Youth Programs Implementation and Design

• Supervise design and implementation of youth programs in accordance with mission and goals set forth by the Board of Directors and the Executive Director
• Analyze trends in programs, identify issues, and develop and recommend solutions to the Executive Director
• Streamline, develop, and refine program curriculum and ensure alignment with Deep method and pedagogy 
• Develop, implement, and evaluate recruitment strategies to maintain and/or expand the number of youth participating in programs
• Develop new initiatives to support the strategic direction of the organization
• Implement strategies to facilitate parent/guardian engagement and access to community resources that address participants (youth and families) wraparound needs

Youth Programs Research and Evaluation

• Evaluate success of youth programs in accordance with the mission and goals set forth by the Board of Directors and the Executive Director
• Build and maintain strong, strategic relationships with research and evaluation partners
• Develop program evaluation frameworks and metrics to assess the strengths and areas of improvement of youth programs

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. 

• Much of the work of this position is completed while sitting at a desk, using a computer and phone. Requires talking, hearing, and visual acuity sufficient to perform these major functions.  
• Frequently requires navigating a physical office space and attending meetings and events at alternate locations. 
• Occasionally includes reaching above shoulder heights, below the waist or lifting up to 25 pounds for office equipment, supplies and materials.

Status: Full Time, Exempt