Managing Director, Young Adults

Position Overview

The Managing Director, Young Adults will provide strategic direction, external leadership, and portfolio accountability for Robin Hood's grantmaking focused on young adults as they move into economic independence. This high-visibility portfolio operates at the intersection of several of the most consequential dynamics facing low-income New Yorkers today, and it is built for a leader who wants to design and develop a vision for creating impact.

Responsibilities

• Sit within the Program & Impact Department and report to the Chief of Grant Strategy.
  • Oversee the Young Adults grant portfolio of $20 to $25 million annually, serve as an external thought leader, and work closely with current and new community partners, collaborating with Policy, Management Acceleration, and Development teams, and providing direction and management for a team of program officers.
  • Develop and refine the strategic vision for the young adults portfolio, setting strategies for workforce development, college success, justice-impacted youth and community safety, and basic needs programs, and translating the approach into a concrete pipeline of grants and initiatives.
  • Direct grantmaking activities within the portfolio, including reviewing and advising on program design and theories of action, interpreting fiscal information and evaluation data, and structuring partnerships with community-based organizations, government, and philanthropic co-investors.
  • Identify, research, and pilot new models for preparing young people for a labor market being transformed by AI and automation, and develop promising ideas into concrete initiatives with clear measures to assess success.
  • Conduct due diligence, including assessment of organizational financial stability, evaluation evidence, and the development of metrics and success measures for new and renewing investments.
  • Direct a critical, quarterly review of the grant docket, assessing strategic alignment, program delivery, and opportunities for grantee technical assistance.
  • Bring an entrepreneurial, test-and-learn approach to the portfolio, willing to sunset what isn't working and reallocate toward what is.
  • External Leadership and Partnerships:
    • Serve as Robin Hood's external voice on the future of work, AI's impact on entry-level and early-career employment, and pathways to economic mobility for young adults, including representing Robin Hood in media, conferences, and cross-sector convenings.
    • Build, maintain, and grow relationships with nonprofit, government, employer, and philanthropic partners, including national funder collaboratives and peer institutions working on youth economic mobility.
    • Identify opportunities to import promising models from other cities or sectors into New York, and to share Robin Hood's learnings with other funders and geographies.
    • Communicate regularly with the Young Adult board subcommittee through written overviews, grant analysis and recommendation reports, and oral presentations on portfolio direction, performance, and emerging trends.
    • Partner with Robin Hood's Development team to engage donors around the young adults portfolio, including representing Robin Hood at fundraising events and donor meetings.
  • Cross-Departmental Collaboration and Team Management:
    • Work in partnership with other Managing Directors, the Chief of Grant Strategy, and the Chief Program & Impact Officer to help lead the program team and shape the organization's overall strategy.
    • Lead, manage, and coach a team of program officers overseeing research, due diligence, site visits, and proposal development; edit and strengthen grant recommendations.
    • Collaborate closely with the Policy team on policy priorities affecting young adults, and identify opportunities for scaling programs and driving systemic change within government systems.
    • Work with Robin Hood's Management Acceleration team to identify opportunities to strengthen community partner organizations through paid and pro bono capacity-building projects.

Qualifications

• Deep knowledge of, and a strong network within, at least one core area of the portfolio (workforce development, college success, justice-impacted youth/community safety, or basic needs), with genuine curiosity about the others.
• Demonstrated track record of building programs, initiatives, or organizations from the ground up, ideally in a fast-changing field, with comfort operating amid ambiguity and incomplete information.
• Fluency in — or strong, demonstrated interest in developing expertise on — how AI and automation are reshaping entry-level work and the skills young people will need to compete for living-wage jobs.
• A confident external presence and genuine enthusiasm for representing an organization publicly, including with media, at conferences, and in front of donors and government leaders.
• Strong research, analytical, writing, and oral presentation skills.
• Extensive management experience and insight into nonprofit performance and operations, including a basic understanding of statistics, evaluation methods, and not-for-profit accounting.
• Broad knowledge of social problems, programs, and policies, government programs, funding streams, and cost structuring.
• 10-15 years of relevant, full-time work experience, including senior operational responsibility in a nonprofit, foundation, government, or private-sector role; grantmaking experience preferred.
• Master's or professional degree preferred, along with a minimum of 10 years of post-graduate professional experience; equivalent experience will also be considered.
• Commitment to poverty issues and to Robin Hood's model of engaged grantmaking.
• Ability to be both a long-term strategic visionary and to understand current on-the-ground realities.
• Experience managing a team of seasoned, professional staff.
• Highly effective interpersonal and relational skills, including a demonstrated ability to work successfully across complex, matrixed teams and with roles at multiple levels.
• High degree of self-awareness, humility, and diplomacy; a sense of humor and a skillful listener.

Salary and Benefits

The salary range for this role is $183,861 - $235,000. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. Robin Hood offers excellent benefits and encourages a strong work-life balance.