Job Description

Position Title: Director, K-12 Initiatives
Status: Full Time
Location: Flexible; Washington, DC preferred

JOB SUMMARY AND KEY PRIORITIES:

The Director, K-12 Initiatives develops, refines, and institutionalizes the overarching strategy to position Active Minds as a leader in mobilizing K-12 youth to drive mental health change. The Director, K-12 Initiatives serves as a K-12 mental health expert internally and externally, expanding thought leadership, cultivating and maintaining partnerships, providing team leadership and management, and working cross-functionally with other teams and departments. Through dynamic and visionary leadership, the Director, K-12 Initiatives drives innovation, strategic thinking, and execution among all members of the K-12 Initiatives team by supporting Active Minds’ key strategic goals and objectives of activating youth, with a strong focus on BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth, to share their voices publicly and create mental health change among their peers, institutions, and communities.

ABOUT ACTIVE MINDS

Active Minds is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization mobilizing young adults to change the culture around mental health. Through our presence in more than 1,000 high schools and colleges, communities, and workplaces, and with a wide-reaching public audience, Active Minds is creating communities of support and saving lives. Founded in 2003 by Alison Malmon after the tragic suicide of her brother, Brian, Active Minds is dedicated to supporting a new generation in ending the silence, helping to make mental health as highly valued as physical health. We approach our work with a racial equity lens and are committed to the continued process of being and becoming a more anti-racist and inclusive organization. Through our many programs, we are changing social norms and behaviors related to mental health across the country.

KEY RESULTS:

• Responsible for Active Minds’ early-stage growth into high schools and middle schools across the United States, by maintaining its current presence and embarking on large-scale growth into nearly 1,000 new schools and districts, including 50 new middle schools in the next two years
• Serve as a K-12 school mental health expert across the organization, within our network and partners, and in the field which may include:
  • Developing and leading a strategy to enhance Active Minds’ position as the go-to organization mobilizing youth to lead mental health change, including building partnerships with adult stakeholders in K-12 schools and districts.
  • Serving as a resource to Active Minds staff on updated information and emerging issues as it pertains to K-12 school mental health.
  • Providing content expertise for funding proposals and draft proposals as needed.
• Expand thought leadership, within the fields of youth mobilization and K-12 school mental health including:
  • Collaborating with the Research and Evaluation Team to provide data and key findings to drive impact.
  • Delivering presentations, trainings, briefs, data reports, white papers, and other written materials relevant to youth mobilization and K-12 school mental health.
  • Representing Active Minds at key national conferences and meetings to support and maintain professional development and leverage opportunities for enhanced leadership and growth within the field.
  • Gaining the designation of evidence-based, best practices for Active Minds’ signature and future K-12 programs and interventions.
• Cultivate, maintain, and maximize key partnerships and relationships to expand the K-12 Initiatives portfolio.
• Provide leadership and team management for four total team members including direct supervision to:
  • The Senior Manager, K-12 Partnerships, with a key goal to develop and implement strategies to strengthen and scale the nationwide impact of the Active Minds’ K-12 network.
  • The Senior Manager, K-12 Student Leadership, with a key goal to develop and implement K-12 student-led initiatives to support school-based mental health initiatives, advocacy, and programming.
• Ensure all K-12 programs are being designed with high technical rigor, implemented with integrity, and produce results with high internal validity.
• Build cross functional relationships across departments and the organization.
• Ensure administrative priorities are completed in a timely and thorough manner, including managing budgets, maintaining and tracking organizational records, documenting departmental processes, and participating in cross-department committees and initiatives.
• Participate in organization-wide miscellaneous duties as needed, including supporting the National Conference and participating on cross-department committees.

Qualifications

ABOUT YOU:

• At least 8 years of demonstrated experience developing and maintaining youth leadership/mobilization efforts and/or youth leadership programs
• Experience centering BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+ youth in programming
• Experience prioritizing measurement/evaluation in all stages of program design
• Experience building partnerships with key K-12 stakeholders including parents, caregivers, educators, school administrators, and community partners
• Experience in program management, ideally building and scaling
• Strong background in working in K-12 schools and utilizing youth development frameworks
• Budget experience
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Belief that equity and social justice are important and driven to listen, reflect, and act on this belief
• Advocate for social entrepreneurship and a believer in young people making an impact

COMPENSATION:

This position offers an initial salary range of $88,000 – $110,000 along with robust benefits. The starting pay for this position is equal to others at the same level throughout the organization. Candidates whose experience meets both the minimum and preferred qualifications may be considered for a starting salary that exceeds the current amount. The role sits within Active Minds Level 5a salary band, and as such, has the potential to grow to $132,000 over time. FLSA Status: Exempt.

Active Minds has an industry-leading and competitive benefits package that includes Health, Vision and Dental Insurance, Paid Vacation and Sick Leave, Paid Holidays, Company Wide Mental Health Days, 401(k) Matching, HSA and FSA Options, Life Insurance, Short Term and Long Term Disability, Fully Paid Parental Leave, Wellness Reimbursement Program, and Professional Development Stipends.

Active Minds recruits, hires, trains, compensates, and promotes our staff regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law.

OUR CULTURE:

Active Minds is a place where every employee matters. We value diverse perspectives, radical authenticity, and a community-driven approach. We dream big, offering flexibility to staff while we work to achieve our mission. As such, we are proud to offer competitive salaries and benefits and an environment that is friendly to remote working and life/work balance.

Active Minds is an equal opportunity employer that works to advance racial equity and social justice in an increasingly multicultural and globally connected world. We value diverse experiences, including with regard to educational background, intersectional identities, and lived experiences. We make a particular effort to recruit people of color, LGBTQ individuals, people with disabilities, and people with other marginalized identities. Active Minds encourages all to apply for our open positions as we depend on a diverse staff to carry out our mission.

How to Apply

Please submit a resume through this application form.

Active Minds is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming workplace. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and we encourage all qualified candidates to apply. It is important to us to reflect the communities we serve. Active Minds thus recruits, hires, trains, compensates, and promotes our staff regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law.