Director of Community Engagement and Outreach

Agency Description

The Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity (CEO) provides leadership on issues of economic justice by advancing racial equity and inclusive growth to ensure that all Philadelphians share in the city’s prosperous future and by alleviating the immediate impact of poverty on individuals, families and communities. CEO is Philadelphia’s Community Action Agency (CAA); CAAs are private or public agencies created by the 1964 Economic Opportunity Act and federally designated to receive Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) funding.

Guiding Principles

We believe the people of Philadelphia deserve the opportunity to live happy, healthy, full lives. City Government should both recognize its culpability in creating and sustaining inequity and aspire to its responsibility to provide opportunities, represent the best interests, and promote the well‑being of all residents. People can offer meaningful insights into both personal experiences and how systems around them function. Poverty is a deliberately created systemic issue and city government can lead in calling for justice and dismantling the barriers that often prevent opportunities.

Values

• Dignity – We actively respect our individual colleagues and people in the community.
• Inclusivity – Our work is more beneficial, valuable, and valid when our full range of experiences, knowledge, and skills can contribute.
• Persistence – We recognize the challenges inherent in this work, and when we get discouraged, we find ways to be resilient, lift each other up, and push forward.
• Accountability – We are transparent and honest about our plans, our actions, and our results.
• Honesty – We create a space to have healthy, honest dialogues about systems, people, and misconceptions and then communicate truthfully.

Position Summary

The Director of Community Engagement and Outreach serves as the strategic and operational lead for CEO’s resident‑facing engagement efforts. This role oversees all outreach programming and guides the coordinated approach to initial resident engagement, relationship building, and connection to resources and opportunities within Place‑Based Initiatives (PBI). The Director directly supervises Community Managers who lead day‑to‑day outreach operations, ensuring consistent execution of door‑to‑door outreach, phone and text banking, community event engagement, initial needs identification, and resource navigation. The Director also contributes to broader planning for future phases of resident engagement, collaborates closely with internal partners, and ensures outreach activities support CEO’s commitment to high‑impact, community‑centered engagement.

Essential Functions

• Oversee the Community Engagement and Outreach team, including Managers, Coordinators, and contractor‑supported outreach roles.
• Lead development and implementation of comprehensive outreach plans that integrate door‑to‑door canvassing, phone/text banking, event engagement and other visibility strategies.
• Ensure a cohesive and consistent Phase 1 engagement experience for residents, emphasizing initial needs identification, resource navigation, and connection to opportunities.
• Maintain communication with teams responsible for later phases of community engagement to align outreach efforts with broader organizational goals.
• Guide the team’s approach to collecting resident insights through outreach efforts and ensure this information informs programming, partnerships and organizational decision‑making.
• Collaborate with internal partners including Data and Evaluation, Community Resources and others to align goals, improve coordination, and operationalize resident voice.
• Provide strategic direction, staffing support, training oversight, and workflow management across outreach operations.
• Identify and apply best practices in outreach, organizing, and community relationship development across PBI and CEO.
• Work closely with the Deputy Executive Director of Place‑Based Initiatives and PBI Directors to support and advance the strategic vision of PBI.
• Other duties as assigned.

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Deep knowledge of outreach and community engagement best practices.
• Strong strategic thinker with the ability to align operations to organizational priorities.
• Proven ability to coach, supervise, and develop managers.
• Strong cross‑team collaborator and systems thinker.
• Excellent communications skills, including strategic planning, presentations and reporting.
• Proven project manager with experience overseeing multi‑component operations.
• Sound judgement and flexible decision‑making in dynamic community environments.
• Complex problem solving and ability to anticipate operational needs.
• Ability to create realistic action plans and meet deadlines.
• Ability to model best practices and foster a culture of community‑centered engagement.

Qualifications

• Associate’s degree or equivalent experience; advanced degree and experience may be considered in lieu of the degree.
• Previous work in the non‑profit or public sector is ideal.
• Strong community engagement background is a plus.
• At least six (6) years of progressive management experience, with at least two (2) years in a supervisory or managerial capacity.
• Must be a City of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire.

Pay

Salary Range: $80,000 – $95,000

Benefits

• Unlimited free public transportation year‑round through SEPTA’s Key Advantage program.
• Eight weeks of paid parental leave.
• Comprehensive health coverage for employees and eligible dependents.
• Wellness program with eligibility for discounted medical plans.
• Paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays.
• Generous retirement savings options.
• Eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
• Tuition discounts and scholarships (10%–40%) at partnered colleges and universities for employees, and in some cases spouses and dependents.