Director of Programs & Impact

Job Type: Full Time, Exempt

Location: US Remote Work From Home

Reports To: Chief Operating Officer

Salary: Needs to be added + benefits

Overview

Founded by then-Congressmember Karen Bass in 2012, NFYI is dedicated to ensuring that current and former foster youth have a seat at the table alongside legislators, policymakers, decision makers, families, and advocates. We believe that truly transformative foster care reform is possible only when individuals who have personally experienced the child welfare system have leadership roles in changing it. NFYI creates pipelines of leadership that connect current and former foster youth with decisionmakers to change the systems that impact them.

As Director of Programs & Impact, you will lead the design, delivery, and continuous evaluation of NFYI's programs, ensuring that everything we build is not only high-quality and consistent, but directly advances the goals and objectives laid out in NFYI's organizational strategic direction. This role brings structure, rigor, and evaluative discipline to programs with great bones but a piecemeal history. You’ll lead, coach, and collaborate with a team to elevate their work and demonstrate impact on both systems and individuals.

Responsibilities

Program Strategy, Planning & Development

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of programs and services that meet the diverse needs of foster youth, ensuring every initiative ties directly back to the goals and objectives in NFYI's strategic direction.
• Build and maintain a progression framework across NFYI's programs — a clear scope-and-sequence showing how a young person advances from initial engagement to leadership over time.
• Develop and maintain standardized curricula, facilitator guides, and session materials so program quality and consistency do not depend on which staff member is delivering it.
• Create plans for growing and mobilizing a grassroots action network of current/former foster youth, foster families, and supporters.
• Lead program staff in executing all program activities in alignment with NFYI's mission, strategic direction, and objectives, as well as deliverables committed to funders.
• Provide financial oversight of all programs, working with the COO and Accounting & Administrative Assistant to develop and track program budgets.
• Develop short- and long-term strategic plans for program expansion, enhancement, and sustainability, including scalability planning and documentation as NFYI grows beyond its current staffing model.

Evaluation & Impact

• Own program evaluation as a core, ongoing function, not an afterthought. Build and refine logic models / theories of change for NFYI's programs, paired with practical measurement tools (pre/post assessments, outcome tracking, feedback loops) that go beyond satisfaction surveys.
• Develop and implement systems for monitoring program outcomes and impact on an ongoing basis, and use that data to assess effectiveness, identify gaps, and drive data-informed decisions.
• Ensure programmatic excellence by closing gaps identified through evaluation and connecting programmatic goals directly to policy goals and NFYI's strategic direction.
• Prepare impact reports and presentations for internal stakeholders, the Board, funders, and other partners, and provide program outcomes data that supports grant proposals, reporting, and funder communications.
• Train and support program staff on evaluation tools and a shared measurement framework, building long-term internal ownership of evaluation practice across the team.

Team Leadership & Development

• Supervise staff managing the Congressional Leadership Academy, Internships, and the LA Chapter.
• Provide strong leadership to the programs team, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and excellence.
• Mentor and coach staff members, promoting their professional growth and development.
• Support staff in developing work plans tied to organizational goals and foster a culture of excellence and accountability across the team.
• Conduct regular performance evaluations and provide constructive feedback to ensure the team's effectiveness.

Partnership & Collaboration

• Cultivate and maintain strategic partnerships with government agencies, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and other stakeholders.
• Collaborate with external partners to leverage resources, expertise, and networks in support of NFYI's programs and initiatives.
• Represent NFYI in external forums, conferences, and events to promote awareness of foster youth issues and advocate for policy change.
• Assist the development team in creating grant reports for program funders and sponsors that demonstrate achieving deliverables and impact on both individuals and systems.
• Work closely with the communications team to develop messaging and materials that effectively communicate NFYI's programs and impact.

Strategic & Policy Advising

• Advise the leadership team on strategic planning, goal setting, Board and funder communications, and organizational direction, ensuring programming stays aligned with NFYI's strategic direction as it evolves.
• Center lived experience by serving as a conduit between youth/member recommendations and the legislation and policies NFYI's policy team advocates for.
• Advise the CEO and Government Relations Director on policy positions informed by program outcomes and participant experience.
• Collaborate with the COO to ensure organizational and programmatic budgets are aligned with program goals and the needs of the community NFYI serves.

Qualifications

• Significant experience (typically 5+ years) leading youth development programs, including program design, staff supervision, and organizational-level (not single-program) strategy.
• Demonstrated experience building program evaluation frameworks and outcome measurement tools — logic models, theories of change, and data-driven program management.
• Experience designing or standardizing curricula and translating strategic frameworks into practical, usable tools for frontline staff.
• Familiarity with foster care, child welfare, or youth with lived experience in out-of-home care strongly preferred; lived experience welcomed.
• Track record of aligning program strategy to an organization's broader strategic plan and communicating impact to leadership, funders, and boards.
• Strong people-management skills, with experience supervising, coaching, and developing program staff.
• Skilled relationship-builder, comfortable representing the organization with government agencies, funders, and external partners.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including comfort preparing reports and presentations for varied audiences.

Work Environment & Expectations

• This is a full-time, work-from-home position. Standard business hours apply, with the expectation of flexibility to occasionally attend programs that are held at times convenient for youth participants, which may fall outside typical business hours.
• Travel to Washington, D.C. is required at least once a year for Shadow Day; occasional additional travel to program events may be expected, depending on location.
• Must be willing to use personal equipment (reliable internet, cell phone, laptop/tablet) when working remotely.

NFYI reserves the right to change duties (add and/or remove), as needed. All NFYI employees/contractors are encouraged to be flexible and responsive to change in the scope of duties. In recognition of the ways in which negotiating salaries can contribute to pay inequities, the salary for this position is non-negotiable.

100% employer-covered health insurance; generous PTO; access to 403(b) retirement account