Director of Learning

Urban Initiatives is seeking a Learning Director who is responsible for implementing and facilitating highly effective learning and development programs with adults and young people across UI’s adult services and youth programs. This leader implements and facilitates learning programs across the organization grounded in UI’s sport- and play-based SEL methodology, with a heavy emphasis on highly practical application in youth programs. They collaborate closely with a team of learning and curriculum leaders to support the design and development of the organization’s learning programs with a myriad of audiences, including UI staff, sports coaches, youth service providers, parents, and more. They will lead through three core areas of responsibility, including:

• Learning Implementation + Facilitation
• Support Learning Strategy Design + Development
• Organizational + Team Leadership

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Implement and facilitate highly effective learning services across a variety of audiences, through three core areas:

Learning Implementation + Facilitation

• Lead implementation and facilitation for all adult services, youth programs, and UI employee learning programs:
• Adult services may include but not be limited to: workshops, professional learning communities, coaching, curriculum development, and consulting for adults implementing sport- and play-based social and emotional learning with young people in a myriad of contexts
• Youth programs include all UI-led programs which include but may not limited to: OST Soccer, OST Play, Take the Lead, Coach for Success, Community Schools Initiative, and Summer of Play
• UI employee learning may include but not be limited to: onboarding, ongoing development toward core competencies and targeted growth areas, etc.
• Lead implementation and adaptation for effectiveness with a variety of audiences, including but not limited to:
• UI staff that work directly with young people (e.g. coaches, coordinators, program managers, etc.)
• UI staff that support young people through indirect means (e.g. managers, impact evaluation, fund development, etc.)
• Partner audiences that work with young people (e.g. sports coaches, PE teachers, youth service providers, parents, etc.)
• UI volunteers
• Partner with the Curriculum Director to identify priorities for the development of new curricular resources, tools, and content and adaptation (as necessary) of existing curricular assets to support learning experience of target audiences
• Support assessment of each learning program to ensure consistent loops of feedback with participants and partners to drive continuous user-centered improvement and to utilize data gathered to inform how to iterate program to achieve impact goals
• Ensure consistent, accurate tracking of learning engagement across all audiences to support learning program assessment, reporting, and strategic planning
• Codify organizational learning to support ongoing organizational development
• Alongside Curriculum Director, oversee Learning Management System to curate fresh and relevant content to meet on-demand learning needs

Support Learning Strategy Design + Development

• Support the development of new learning services, adaptation of existing learning strategies, and perpetual refinement to deliver highly effective learning experiences in collaboration with UI’s Innovation and Learning teams and external learning partners
• Co-design learning with other leaders and through inclusive design practices (with students, parents, staff, partners, etc.)
• Support the development of learning team planning and priorities on annual, quarterly, and ongoing bases to assess needs, establish priorities, and map learning projects and programs to support achievement of organizational vision, goals, and strategic plan
• Cultivate organizational culture of perpetual growth and development through demonstrated design and iterative processes
• Keep abreast of best practices in sports-based youth development, sport- and play-based social and emotional learning, and workforce development to inform UI’s learning strategies

Organizational + Team Leadership

• Represent UI with various stakeholder audiences, such as partners, prospective partners, and advisers.
• Manage consistent communication with UI team members.
• Collaborate closely with UI’s Innovation and Learning teams around design, partnerships, and learning.
• Perform other duties as needed to support UI’s mission and vision.

WHAT WE LOOK FOR IN A CANDIDATE:

• Passion for sport and play to drive social-emotional learning across Chicago
• Expertise in learning and development and adult learning
• Experience implementing and facilitating adult learning strategies spanning multiple audiences, modalities, and varying levels of complexity
• Commitment to interrupting all forms of oppression in the workplace
• Commitment to supporting a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for young people
• Experience living and/or working deeply with historically marginalized communities
• Ability to communicate fluently in Spanish is a plus

COMPENSATION PACKAGE:

• $65,000 base salary
• Health, dental, and vision insurance premiums paid 100% by Urban Initiatives (for employees and for their children)
• Life, short term disability, and long term disability insurance paid 100% by Urban Initiatives
• Option to contribute to a 401K with up to a 3% match of your salary after one full year of employment
• Flexible schedule and work from home environment
• 120 hours of paid time off (PTO), accrued monthly (PTO may be prorated based on start date.)
• Paid holidays (Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve through New Year’s Day)
• Comp time