Senior Director, Business Strategy

BACKGROUND:

Grads of Life (GOL), the advisory arm of Year Up United (YUU), is a team of consultants that partner with leading employers to create skills-first talent strategies that deliver both business benefits and social impact. Our aim is to build an employer movement to close the Opportunity Divide and create a future where all people have access to quality jobs, financial stability and economic mobility.

As Grads of Life continues to increase its impact with employers of influence to create and support inclusive hiring practices, the Senior Director, Business Strategy will build processes and infrastructure to support the growth and operational excellence of Grads of Life in conjunction with Talent Networks (TN) and YUU overall. The potential to grow Grads of Life's service offerings is extensive but requires the right leader with the ability to effectively structure and enable our client services work and the broadening and execution of our "go to market" strategy. The person in this position will help us leverage our positioning to ultimately close the Opportunity Divide in our country.

OVERVIEW:

The Senior Director, Business Strategy, is a strategic leadership role responsible for driving the organization's growth and market expansion across multiple functional areas. Reporting directly to the Managing Partner, the Senior Director will have oversight of strategic priorities, product sales, coalition support, operational efficiencies, and exploratory business opportunities. The individual in this role will work closely with cross-functional teams to align business strategy with execution, ensuring the organization's offerings are innovative, scalable, and impactful.

We are open to candidates living in any of the states in which Year Up United operates https://www.yearup.org/locations. East Coast time zone preferred.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategy Management and Execution

• Work with the Managing Partner to ensure the success and achievement of the GOL Go-to-Market Strategy
• Develop and execute strategies to enhance product sales for learning and advisory services.
• Take ownership of assigned strategic components (e.g., goals, objectives, initiatives) and drive the execution and completion of activities required to successfully accomplish those strategic components; contribute to reporting efforts via status updates on strategy progress and performance.

Market Assessment and Employer Engagement

• Deepen the organization's understanding of the skills-first employer market by analyzing trends, competitor outlooks, risks, and mitigations.
• Explore and implement strategies to improve employer talent management practices.
• Identify opportunities to establish and expand coalition support; design and develop coalition support SOWs, playbooks, and arcs of topics that can be leveraged to create a standardized, repeatable coalition platform.

Business Development

• Strengthen efforts in business development by focusing on client recapture, upselling, and identifying strategies to expand advisory offerings, including targeted outreach to new and existing clients.
• Collaborate with the YUU Devo team to identify and pursue grant and research opportunities.
• Provide support for exploratory lines of business, leveraging market research and stakeholder feedback.
• Collaborate with the YUU Corporate Engagement (CE) Team to identify opportunities for bundling services with existing offerings.
• Provide strategic oversight for the development and implementation of scalable, productized offerings, including exploring opportunities for automation.
• Conduct ad-hoc analyses and business-related initiatives as requested by the Managing Partner.

Operational Support

• Lead the design and implementation of operational frameworks to forecast pipeline and upcoming delivery
• Set the vision for the creation and maintenance of robust reporting structures to track performance metrics and inform decision-making; provide recommendations based on performance, risks, and perceived mitigations.
• In partnership with TN, strengthen internal operational practices to support scalability and efficiency.

Client and Team Collaboration

• Work with the team, to include TN, to deliver high-quality support to clients (e.g., tool deployment, facilitation, material development), ensuring consistent alignment with organizational goals.

• Act as a thought leader and subject matter expert on employer trends, providing guidance to internal and external teams as well as internal and external stakeholders.
• Directly supervise individuals; support their day-to-day priorities, career development, and belonging; remain apprised of, track, and monitor the capacity of direct reports.
• Invest time in supporting direct reports through ongoing organizational changes; focus on delegation, skill-advancement, trust-building, and providing clear, actionable, timely feedback to empower and enhance staff performance.
• Support the professional development of direct reports and cross-functional team members.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Experience and Education

• Minimum of 12 years of experience to include support of business strategy, product sales, market expansion, and direct client delivery.
• Advanced degree in Business Administration, Organizational Development, Public Policy, Political Science or a related discipline preferred.

Skills and Proficiencies

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret market trends and operational data.
• Demonstrated ability to drive strategy and execution across multiple functions.
• Strong ability to build relationships, foster collaboration, and influence others without direct authority.
• Exceptional skills in strategic storytelling, presentation development, and stakeholder engagement, including senior and executive leadership.
• Strategic thinker with a proactive approach to problem-solving.
• Ability to conceptualize, plan, and manage major complex projects and multiple initiatives simultaneously.
• Self-starter, comfortable shaping priorities and agenda with broadly set parameters
• Excellent leadership and team management skills, with experience overseeing cross-functional teams.
• Ability to facilitate difficult conversations and resolve issues.
• Results-oriented and highly organized.
• Adaptable and innovative, with a focus on continuous improvement.
• Collaborative mindset with the ability to engage diverse stakeholders.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (especially PowerPoint, Excel, and Word) and familiarity with tools like Salesforce.
• Passion for the mission of Year Up United and demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Salary Range- $140,000- $175,000

Location Preference: While this is a primarily remote role, we have a strong preference for candidates located on the East Coast to align with team collaboration and working hours.

#LI-Hybrid

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:

• Year Up United has established salary ranges for each of our sites, which allows us to pay employees competitively, equitably and consistently in different geographic markets. For roles in which the location is listed as flexible, the range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations. Salary offers take into account a candidate's skills, experience, and location. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process.
• Benefits: Comprehensive healthcare options and dental coverage; 401(k) match for eligible participants.
• Vacation: Earn three weeks paid vacation in first year of employment; four weeks after initial year.
• Professional Development: Funds available to support staff in achieving career objectives ($2,500 per year)

** This is an exempt role (paid on a salaried basis). **

ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION:

Year Up United is a national 501(c)3 workforce development organization committed to ensuring equitable access to economic opportunity, education, and justice for all young adults-no matter their background, income, or zip code. Employers face a growing need for talent while millions of talented young adults lack access to meaningful careers. These inequities only further perpetuate the opportunity gap that exists in our country-a gap that Year Up United is determined and positioned to close through three interconnected strategies: providing targeted skills training and connections to livable-wage employment for students and alumni; empowering others to serve and support young adults, and changing systems that perpetuate the opportunity gap. Year Up United's intensive training program utilizes a high expectations, high support model where students learn in-demand technical and professional skills and apply them during a corporate internship. Year Up United has directly served more than 40,000 young adults since its founding in 2000. Year Up United's nationwide presence includes Arizona, Austin, Bay Area, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Greater Atlanta, Greater Boston, Greater Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, the National Capital Region, New York City/Jersey City, Pittsburgh, Puget Sound, Rhode Island, South Florida, Tampa Bay, and Wilmington.

Voted one of the Best Nonprofits to Work For in the country by The NonProfit Times, Year Up United is a rewarding and impactful place to work. Our staff is passionate, supportive, mission-driven, and committed to positive change and continuous learning. We set high standards for both ourselves and our students and live by a set of core values that reflect an unshakable belief in the talent and potential of our young people. The work we do is life-changing, and we know that our team is the greatest asset in achieving our mission.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY:

Year Up United embraces diversity and equal opportunity in a serious way. All aspects of employment, including the decision to hire, promote, discharge, or discipline, are based on meritocracy. We do not permit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristics protected by federal, state, or local laws. Learn more about our commitment to diversity: http://www.yearup.org/about-us/careers/commitment-to-diversity/

Year Up United is also committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. Your recruiter can provide details regarding the expected work environment and any physical requirements. Please let our hiring team know if you need an accommodation at any point during the interview process. Information received relating to accommodation will be addressed confidentially.

TO APPLY:

Please submit a thoughtful cover letter and resume through our website.

Note that applications without a cover letter will not be considered. We respectfully request no phone calls.