Director of Strategic Initiatives: Beyond Literacy

BeLit is Philadelphia’s leading adult literacy nonprofit. We pride ourselves on high quality service to over 1500 striving adults annually through cost-free educational services including English language learning, GED-prep, digital literacy, family literacy, and career preparation. Come join our staff and help us change lives through literacy!

Job Summary 

Beyond Literacy is seeking a dynamic, experienced nonprofit professional to join our team as the Director of Strategic Initiatives. The Director will play a pivotal role in guiding the organization through its next strategic planning process and phase of impact. This position offers a unique opportunity to support the development and implementation of strategic initiatives that will shape the future direction of BeLit.

The role will have both internal- and external-facing responsibilities, ranging from cross-departmental project management, issue advocacy, advancement work, administrative work, and community events. The ideal candidate will handle complex situations and multiple responsibilities simultaneously, mixing long-term projects with the urgency of immediate demands. They must have the demonstrated ability to deal with confidential information and act as a liaison between the CEO and other constituencies. They must exhibit the skills to collaborate with and achieve actionable results through others, the ability to build strong and sustainable relationships, and the capability to interact within all levels of the organization.

The Director of Strategic Initiatives will serve as a thought partner to the CEO and senior leadership by identifying the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, as well as the external factors that affect its performance and growth. In monitoring and evaluating the progress and outcomes of the strategic plan, the Director of Strategic Initiatives collaborates with other senior leaders, stakeholders, and partners to ensure the goals, tasks and initiatives are aligned with the policies and values of the organization. The Director will work closely with the CEO and other key stakeholders to operationalize priorities and mobilize resources that advance our mission.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership Support: Maintain continuous lines of communication, keeping the CEO informed of all critical issues. Provide regular updates and reports on the status and impact of strategic initiatives. Coordinate talking points and slide decks for executive presentations. Coordinate activities, agendas, and deliverables for the CEO. Assist with scheduling and committee meeting support for Executive Team as needed.

Strategic Planning: Support the board and CEO in leading the organization through a comprehensive strategic planning process, engaging staff, board members, volunteers, and external partners to assess current programs, identify emerging needs and opportunities, and define strategic priorities for the future.

Partnership Development: Cultivate, maintain and steward strategic partnerships with other nonprofit organizations, government agencies, educational institutions, and community stakeholders to leverage resources, share expertise, and expand the reach and impact of BeLit programs and services. Specifically, serve as a lead representative in BeLit collaborative activities with key community partners and coalitions.

Resource Mobilization: Support the CEO’s fiscal responsibility efforts to secure and steward funding from government grants, private foundations, corporate sponsors, volunteers, and individual donors to support strategic initiatives and organizational sustainability.

Monitoring and Evaluation: Using performance metrics set forth by the PA Dept. of Education (PDE), monitor systems to track progress towards strategic goals and objectives. Conduct regular evaluations of organizational effectiveness, collecting feedback from participants, partners, and stakeholders to inform continuous improvement and decision-making.

Advocacy and Public Relations: Ensure the CEO is prepared for legislative meetings and events so that all priorities are met. Represent the CEO and BeLit as necessary in relevant coalitions, task forces, and advocacy campaigns focused on adult education, workforce readiness and English language learning. Advocate for policies and funding opportunities that support the needs of adult learners and advance BeLit’s mission and goals.

Project Management: Act on behalf of the CEO to oversee projects requiring cross-functional collaboration and resource allocation. Provide project planning and management, utilize data-driven insights to inform decision-making, measure progress, and adjust strategies as needed. Other related duties and projects as assigned.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree or higher required with a minimum of 3+ years of demonstrated professional competencies in:

• Execution management of large-scale projects, teams, and events
• Organizational and performance acumen with a mission-focus
• Adaptable, accountable leadership
• Resource development, grants managements and fiscal responsibility
• Collaboration and stakeholder-focused culture-building
• Diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice values
• Effective oral and written communication, including public speaking
• Critical thinking and analytical ability
• Working with intercultural communities to address systemic barriers to opportunity

Multilingual, preferred

Flexibility with working hours outside of business hours, required

Read about our exciting and comprehensive staff benefits!

• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) bank
• Paid Holidays including all days between 12/24-1/1
• Choice of 3 Independence Blue Cross Health insurance plans (individual base policy monthly cost is 100% employer-paid) as well as optional dental and vision policies (monthly costs are 100% employer-paid for individuals)
• Flexible Savings Accounts for medical and dependent care expenses
• Health Reimbursement Account (HRA)
• 80 hours of paid family leave for new parents
• Employer-paid life, disability and accident insurance; additional voluntary life insurance available, including dependent coverage
• Employee Assistance Program (100% employer-paid for individuals)
• 401K with quarterly employer contributions (no match required)

Proficiency in written and oral English required. Bilingual skills in Spanish, French, any Chinese dialect or Arabic, preferred.