Director of Postsecondary, Career and Life Coaching

At Friends of the Children, we are committed to breaking the cycle of generational poverty through long-term, salaried, professional mentoring relationships. Our model pairs youth facing the greatest obstacles with a dedicated professional mentor—called a Friend—from kindergarten through graduation and beyond 12+ years no matter what. 

We are seeking a visionary,  and data-informed leader to serve as our Director of Postsecondary, Career & Life Coaching to help our program better support young people ages 16-22 to be more ready for work and life, and thereby move into adulthood with the highest probability of being happy, healthy and productive citizens who have broken the cycle of poverty through purposeful work that supports them at a living wage.

This is a unique opportunity to help build and lead a new national program innovation focused on postsecondary access, career readiness, persistence, and life success for young people. The Director will serve as the central point of project management and coordination while helping refine and evolve the program model alongside internal leaders, chapters, researchers, and external stakeholders.

Reporting to the Chief Officer of Strategy and Innovation, this position is part of the National Center of Excellence for Professional Youth Mentoring and works closely with national staff, local chapters, researchers, alumni, and funders.

Are you this amazing leader? Here's what we have to offer you:

• Opportunity to help design a new program to transform outcomes for young people during one of the most critical transitions of their lives.
• A team of talented employees who are passionate about working together to create an extraordinary and impactful organization.
• Respect for work-life harmony. Allowing for and encouraging personal well-being and balance is a priority for Friends of the Children.
• Compensation commensurate with experience and geographical location: $125k-$150k

Curious to learn more? The job description is below:

The following statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work to be performed by individuals assigned to this position. They are not intended as a comprehensive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified.

Basic Function / Position Objective:   

The Director of Postsecondary, Career and Life Coaching leads a team of Life Coaches supporting young people in the Friends of the Children program from their junior/senior year of high school through age 22 as program graduates. The National Alumni Coordinator also reports to them. This role ensures high-quality, consistent coaching that results in successful transitions to life, to postsecondary, career training, or the workforce—and persistence once students get there.

The postsecondary, career and life coaching project is a new program at Friends of the Children. The Director is the central point of project management and coordination for this new program. The Director is part of a team that will be evaluating and evolving the program design as lessons are learned. The Director is responsible for staff supervision, program quality, and outcomes, while also helping shape strategy and continuous improvement efforts. This role blends people management, program leadership, and data-driven decision-making.

This position reports to the Chief Officer of Strategy and Innovation and, as lead for a program innovation, is part of the National Center of Excellence for Professional Youth Mentoring. They will work with national staff and with chapters who serve youth ages 16-22, program graduates and alumni, as well as with external research partners and stakeholders.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

Project Management & Stakeholder Coordination

• Partner with internal team to refine the program design and implementation strategy
• Work with national leadership, external partners and researchers to set key performance metrics
• Serve as central point of coordination for the new program with stakeholders, including the national team, select chapter leaders, project funders and the national board
• Manage project against implementation timeline, accountable for key milestones

Team Leadership & Staff Development

• Hire, supervise, coach, and evaluate a team of Life Coaches and an Alumni Coordinator
• Provide ongoing professional development, training, and performance feedback
• Foster a strong team culture grounded in accountability and youth-led success
• Support Life Coaches in managing complex situations and escalations
• Support the Alumni Coordinator to steward relationships that enhance partnerships and opportunity for program graduates and alumni

Program Design, Quality & Implementation

• Ensure consistent, high-quality coaching aligned to program model and standards
• Work with national staff to develop and refine coaching frameworks, tools, and resources
• Observe coaching sessions and provide actionable feedback
• Ensure alignment across the Friends of the Children program and the postsecondary/career extension program

Student Outcomes & Accountability

• Support the collection of quantitative and qualitative (focus group) data
• Work with researcher to analyze data to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities for improvement
• Ensure coaches are effectively tracking individual youth progress and milestones

Chapter Partnerships & National Ecosystem Building

• Lead coordination with chapter program leadership to maximize collaboration and coordination in service to young people ages 16-22
• Build and manage relationships at the national level that advance program goals
• Represent the program in external meetings and events

Operations & Program Management

• Manage program logistics, including events, communications and reporting timelines
• Ensure compliance with organizational policies and funding requirements
• Partner with leadership on budgeting, staffing, and program growth

Youth-Led & Centered Practice

• Champion access to postsecondary and career opportunities
• Ensure culturally responsive coaching practices across the team
• Address systemic barriers impacting underserved youth

Essential Skills and Abilities:

• Project management and strategic planning
• Strong coaching and people management skills
• Data-driven decision-making and analytical thinking
• Relationship-building across diverse stakeholders
• Cultural responsiveness and adaptability
• Ability to manage complexity and drive results

The ideal candidate will have the following Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred)
• 5+ years of experience in college access, workforce development, youth development, or related field
• 2+ years of people management or team leadership experience
• Strong understanding of postsecondary pathways (college, CTE, workforce)
• Experience working with underserved, first-generation, or historically marginalized students

Preferred Experience, and Abilities:

• Experience managing outcomes-driven programs with measurable KPIs
• Familiarity with FAFSA, financial aid systems, and admissions processes
• Experience building employer or higher education partnerships
• Proficiency with CRM/data systems and performance tracking tools

Culture of Belonging:

Friends of the Children endeavors to create a culture where each and every staff knows they belong.  From our policies to our procedures and practices, we aim to create an environment that is healthy, safe, accepting, supportive, and kind. Our benefits are one way to depict our value for work harmony, empowerment, health, and happiness.

Benefits:

Our competitive compensation, benefits package, and employee engagement demonstrate our values to families, children, healthy relationships, love, empowerment, goal achievement, and equity.  We are continuously seeking feedback and researching best practices to meet the needs of staff and their families. Below are ways we actualize a culture of care for each and every staff member. 

• Health: Friends of the Children covers 100% of employee only health premium for 2 of the 4 plans
• Dental: Friends of the Children covers 100% of employee only premium
• Vision: Friends of the Children covers 100% of employee only premium
• Basic Life Insurance and Accidental Death and Dismemberment: 100% paid by Friends of the Children
• Short Term Disability and Long-Term Disability: 100% paid by Friends of the Children
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA): Employees may contribute to an FSA account: Healthcare FSA minimum of $100 maximum of $3,300.
• Employee Assistance Program
• Voluntary Benefits such as Critical Illness, Hospitalization, Legal, etc.
• 401(k) savings plan with a company match of up to the first 4% of earnings that the employee contributes.
• Cell phone and/or Internet Reimbursement: Employee is eligible for cell phone and/or internet business expenses up to $75/month ($37.50/pay period), maximum.
• Office reimbursement of $150 per year on anniversary date.
• Time off:
  • Vacation: Full-time employees of Friends are eligible for up to three weeks of paid vacation annually for the first 4 years.  The first year the time is pro-rated and vacation increases to honor length of service.
  • Sick Time: Regular, full-time employees are awarded two weeks/80 hours of sick time on January 1 of each year. New employees are awarded prorated sick time, not less than 48 hours. Sick time can be used to care for your own physical and mental wellbeing or that of a family member.
  • Holidays: Eleven paid holidays. Three of which are Floating holidays to help honor how people choose to celebrate their cultural and religious holidays.
• Flexible work schedule/Remote/Hybrid work. (In collaboration with Management and as the duties of the role necessitates.)
• Career Development and Wellness Reimbursement of up to $1000 after the first year of employment. Up to $200 can be used for Wellness. 
• Summer hours and end of year holiday gift of time off. (Assessed annually by Executive Management.)
• Employee Perks and Discount Programs including savings on hotels, rental cars, travel, entertainment, streaming services, electronics, eCommerce, and so much more.

We aim to create an environment that is healthy, safe, accepting, supportive, and kind. Our benefits are one way to depict our value for work harmony, empowerment, health, and happiness.

Benefits start first of the month on or following employee start date.

Compensation: Range: $125,000 to $150,000. (Compensation commensurate with experience and geographical location)

Location: This role is intended to be based in either Portland or Seattle, with flexibility for remote work arrangements for highly qualified candidates.

Applications without cover letters will not be considered; please use this as an opportunity to convey why you want to be our Director of Postsecondary, Career & Life Coaching at Friends of the Children!

Friends of the Children is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to addressing discriminatory practices. The equal employment opportunity policy of Friends of the Children provides fair and equal opportunities for all employees and job applicants. Friends of the Children hires and promotes individuals solely based on their qualifications for the job to be filled.

Friends of the Children is growing rapidly as communities across the country are experiencing the power of how “One” changes a child's story: One Friend. One Child. 12+ years. No matter what. #ThePowerOfOne.

To learn more about Friends of the Children go to:   https://friendsofthechildren.org/about