Director, Community Partnerships

Sandy Hook Promise; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible schedules

Health, dental, and vision

401k match

Professional development stipend

Job summary

Sandy Hook Promise seeks a Director, Community Partnerships to lead a portfolio of out-of-school time initiatives and cross-sector collaborations. Reporting to the Vice President of Innovation, Research, Evaluation and Quality Improvement (IREQI), you will drive the organization’s out-of-school time strategy and expand pilots toward national scale.

The role requires strong partnership leadership, program management, and the ability to translate lessons into scalable, equity-centered practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree or relevantCertification preferred.
• 7+ years leading out-of-school time programs, youth-serving initiatives, partnerships, or cross-sector programs.
• Deep knowledge of out-of-school time needs of community-based orgs and youth networks.
• Experience designing, launching, evaluating, and scaling pilots.
• Strong project management: cross-functional work, budgets, timelines, stakeholders.
• Ability to build partnerships and influence outcomes without direct authority.
• Develop operational processes and infrastructure to support scale.
• Excellent judgment, communication, and relationship management with execs and partners.
• Use data, evaluation findings, and feedback to drive improvements.
• Experience managing budgets, contracts, vendors, and grants.
• Commitment to culturally responsive, equitable, community-centered practices.
• Experience working remote or dispersed teams preferred.

Responsibilities

• Advance SHP priorities in youth violence prevention and national thought leadership.
• Plan, execute, and manage out-of-school time programs and partnerships.
• Advise leaders on engaging youth beyond traditional school settings.
• Oversee partnerships and initiatives toward scalable national models.
• Manage contractors to ensure high-quality deliverables and alignment with priorities.
• Lead, coach, and develop managers to achieve program goals.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Relationship management

Communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Stakeholder engagement

Data-informed decisions

Budget management

Remote work experience

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

Innovation and Research, Evaluation, and Quality Improvement (IREQI)

Department/Team:State & Community Partnerships

FLSA Status:Exempt

Expected Start Date:ASAP

Location/Travel Requirements:Remote with 25% travel

About Sandy Hook Promise

Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) envisions a future where all children are free from school shootings and other acts of violence. As a national nonprofit organization, SHP’s mission is to educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes, and communities. Creators of the lifesaving,evidence-informedKnow the Signs prevention programs, SHP teaches the warning signs of someone who may be in crisis, socially isolated, or at-risk of hurting themselves or others and how to get help. SHP also advances school safety, youth mental health, and responsible gun ownership at the state and federal levels through nonpartisan policy and partnerships. SHP is led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.

Commitment to Belonging, Community, Engagement,and Respect

SHPstrives to ensure its culture and work environment reflect the values ofbelonging, community,engagementand respect.We activelyseekto understand and respond to the diverse perspectivesand lived experiences of individuals across socioeconomic backgrounds, ruraland urbancommunities, and diversity of thought,in addition to traditional protected categories.We are committedto ensuringthat every SHP employee feels heard, valued, and a true sense of belonging.SHP encourages individuals who share our commitmentto thesecore values andto ourmissionto apply.

Location

We are a U.S. based organization and most of our staff work remotelynationwide. This role willrequire 25%travel (on an as-neededbasis).

Candidates shouldresidewithin a reasonable distance of a major airport to ensure efficient, cost-effective travel. Team members are expected to make thoughtful travel decisions that balance cost, convenience, and sustainability.

About the Role

The Director, Community Partnerships will lead a portfolio of community-based and out-of-school time initiatives. Reporting to the Vice President, Innovation, Research, Evaluation and Quality Improvement (IREQI), this role will drive the organization's out-of-school time strategy and serve as the internal subject matter expert for this audience and delivery environment. The Director will oversee pilot initiatives, strengthen and codify promising models, and guide their expansion towarda broadernational scale.

This role requires an experienced partnership leader and strong project manager capable of advancing complex, cross-functional initiatives. The Director will build andmaintaintrusted partner relationships, establish the infrastructure needed for consistent implementation, and translate lessons learned into scalable practices and models. Success in this role requires the ability toinfluence acrossteams, build alignment, clarify ownership, address challenges proactively, and drive progress across organizational boundaries.

Job Responsibilities

Community Partnership &Out-of-School Time Program Leadership

• Ensure the portfolio advances SHP's strategic priorities and broader goals related to youth violence prevention, systems influence, and national thought leadership.
• Lead the planning, execution, and ongoing management of out-of-school time programs and community partnerships.
• Advise organizational leaders on opportunities to engage young people beyond traditional school settings.
• Oversee community partnerships and out-of-school time initiatives, guiding promising programs toward sustainable, scalable national models.
• Manage contractors to ensure high-quality deliverables and alignment with strategic priorities.
• Lead, coach, and develop managers to achieve partnership and program goals, including planning, execution,logistics, and follow-up activities.

Partnerships and Cross-FunctionalProgramLeadership

• Build and sustain strong relationships with out-of-school time providers, community organizations, national networks, funders, and other key partners.
• Understand partners' goals and operating environments whilemaintainingclarity around SHP's expectations, standards, resources, and decision-making authority.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives byestablishingclear ownership, roles, decision rights, timelines, and stakeholder engagement strategies to drive alignment and mitigate risks.
• Provide organizational leaders with concise, action-oriented updates and represent SHP in partner, funder, and field-facing meetings and presentations.
• Represent the portfolio on Director-level committees and leadership forums, advocating for and advancing community partnership and out-of-school time priorities across the organization.

Infrastructure and Continuous Improvement

• Develop and implement scalable tools, processes, and resources to support partner selection, readiness assessments, pilot launches, implementation support, communications, documentation, risk management, sustainability, dissemination, and project closeout.
• Capture and codify lessons learned and best practices to support replication and scale across partners and communities.
• Leverage feedback and evaluation findings to strengthen implementation, inform investment and scaling decisions, and enhance organizational storytelling.
• Manage project budgets, contracts, scopes of work, consultants, vendors, and grant deliverables.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support organizational priorities.
• A commitment to SHP’s mission and values.

Desired Skills & Experience

• Bachelor's degreerequired; advanced degree or relevant certification preferred.
• 7+ years of progressive experience leading out-of-school timeprograms, youth-serving initiatives, community partnerships, or complex cross-sector programs.
• Deep knowledge of the out-of-school time field and the needs of community-based organizations and youth-serving networks.
• Experience designing, launching, evaluating, and scaling pilot programs and initiatives.
• Strong project management skills, including managing cross-functional work, budgets, timelines, stakeholder relationships, and competing priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to build partnerships and influence outcomes across organizations and stakeholder groups without direct authority.
• Experience developing operational processes, systems, and infrastructure to support program implementation and scale.
• Excellent judgment, communication, and relationship management skills, with the ability to engage effectively with executive leaders, partners, funders, and community stakeholders.
• Ability toleveragedata, evaluation findings, and partner feedback to drive continuous improvement and inform decision-making.
• Experience managing budgets, contracts, vendors, consultants, and grant deliverables.
• Commitment to culturally responsive,equitable, and community-centered practices.
• Experience working in a remote or geographically dispersed organization preferred.

As part of the interview process, candidatesare required tosubmita project plan document or presentation deck froma previousproject. This artifact will be used as a discussion piece during the panel interview and the final interview with the Hiring Manager and Associate Vice President, Innovation. Candidates should be prepared to walk through the project, their specific contributions, key decisions, outcomes, challengesencountered, and lessons learned.

Benefits and Salary Range

The salaryrange for this position is $100,000 - $110,000.

SHP uses a structured internal rubric to guide salary placement and ensureequitablepay. Typically, new hires are placed at the start of the salary range to ensure equity with current employees, and as a practice, we do not negotiate salaries.

• SHP offers a competitive benefits package, including:
  • UnlimitedPTO
  • Flexible schedules
  • Paid holidaysand10 dayssick leave
  • Paid parental leave
  • Health, dental, and vision
  • Employer paid life insurance and short- and long-term disability
  • 401k match
  • Professional development stipend
  • Wellness & mental health support
  • Employer Paid Employee Assistance Program.

Our organizationoperateswithin a distributed workforce,allowing for location flexibility across thecountryfor most positions.We provideremote office supportfor all staff, which includes a laptop, home office reimbursement, monthly Wi-Fi reimbursement up to $40, and monthly cell phone reimbursement up to $50.

Equal Opportunity Employment

SHP is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We strive to be an employer of choice: where a diverse mix of talented people want to come and do their best work. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. We are focused on promoting diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusion and believe deeply in having a workforce comprised of people of all beliefs and backgrounds who seek to prevent gun violence and stop the tragic loss of life. Members of all under-represented groups are encouraged to apply.

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