Hiring Eastside Youth Opportunity Center Program Director in Baltimore

The Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED) is the lead municipal agency tasked with connecting Baltimore residents to quality employment opportunities, reducing systemic barriers to work, and supporting economic mobility for underserved communities across the city. With a staff of 120+ professionals and an annual budget of $45 million, MOED administers workforce development programs, youth employment initiatives, adult education services, and emergency job placement support for residents facing economic hardship. The Eastside Youth Opportunity (YO) Center, the focus of this role, serves 18- to 24-year-old out-of-school, unemployed youth in Baltimore’s eastern neighborhoods, a population that faces disproportionately high rates of housing instability, justice system involvement, and lack of access to formal training or employment pathways.

We are recruiting an experienced, community-focused Program Director to lead all operational, programmatic, and partnership activities for the Eastside YO Center over a 3-year contract term. The successful candidate will be responsible for translating the center’s mandate into tangible outcomes for participants, managing a cross-functional team of youth advisors, employment specialists, and training coordinators, and ensuring full compliance with all municipal, state, and federal program requirements. This is a high-impact role with direct visibility to city leadership, requiring a balance of strategic planning skills, hands-on operational expertise, and deep empathy for the challenges faced by Baltimore’s young people.

Key responsibilities for this role include:
1. Overseeing daily center operations, including staff scheduling, participant intake, resource allocation, and safety protocol implementation, to ensure the center serves a minimum of 250 unique participants annually with zero safety incidents.
2. Designing and rolling out personalized career pathway programs for participants, including vocational training in high-demand local sectors (construction, healthcare, IT support, and hospitality), GED preparation, and soft skills development, with a target of 75% of participants securing unsubsidized employment or post-secondary enrollment within 6 months of program entry.
3. Managing the center’s $1.2 million annual operating budget, including procurement of training services, stipend payments for participants, and administrative costs, with quarterly financial reporting to MOED leadership and annual audit compliance.
4. Building and maintaining partnerships with 30+ local employers to secure paid internships, apprenticeship placements, and direct hire opportunities for participants, with a goal of placing at least 180 participants in employment or training annually.
5. Ensuring full compliance with Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) requirements, maintaining accurate participant records in Salesforce, and submitting monthly and annual performance reports to state and federal funders with 100% accuracy and on-time submission.
6. Coordinating wrap-around support services for participants, including referrals to housing assistance, mental health care, legal aid, and childcare, to address non-employment barriers to success, with a target of 90% participant retention over 12 months.
7. Leading quarterly community advisory board meetings with local residents, former participants, and institutional partners to gather feedback on program design and adjust services to meet evolving community needs.
8. Managing crisis response protocols for participants, including coordination with Baltimore City Social Services and law enforcement when necessary to address safety risks, housing instability, or mental health emergencies.

The work environment for this role is fast-paced and mission-driven, with a strong focus on collaborative problem-solving and community impact. The center’s team is 80% composed of Baltimore residents, with many staff members having personal experience with the barriers faced by the center’s participants, creating a supportive, empathetic workplace culture. Flexible scheduling is available to accommodate evening and weekend program activities, and 1 day of remote work per week is permitted for administrative tasks. The MOED team prioritizes professional development for all staff, with annual training budgets of $1,000 per employee and access to city-led leadership development programs.

Ideal candidates will bring a minimum of 5 years of experience managing youth or workforce development programs, with at least 2 years of experience leading operations for out-of-school youth aged 18-24 in an urban context. A bachelor’s degree in social work, public administration, human services, or a related field is required; a master’s degree is strongly preferred. Candidates must have demonstrated experience managing budgets of $1 million or more, building employer partnerships, and ensuring compliance with federal workforce program regulations. Fluency in English is mandatory; bilingual Spanish/English speakers are strongly encouraged to apply. A valid driver’s license and clean criminal record (or approval to work with vulnerable populations) are required for this role.

Technical skills required for this role include proficiency in Salesforce for participant case management, Jira or Asana for project and task tracking, Microsoft Office Suite (with advanced Excel skills for budget and performance reporting), QuickBooks for financial management, and familiarity with WIOA federal reporting systems. Experience with data visualization tools such as Tableau is a plus.

The compensation package for this role includes an annual salary between $75,000 and $92,000, adjusted based on years of relevant experience. Benefits include 80% employer-subsidized health, dental, and vision insurance, 20 days of paid annual leave, 10 paid sick days per year, access to a 403(b) retirement plan with 3% employer matching, $1,000 annual professional development stipend, and eligibility for city employee public transit benefits. Career growth opportunities include eligibility to apply for senior program leadership roles within MOED after 2 years of successful performance, access to exclusive networking events with regional workforce development leaders, and sponsorship for national certification programs in youth workforce development.

The application process is open until October 15, 2024. Candidates must submit a detailed resume and a cover letter outlining their relevant experience working with out-of-school youth populations, along with three professional references, to [email protected]. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis starting October 1, 2024. The interview process consists of three stages: a 30-minute initial phone screen with MOED’s human resources team, a 60-minute in-person panel interview with MOED leadership and community advisory board members, and a final 45-minute interview with the MOED Director, including a 15-minute presentation of a 30-day action plan for the Eastside YO Center. Final hiring decisions will be communicated to all candidates by November 30, 2024, with a targeted start date of January 2, 2025. Late applications will not be accepted, and only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.