Boys & Girls Clubs of America named "One of the Best Nonprofits to Work for in 2017, 2018 and 2019" Indeed.com

Boys & Girls Clubs of America is the nation's premier youth development organization. Our programs, training and services impact nearly 4 million children and teens every year. We are always looking for qualified professionals with a passion for improving young lives, as a member of our national staff. We have strong values, embrace diversity and offer great benefits to allow our employees to maintain work/life balance.

LOCATION: This position is onsite, office-based in Atlanta, GA (hybrid model - 3 days remote / 2 days in office- Tuesday & Wednesday)

Under the direct supervision of the Managing Director, Youth Development Services, the Senior Director, Sports & Esports will provide strategic direction to Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s sports and esports programming, activations, and events. This position will design and support the implementation of best practice approaches to sports and esports with a focus on supporting Clubs in developing the capacity to effectively implement best practices across sites. Successfully implemented approaches will result in measurable outcomes related to tween and teen recruitment and retention, positive adult-youth and peer relationships, fun, and sense of belonging and inclusion.

This position will oversee a team of 2 individuals. Expertise includes out-of-school time, youth development, sports, esports, and teen and tween developmental needs, interests, and trends. Necessary experience includes 5+ years in a related position leading multiple, concurrent projects related to out-of-school time. Core competencies include strategic thinking, ability to execute, strong project management skills, effective communication, and collaboration skills.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Sports & Esports Strategy Design & Execution

• Serve as the subject matter expert on sports and esports for youth, tweens and teens in out-of-school time.
• Lead the design and implementation of enterprise-wide approaches that support Boys & Girls Clubs in building their capacity to effectively implement sports and esports programming, professional development and capacity-building supports resulting in measurable outcomes for youth in tween and teen recruitment and retention, positive adult-youth and peer relationships, fun, and sense of belonging and inclusion.
• Use data to identify Clubs’ strategic priorities and readiness to implement sports and esports approaches; segment approaches as aligned to Clubs’ needs, wants and readiness to gain the greatest outcomes, meet Clubs where they are, and support their advancement.
• Work collaboratively with the Youth Development Programs Team to inform, co-build and deliver programming, professional development and youth impact toolkits.
• Work collaboratively with the Research, Evaluation and Insights team to design a measurement approach to sports and esports, ensuring that lead and lag indicators are identified and tracked.
• Serve as the key lead in aligning targeted funding opportunities to sports and esports priorities.
• Support national events like BGCA’s National Conference and BGCA’s national teen Keystone Conference with activations focused on sports, esports, and tween and teen engagement.

Tween & Teen Engagement

• Work collaboratively with a BGCA cross-functional group of BGCA staff to inform a multi-year teen membership strategy aimed at increasing tween and teen membership and retention across the enterprise.
• Work collaboratively with specific Youth Development teams, whose work supports teen and tween populations to inform approaches to recruiting and retaining teens and tweens in Clubs. Ensure that work across teams and functions in support of this population are aligned and identify gaps in work to be undertaken by the work group.
• Work collaboratively with teen-focused Youth Development staff to support the execution of a Youth Advisory Council who will inform tween and teen centered approaches to programming.

Supervision

Supervises a team of 2 staff.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in kinesiology, sports management, education, youth development, sociology, psychology, public health or a related field.
• Expertise in youth development, out-of-school time, sports, esports, community-based organizations, and trends related to needs and interests of teens and tweens.
• Experience in training, technical assistance / consultation, and data-driven quality improvement approaches.
• Minimum of five years of experience, including significant experience with designing and leading multiple concurrent projects and developing and managing budgets.
• Excellent strategic thinking and problem-solving skills and written and communication skills.

COMPETENCIES

Leadership

• Contributes to cross-functional initiatives as a youth development content expert.
• Demonstrates the ability to design and deliver national program activation across diverse pathways and organizational structures.
• Effectively engages with a range of audiences including corporate executives, government officials, department heads, Club executives, Club staff and members.
• Understands internal and external stakeholder requirements, expectations, and needs; Balances the interests of multiple stakeholders; Considers cultural and ethical factors in the decision-making process; Acts fairly despite conflicting demands of stakeholders.
• Anticipates future trends and implications accurately; Readily poses future scenarios; Articulates credible visions of possibilities that will create sustainable value; Creates competitive and breakthrough strategies that show a clear connection between vision and action.
• Adheres to organizational policies and procedures as described in BGCA's Employee Handbook, Ethics Policy, and elsewhere.
• Talks about future possibilities in a positive way; Creates milestones to rally support behind the vision; Articulates the vision in a way everyone can relate to; Creates energy and optimism for the future; Shows personal commitment to the vision.

Management & Staff Development

• Follows through on commitments and makes sure others do the same; Acts with a clear sense of ownership; Takes personal responsibility for decisions, actions and failures; Establishes clear responsibilities and processes for monitoring work and measuring results; Designs feedback loops into work.
• Structures the work so it aligns with people’s goals; Empowers others; Makes each person feel their contributions are important; Invites input and shares ownership and visibility; Shows a clear connection between people’s motivators and the organizational goals.
• Provides leadership and supervision to a team while advancing organizational impact, maximizing human capital and resources, and ensuring impact for youth.
• Develops organizational talent by providing coaching, feedback, staff development plans, and performance management to designated staff.
• Supervises recruitment, selection, evaluation, and retention of all assigned personnel, and observes, analyzes, and shares perceptions and business results.

Drives Results

• Creates and communicates strategic approaches, tactical objectives, and action plans.
• Applies logic and reasoning to identify new solutions or approaches to problems.
• Balances strategic thinking with a bias towards action.
• Exemplifies strong negotiation skills with an ability to bring others together and reconcile differences.
• Drives projects to completion with quality execution.
• Demonstrates a proven ability to take direction and input to integrate feedback to inform professional development and quality improvement.

Builds Networks and Collaborates

• Works cooperatively with others across the organization to achieve shared objectives; Represents own interests while being fair to others and their areas; Partners with others to get work done; Credits others for their contributions and accomplishments; Gains trust and support of others.
• Establishes strong formal and informal networks; Maintains relationships across a variety of functions and locations; Draws upon multiple relationships to exchange ideas, resources, and know-how.
• Serves as a subject matter specialist across teams as it relates to teen and tween engagement.
• Builds and manages internal and external BGCA partnerships.
• Assists with foundation, corporate, government, and other donor-based proposals as aligned to team priorities.

ENVIRONMENTAL & WORKING CONDITIONS

Normal internal office environment. Travel is estimated at up to 40%. The individual selected for this position must possess and maintain a valid driver’s license and be able to navigate areas of the country or abroad by using a map or other direction methods. Ability to travel by car, airplane, or other modes of transportation required.