Senior Director of Strategy & Quality Practices, Positive Youth Development, Early Childhood Education

YMCA of the USA

Senior Director overseeing strategy and quality practices within YMCA network for early childhood education. Driving innovative initiatives with a focus on operational excellence and member outcomes.

Posted 6/23/2026full-timeRemote • Illinois • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $144,000 - $177,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Provide senior leadership for early childhood education strategy, quality practices, and initiatives that advance Y-USA organizational priorities and strengthen local Ys.
Translate national strategy and enterprise direction into clear, actionable frameworks, tools, and activation supports for local Ys, alliances, and service delivery partners.
Guide the evolution of leading practices to ensure they are practical, scalable, and responsive to changing local Y and community needs.
Directly supervise and coach multiple Directors of Strategy and Quality Practices, ensuring clarity of role, alignment of workplans, and accountability for outcomes.
Foster a high performing, collaborative team culture rooted in achievement, relationships, and belonging.
Provide strategic oversight across a portfolio of initiatives, ensuring prioritization, integration, and efficient use of resources.
Lead systemwide adoption and integration of leading practices, tools, products, and solutions.
Analyze data, signals, and industry trends to inform continuous quality improvement and innovation.
Strengthen alignment between Y-USA strategies, alliances, service delivery partners, and enterprise shared services.
Cultivate relationships with internal and external partners to advance innovation, policy alignment, and mission‑aligned outcomes.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor’s degree or higher required in a relevant field such as Business, or related disciplines required
Advanced degree strongly preferred.
Minimum of 12 years of experience required
Deep and expert functional skills
Deep and expert industry knowledge and experience
Expert managerial skills
Oversees multiple teams or functions
Ownership of short to mid-term execution of functional strategy and the operational direction
Internal and external communications, executive level, high influence on dept. and organization
Minimal supervision from manager, manages an area or team leads within a function/department

Benefits

Comp & perks

medical
dental
vision
defined benefit plan (retirement savings)
defined contribution plan (403(b) plan)
life and disability insurances
technology stipend
generous paid time off

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

strategic oversightdata analysisquality improvementoperational directionfunctional strategy executionteam managementcoachingperformance managementinitiative prioritizationresource integration

Soft Skills

leadershipcollaborationrelationship buildingcommunicationaccountabilityinnovationadaptabilityinfluenceteam culture developmentproblem-solving

Certifications

Bachelor's degreeAdvanced degree