Vice-President, Membership & Member Engagement

Full-time: 100% FTE, 40 hours per week

Compensation: $120,000 annual salary, exempt

Benefits Overview: Medical, vision, dental and life insurance, vacation and sick time off, paid federal holidays, and retirement plan (See full job description for more details).

Organization Size: 50+ Employees

Reports to: President/Chief Operating Officer

Location(s): Eligible to work in either San Joaquin Valley or Monterey Bay region. Travel is required to all 5 centers and Headquarters Office.

*NOTE: We are not a remote workforce. Employees are eligible to work remotely for up to two days a week after the successful completion of the first 90 days of employment. We are only looking for one person to fill this role.

JOB OVERVIEW:

Digital NEST is an innovative workforce development center that has welcomed thousands of youth from working-class, farmworker communities to develop the technical and professional skills they need to achieve their dreams. It is an exciting time for the NEST. We are focused on growth and expansion to five communities across the Monterey Bay (MBR) and San Joaquin Valley (SJVR) Regions in Northern California. Digital NEST has Centers in the heart of Watsonville, Salinas, Gilroy and Modesto and Stockton.

The Vice President of Member Engagement is responsible for leading the Center vision across MBR and SJVR and daily management of membership and programming goals of the Career Exploration Branch, and general operations of the 5 Centers: Watsonville, Salinas, Gilroy, Modesto and Stockton.

The VP will provide strategic direction in the best practices of recruitment, engagement, and retention of members (ages 14-17) and standardization across the Centers to ensure they are safe, vibrant and highly engaging spaces. The VP will deliver high quality programming, including creating family engagement opportunities to meet membership recruitment, engagement and retention goals. This role will also foster deepened relationships with education and community based organizations across the five communities we serve. The VP, in close collaboration with the VP of Programs and VP of Strategic Partnerships and Innovation, will operationalize the program vision to establish reputable and thriving workforce development centers across the MBR & SJVR that are fully functioning and scalable.

The VP will be an effective leader in meeting membership and programming goals and in developing, mentoring and coaching a high performing team of Center Directors. They will also be a strong relationship builder, strategic connector and an innovator in all aspects of their work.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Regional Leadership and Scale (35%)

• Develop annual, regional and staff goals that drive the growth of membership, general operations and standardization for the 5 Centers in the MBR and SJVR.
• Lead the ongoing regional strategic planning work to participate in and to designate the appropriate Center Director to represent their respective community.
• Collaborate closely with and serve as a thought partner to the P/COO, as needed.
• Oversee the budgets for both regions and ensure Center Directors are fiscally responsible in maintaining their Center budget, records of expenditures, and fulfill all accounting requests.
• Participate in C-Suite meetings and/or organization-wide events, as needed.
• Represent the Digital NEST on relevant external committees, task forces, speaking engagements, conference panels and training.

Regional Membership: Program/Member Recruitment, Engagement & Retention (40%)

• Related to Quest Club and events throughout the academic year, monitor for each Center's community outreach, recruitment and retention of members across both regions to meet their annual membership goals, including robust numbers in Quest Club workshops, Center usage by youth and community. .
  • Ensure Center Directors' successful execution of the recruitment plans across both regions; effective usage of data to inform progress towards meeting goals and making adjustments in real time.
  • Conduct intentional community outreach events that demonstrate return on investment of staff resources.
• Monitor the Center Directors on the implementation and continuous improvement of all offerings of the Career Exploration Branch, ensuring cross-collaboration among Center Directors.
• In close collaboration with the VP of Programs, ensure that there are effective Hub Teams at each Center.
• In collaboration with the VP team and P/COO, advise and decide on changes to the program structure of the Career Exploration Branch, and when needed, contribute to the member journey.
  • Facilitate the testing of new program strategies, approaches and components, especially those funded through discretionary grants awarded by a funder.
• In collaboration with Career Services, ensure Center teams deliver effective workshops with high quality standards for coaching & advising.
• Collaborate with the Evaluation Department develop and refine the membership dashboards to ensure that Centers are implementing data collection with fidelity, reviewing regional member data and using it to drive decisions about recruitment strategies; establish a cadence of reports and recommendations for maintaining and improving programming. Work closely with Center Directors to confidently own their data and to drive decision making.
  • Collaborate with the VP of Programs, and Chief Impact Officer in designing, developing, pilot-testing and implementing/deploying relevant evaluation activities and data systems; lend experience and expertise to turning data into data stories that identify Digital NEST's outcomes/results.
• Collaborate closely with the Regional Director of Real Estate and Operational Excellence as it relates to safety and operational issues and needs for the 5 Centers.

Regional Management and Staff Supervision (25%)

• Directly supervise and develop high performing, collaborative, and self-directed Center Director Leadership to all 5 centers in the areas of recruitment, engagement, retention, community outreach, safe and vibrant spaces, promotion of the Centers to increase awareness and attract more youth and community engagement.
• Establish and monitor the performance of the Centers' goals and key performance indicators and professional development plans.
• Support Center Directors to identify their strengths to optimize and growth edges in their knowledge, expertise and experience that are obstacles to, or challenges in performing their duties, and train, coach and support them in making considerable improvements.
• Mentor and coach Center Directors in developing high performing teams who model the professional skills taught to members.
• Support Center Directors to maintain current operational policies and procedures designed to protect the health, safety and privacy of the members.
• Ensure Center Directors fulfill administrative duties with their team such as work schedules, time card reporting and overtime, work loads and work plans, shared accountability performance reviews and other employment, accounting and human resources policies and procedures.

Community Outreach, Strategic Partnerships & Initiatives (10%)

• Develop strong regional partnerships with new and existing high schools and pertinent 8th grade (rising freshmen class) stakeholders that will benefit Center outreach in all 5 communities. Earn the confidence and trust of Superintendents and create access to all levels of school leadership (superintendent's teams, principals, teachers, counselors, including parents/families.)
• Collaborate closely with the Marketing and Communications team to ensure Center Directors have the collateral and material for successful recruitment, including telling stories of members.
• Support the Development team's grant writing by sharing information about Centers' funding needs and local funding opportunities, and support their reporting to funders by supplying local information, resources or contacts.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• The cumulative equivalent of at least 15 years, full-time, as a direct supervisor of youth program staff.
• The cumulative equivalent of at least 12 years, full-time, coordinating multiple programs within an organization.
• The cumulative equivalent of at least 8 years, full-time, as an experiential educator.
• Expertise and experience with designing and revising educational programming based on performance and evaluation data; experience working with professional evaluators performing an evaluation of a program.
• Applied knowledge of: instructional design, instructional practice, experiential education, technology education, project-based learning and creating positive learning communities.
• Applied knowledge of soft skills, eg self-awareness, positive identity-building and mindsets, self-management, communication, teamwork, leadership, etc; applied knowledge of various soft skill frameworks and their application in group settings/the workplace.
• Applied knowledge of adolescent development and asset-building, and positive youth development frameworks.
• General familiarity with the field of career and technical education.
• Applied knowledge of and experience developing and managing program budgets.
• Ability to train staff in the knowledge and skills of any program staff position within their area; working knowledge and demonstrated skills in training and coaching professionals, para-professionals and youth and adult learners.
• Exceptional conflict resolution skills.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Passion for the mission of Digital NEST and belief in upholding organization's core values.
• Understanding of and sensitivity to issues of culture/ethnicity/race, gender, sexual identity, class/SES and immigration status.
• Ability to be an ally to people of color, women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer, questioning and intersex individuals and their allies (LGBTQIA).
• Candidates must have a valid CA driver's license, pass a background check, and be able to travel and work evenings or weekends occasionally, or as needed.

NOTE: The job offer will be contingent upon the successful completion and passing of a background check.

ABOUT OUR BENEFITS: We take a holistic approach to wellness, physical, emotional, and financial. Our comprehensive benefits package includes:

• 100% Agency Paid Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance for the employee
• SIMPLE IRA Retirement Benefit with up to 2% employer match
• 15 Paid Vacation Days for Full-time Employees (Director and Chief positions)
• 13 Paid Holidays Annually Plus Business closure/holiday the week between Christmas Day and New Years Day
• Paid Sick Time Off
• Annual Parking Permit
• Professional Development Opportunities
• Flexible Work Schedule

We understand that no candidate is perfectly qualified for any job. Experience comes in different forms; many skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. Even more important than your resume is a clear demonstration of dedication, impact, and the ability to thrive in a fluid and collaborative environment. We want you to learn new things in this role and encourage you to apply if your experience is close to what we're looking for. We also know that diversity of background and thought makes for better problem-solving and more creative thinking, so we're dedicated to adding new perspectives to the team. We look forward to hearing from you.

Digital NEST, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Digital NEST is also committed to an inclusive experience for all applicants and will endeavor to make reasonable accommodations in the interview process, to the known physical or mental limitations of qualified employees with disabilities unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of our business.

Please refer to our career page for more information on how to apply for reasonable accommodations.