Diaspora Engagement Director

copticorphans; Fairfax (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Life insurance

Disability coverage

On-site fitness facilities

Employee assistance program

403(b) retirement plan

Job summary

Coptic Orphans seeks a Diaspora Engagement Director to lead the new Diaspora & Community Engagement Department. You will shape strategy, build the team, and oversee programs reaching the diaspora across the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

You will design innovative diaspora programs, strengthen church relations, and drive engagement initiatives with cross-functional partners to deepen heritage connections and impact across generations.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to design and launch programs from scratch.
• Experience leading a portfolio of diaspora programs across multiple geographies.
• Strong relationship-building across diverse community networks.

Responsibilities

• Lead and scale the new Diaspora & Community Engagement Department.
• Develop multi-year strategy with priorities, milestones, and measurable outcomes.
• Oversee budget and resource allocation across geographies and programs.
• Collaborate with Donor Relations, Marketing & Communications, Programs, and Country leadership.
• Build and maintain active alumni networks and diaspora partnerships.

Skills

Relationship-building

Strategic planning

Budgeting

Team leadership

Cross-cultural communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in development/nonprofit fields

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Microsoft Office

CRM systems

Job description

Diaspora Engagement Director

The Diaspora Engagement Director leads Coptic Orphans' newly established Diaspora & Community Engagement Department, owning the organization's third core aspiration that Diaspora Copts remain deeply rooted to their heritage and homeland. This is a mission-defining role, distinct from fundraising, responsible for strengthening the living bond between the Coptic diaspora and Egypt across generations and geographies in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Building on Coptic Orphans' established community presence, church affairs relationships, and service trip programs. The Diaspora Engagement Director designs and launches new programs, creative vehicles, and a cohesive engagement strategy that make diaspora identity feel alive, personally meaningful, and sustainable across generations. As the founding leader of a new department, the role shapes its culture, programs, and reach, and oversees Coptic Orphans relations within Coptic clergy, parishes, and community institutions across all diaspora communities.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Departmental Vision

• Own and advance Coptic Orphans' third core aspiration "Diaspora communities remain deeply rooted to their heritage and homeland" and translate it into a multi-year departmental strategy with clear priorities, milestones, and measurable outcomes.
• Build and lead the Diaspora & Community Engagement Department, including its team structure, culture, operating cadence, and performance standards.
• Manage departmental budget and resource allocation across geographies and programs, exercising disciplined stewardship of organizational resources.
• Establish and track meaningful indicators of diaspora identity, belonging, and engagement that go beyond activity volume and fundraising metrics.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Donor Relations, Marketing & Communications, Programs, and Country leadership to ensure aligned, non-duplicative diaspora touchpoints.

Diaspora Programs & Homeland Experiences

• Lead and evolve The 21 "Coptic Orphans' signature diaspora service trip to Egypt" into a multi-generational movement, expanding its reach, deepening its impact on participants, and ensuring it remains the flagship homeland experience for diaspora Copts across all four countries.
• Oversee Serve to Learn and other established homeland programs, ensuring consistent program quality, safeguarding standards, and meaningful participant outcomes.
• Build and steward an active alumni network across all diaspora programs, converting one-time program participation into sustained lifelong engagement with Coptic Orphans, Egypt, and the Coptic communities abroad.
• Develop and lead a diaspora volunteer engagement strategy that channels community goodwill into structured, mission-aligned contribution.

Program Innovation & Creative Vehicles

• Conceive, design, and launch new continuous, innovative and measurable diaspora programs and initiatives that strengthen identity, belonging, and connection to Egypt.
• Develop a portfolio of digital and creative storytelling vehicles - including films, podcasts, photo essays, multimedia content, and publications such as children's book series that bring Egypt into diaspora homes and make heritage tangible across generations.
• Lead generational storytelling initiatives that capture and preserve first-generation immigrant memory, identity, and lived experience before they are lost, transforming personal histories into community assets that anchor younger generations to their heritage.
• Design heritage curricula and educational programming for Coptic Sunday schools, youth groups, and community institutions across the four diaspora countries, equipping local educators with tools that bring Egypt and Coptic identity to life for diaspora children.
• Pilot, evaluate, and scale new initiatives with disciplined judgment, sunsetting what does not work and investing further in what does to scale from occasional initiative to solid, sustainable programs.

Church Affairs & Parish Engagement

• Set the strategic direction for Coptic Orphans' engagement with the Coptic Orthodox Church across the diaspora, recognizing that Coptic parishes are the gateway to the diaspora community and treating church engagement as a core function that defines how the third core aspiration of rooting Diaspora Copts to their heritage and homeland is operationally realized.
• Set the strategic frame within which the Diaspora Church Affairs function operates, approving the multi-year church engagement strategy, defining standards of relational conduct and protocol, and providing direction, mentorship, and oversight to the Diaspora Church Affairs Manager and team.
• Position Coptic Orphans within the broader Coptic Church narrative in the diaspora, ensuring the organization's identity and credibility are understood and respected, including among diaspora-ordained clergy.
• Identify, negotiate, and steward strategic partnerships with the Church, multi-diocese collaborations, and church-affiliated institutions such as Coptic schools, seminaries, and youth bodies, leveraging these partnerships to deepen the rootedness of Diaspora Copts in their heritage and homeland.

Required Education, Experience, Knowledge, and Skills

• Bachelor's degree in international development, Nonprofit Management, Theology, Cultural Studies, Communications, Public Administration, or a related field, master's degree is highly preferred.
• At least 10 years of progressive experience in community engagement, diaspora programming, nonprofit leadership including at least 3 years in a senior leadership or Director-level capacity.
• Demonstrated ability to design and launch programs from scratch, a builder with a track record of creative initiative and the capacity to lead through the ambiguity inherent in founding new departments or functions.
• Exceptional relationship-building skills; with established credibility and trusted relationships across Coptic community networks internationally.
• Strategic thinker capable of translating vision into operational plans, budgets, and measurable outcomes that hold up to Board-level scrutiny.
• Proven ability to build, lead, and develop teams, manage departmental budgets, and operate effectively as a peer Director within a senior leadership team.
• Deep and authentic roots within the Coptic diaspora community, with established credibility and trusted relationships across Coptic community networks internationally.

Working Conditions a nd Environment

• Limited to office work environment; sitting, typing, walking, and occasional lifting of boxes and luggage.
• International Travel may reach as much as 50% of the time.

Our Benefits

• Coptic Orphans offers a wide range of benefits, including comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, life insurance, optional Short-term and Long-term Disability coverage, access to on-site fitness, an Employee assistance program, and paid time off. Employees have the option to participate in a company-sponsored 403(b) retirement plan.