Director of PromiseTeach (Volunteer)

Mentor A Promise is a New York City–based nonprofit serving children and youth (ages 5–18) experiencing housing instability, grounded in the belief that every child is a Promise—full of potential, dignity, and possibility. We deliver consistent, high-quality programming across mentorship, literacy, social-emotional learning, and creative expression in shelters, schools, and community spaces, creating structured environments where students can grow, be seen, and build lasting skills. Through signature experiences like The Imagination Studio, The Kitchen Table, The Sound Lab, and The Story Space, we nurture academic development, emotional well-being, and creative voice, all within a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and accessibility-centered framework. Our work prioritizes dignity-protective storytelling, consent-driven engagement, and deep community partnership, ensuring that how we serve is as intentional as whom we serve. We are not only addressing immediate needs - we are building pathways to confidence, belonging, and long-term opportunity, so every child has the support and foundation to carry their promise forward. , Director of PromiseTeach (Volunteer) PromiseRise | Organizational Learning, Professional Development & Knowledge Sharing Organization Mentor A Promise (MAP) Division PromiseRise Department PromiseTeach Location Fully Remote — United States Type Volunteer Department Leadership Role Commitment Approximately 5–10 hours per week Minimum Commitment 6 months Reports To PromiseRise / Executive Leadership Leads PromiseTeach Department Works Closely With PromiseRise, PromiseLearning, PromisePeople, PromisePrograms, PromiseShield, PromiseMeasure, PromiseStudios, and subject-matter experts across MAP About Mentor A Promise Mentor A Promise (MAP) is a New York City–based nonprofit organization serving children and youth ages 5–18 experiencing housing instability through mentorship, education, literacy, social-emotional learning, creative expression, career development, advocacy, and community-centered opportunity. MAP brings together volunteers and professionals with expertise across education, technology, media, cybersecurity, finance, research, advocacy, design, storytelling, youth development, and many other disciplines. We believe that when people share what they know, organizations become stronger and individuals discover new possibilities for growth. About PromiseRise PromiseRise is MAP's career readiness, leadership development, workforce development, professional growth, and pathways-to-opportunity division. PromiseRise helps connect people with the knowledge, skills, experiences, mentorship, and opportunities that can help them grow personally and professionally. Within PromiseRise, PromiseTeach creates the infrastructure for continuous organizational learning and knowledge sharing. About PromiseTeach PromiseTeach is MAP's organizational learning, professional development, and knowledge-sharing department. It creates workshops, learning experiences, skill-building opportunities, professional-development sessions, and interdisciplinary conversations that allow MAP team members to learn from one another and from external experts. A filmmaker might introduce colleagues to documentary storytelling. A cybersecurity professional might teach digital safety. An educator might explore universal design. A researcher might explain how to interpret evidence. A communications professional might teach interviewing. A project manager might introduce agile practices. A leader might share lessons from their profession. PromiseTeach turns the extraordinary range of expertise surrounding MAP into opportunities for collective learning. Our learning philosophy is Learn → Practice → Share → Apply → Grow → Lead Role Overview The Director of PromiseTeach serves as the senior leader responsible for the department and MAP's internal learning strategy. The Director establishes the vision, priorities, programming, systems, and standards that enable PromiseTeach to become a meaningful professional-development and knowledge-sharing platform across the organization. This is not simply a workshop-coordination position. The Director is building an internal learning ecosystem. The role connects Learning Needs → Expertise → Learning Design → Experience → Practice → Application → Reflection → Improvement The Director does not need to know everything. The Director needs to build an environment where knowledge can move. Key Responsibilities PromiseTeach Strategy & Leadership Develop and lead the vision, strategy, priorities, and annual roadmap for PromiseTeach. Establish clear objectives for how PromiseTeach contributes to Professional developmentLeadership developmentCareer growthVolunteer developmentCross-functional learningSkill buildingOrganizational effectivenessInnovationKnowledge sharingContinuous learning Build learning experiences around actual organizational needs rather than developing workshops simply because a topic sounds interesting. Organizational Learning Strategy Develop a broader approach to continuous learning across MAP. Consider what people should learn when they join, what capabilities different roles require, what knowledge should be shared across departments, and where professional-development opportunities can strengthen the organization. Help create a culture where learning does not end after onboarding. Learning Needs Assessment Work across MAP to understand what teams want and need to learn. Engage chiefs, directors, managers, team leads, volunteers, interns, and other contributors to identify Current Capability → Knowledge Gap → Learning Need → Learning Experience → Application Determine the appropriate learning approach for each need. Not every problem requires a workshop. Some may be better addressed through a guide, demonstration, discussion, resource library, mentoring opportunity, learning series, or peer exchange. Workshop & Learning Program Development Develop a diverse calendar of PromiseTeach learning experiences. Potential subjects may include Youth developmentMentorshipTrauma-informed practicesAccessibility and universal designLeadershipCareer developmentProject managementCommunicationsStorytellingFilmmakingWriting and publishingCybersecurityPrivacyArtificial intelligenceResponsible technologyMarketingResearchData literacyFinancial literacyDesignAdvocacyVolunteer managementCreative disciplinesOrganizational effectiveness PromiseTeach should reflect the extraordinary range of knowledge available across MAP. Internal Experts as Educators Identify MAP volunteers, leaders, professionals, and subject-matter experts with knowledge worth sharing. Help those individuals translate their expertise into accessible learning experiences. Someone can be exceptional at their profession without having experience teaching it. PromiseTeach helps bridge that gap. Support facilitators with learning objectives, session structure, activities, materials, timing, accessibility, participant engagement, and evaluation. External Experts & Guest Learning Identify opportunities to invite professionals, academics, practitioners, organizations, industry leaders, and other external experts to contribute to PromiseTeach. Collaborate with PromiseBridge and other appropriate teams when developing external learning relationships. Guest speakers should contribute meaningful expertise rather than simply fill a calendar. Learning Experience Design Establish quality standards for PromiseTeach programming. Encourage learning experiences that move beyond presentation-heavy formats when appropriate. A session might follow Question → Concept → Example → Discussion → Activity → Practice → Application → Reflection Participants should have opportunities to think, question, practice, contribute, and connect what they learn to their work. Interdisciplinary Learning Create opportunities for departments that might rarely work together to learn from one another. Some of MAP's most valuable learning opportunities may exist at the intersection of disciplines Education × Technology Storytelling × Research Cybersecurity × Human Behavior Accessibility × Design Youth Development × Media Artificial Intelligence × Governance Creative Practice × Social Impact PromiseTeach should make unexpected connections possible. Professional Development Pathways Develop structured learning pathways where appropriate rather than relying exclusively on individual workshops. For example Foundations → Intermediate Learning → Practice → Advanced Learning → Application → Leadership Learning pathways may support leadership development, communications, technology, project management, safeguarding, volunteer development, career readiness, or other organizational capabilities. Facilitator Development Recruit, prepare, and support PromiseTeach facilitators. Help facilitators understand Who their audience isWhat participants should learnHow adults learnHow to structure a learning experienceHow to encourage participationHow to make learning accessibleHow to manage timeHow to facilitate discussionHow to gather feedbackHow to improve future sessions Over time, develop a community of facilitators across MAP. Learning Evaluation & Impact Partner with PromiseMeasure to understand whether PromiseTeach experiences are producing meaningful learning. Move beyond Did participants attend? and Did participants enjoy the workshop? Toward What did participants learn? What can they now do differently? Did they apply what they learned? What should we improve? Attendance measures participation. It does not automatically measure learning. Knowledge Management Help ensure valuable organizational knowledge survives beyond individual workshops. Develop systems for appropriately organizing PresentationsTraining materialsGuidesTemplatesToolkitsWorkshop resourcesLearning summariesRecommended readingsFacilitator materialsAuthorized recordingsProfessional-development resources A great workshop should not disappear when the meeting ends. PromiseTeach Department Leadership Build and lead the PromiseTeach team as the department grows. Establish roles, responsibilities, workflows, programming standards, calendars, priorities, and accountability. Support volunteers contributing to areas such as Instructional designWorkshop coordinationFacilitator developmentLearning operationsEducational contentProfessional developmentLearning evaluationKnowledge management Build a department capable of operating consistently rather than depending entirely on the Director. Cross-Functional Collaboration PromiseTeach should operate across MAP rather than becoming an isolated learning department. Partner with PromiseRise on career readiness, leadership development, and professional growth. Collaborate with PromisePeople on onboarding and volunteer development. Partner with PromiseLearning on educational expertise and learning design. Work with PromiseShield on cybersecurity, privacy, and responsible-technology education. Collaborate with PromiseMeasure on learning evaluation. Engage PromiseStudios and PromisePages around creative disciplines and storytelling. Partner with other divisions and departments whenever their expertise can become a meaningful learning opportunity. Every department can potentially teach something. Every department can potentially learn something. PromiseTeach connects the two. Qualifications Strong candidates may bring experience in Learning & Development (L&D)Organizational learningInstructional designAdult educationProfessional developmentTraining and facilitationLeadership developmentOrganizational developmentTalent developmentEducation leadershipNonprofit capacity buildingKnowledge management Candidates should demonstrate Experience designing or leading learning programsAbility to develop learning strategyStrong facilitation and presentation skillsUnderstanding of adult-learning principlesStrong instructional-design abilityAbility to collaborate with subject-matter expertsStrong project-management and organizational skillsAbility to translate complex subjects into accessible learningExcellent written and verbal communicationStrong leadership and relationship-building skillsCommitment to accessible and inclusive learningAbility to evaluate and continuously improve learning experiencesReliability and consistent follow-throughAlignment with MAP's mission and valuesResidence in the United States What Success Looks Like PromiseTeach has a clear organizational learning strategy. Programming responds to real learning and professional-development needs. MAP's internal experts increasingly share what they know. Facilitators receive support before leading sessions. Learning experiences become interactive, accessible, and useful. Different departments learn from one another. External experts expand MAP's knowledge where appropriate. Professional-development pathways emerge beyond one-time workshops. Learning resources become part of MAP's institutional knowledge. Feedback continuously strengthens programming. Learning moves beyond attendance toward application. And PromiseTeach becomes a place where someone can both teach what they know and discover something they never expected to learn. What You'll Gain This role provides the opportunity to build and lead an organizational learning department within a growing mission-driven nonprofit. The Director will gain senior leadership experience across organizational learning, professional development, instructional design, facilitation, knowledge management, leadership development, and cross-functional strategy. You will have the opportunity not simply to facilitate learning experiences, but to build the systems through which hundreds of people can eventually learn from one another. Why This Role Matters MAP has people who know extraordinary things. But expertise trapped inside one person's role has limited organizational value. Imagine what becomes possible when an animator teaches visual storytelling. An educator introduces universal design. A cybersecurity professional explains social engineering. A researcher teaches evidence literacy. A filmmaker introduces documentary storytelling. A project manager teaches teams how to move ideas into action. And someone attending one of those sessions discovers an entirely new direction for their own development. PromiseTeach creates the infrastructure for those exchanges. The Director's job is not to know everything. It is to build an organization where knowledge moves. Volunteer Commitment This is an unpaid volunteer leadership position requiring approximately 5–10 hours per week with a minimum six-month commitment. Consistent leadership, communication, collaboration, and reliable follow-through are essential. Volunteers should provide at least two weeks' notice when ending their service whenever possible. How To Apply Interested candidates should apply directly through Idealist and submit A current résuméA cover letter describing their interest in organizational learning, professional development, and Mentor A Promise Candidates should highlight relevant experience in learning and development, instructional design, adult education, training, facilitation, leadership development, organizational development, professional development, or related fields. At this time, MAP volunteer opportunities are limited to individuals based in the United States due to legal, safeguarding, data-privacy, compliance, and programmatic requirements. Find the knowledge already inside the organization. Discover what people still need to learn. Bring the right people together. Turn expertise into experiences, experiences into learning, and learning into stronger practice. Build a culture where everyone has something to teach—and everyone still has something to learn.