Director - Workforce Development

About the Role

The Director of Workforce Development designs and implements a comprehensive workforce funding and partnership strategy to secure student tuition assistance and advance the mission for Ancora institutions, brands, and students. This position blends leadership, relationship building, product knowledge, marketing, and compliance to shape Ancora’s public image, align education with labor market needs, and serve as a key advocate ensuring Ancora brands remain institutions of choice for agency and stakeholder interests.

Responsibilities

• Workforce Development: Develop and execute a workforce board and partner development strategy, including research methods, target sources, timelines, collaborating parties, resources needed, and outcome expectations.
• Institutional & Industry Advocacy: Serve as a primary community contact, articulating the mutual needs of Ancora schools, students, and local industries to align educational output with workforce needs.
• Research: Access labor market data, subscribe to and scan news feeds, social media, industry sites, and other sources to identify and pursue grant and RFP opportunities.
• Community Networking: Cultivate, steward, and maintain a robust pipeline of relationships with government agencies, funding agencies, corporations, and industry partners. Provide regular impact reports on their investments.
• Collaboration: Work with Ancora Academic and Admissions Teams to track and communicate workforce agency or partner needs. Collaborate with admissions, finance, academics, campus, and compliance personnel to address tuition assistance needs and develop program offerings.
• Compliance: Ensure all activities, applications, and documentation adhere to ethical and legal standards to protect Ancora’s integrity.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in Marketing, Communications, Non-Profit Management, Business Administration, Public Relations, or a related field.
• Experience: 3–5 years of progressive workforce agency, workforce funding, or grant writing experience.
• Grant & RFP Success: A proven portfolio of identifying, writing, and securing competitive Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and institutional grants, ideally within the education and/or non-profit sector.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Non-Profit Management, Public Administration (MPA), or Business Administration (MBA).
• Professional Certifications: Certified Grant Professional (GPC) credential.
• Direct experience working within a non-profit school organization, private school, or higher education system, with pre-existing understanding of tuition assistance structures, financial aid, and student-body demographics.
• Demonstrated experience serving as a public-facing representative, with a track record of building strategic partnerships between an organization and local industries or community leaders.
• Hands-on experience working with grant finding and management databases (Instrumentl, Grants.gov, Candid’s Foundation Directory, or similar).

Skills

• Networking: Resourcefully identifies agencies and personnel to form trusting professional relationships and advance the mission of expanding financial support for students.
• Communications: Accurately and enthusiastically advocates for Ancora brands through written communications and presentations.
• Relationship Building: Outstanding interpersonal and networking abilities; comfortable engaging with a diverse range of stakeholders, from corporate executives and community leaders to private donors.
• Core Values Alignment: Deeply embodies the core values of the organization, acting as a passionate, ethical, and highly visible ambassador for the school's mission.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described are representative of those required to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions.

• Occasionally required to stand, walk, sit, use hands to handle objects/tools, reach with hands and arms, climb stairs, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
• Must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions.

• Usually not exposed to weather conditions.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.