Strategy Associate

Position Overview

Strategy Associates work closely with Youth Villages’ leadership teams to support the organization’s mission and strategic vision. They advance our impact by executing corporate strategy and special projects, leading aspects of the annual strategic planning process, and assisting leaders in identifying and analyzing potential growth and operational improvement opportunities.

Strategy Associates should be mission-driven, critical thinkers who can proactively lead day-to-day project activities, build trusting relationships with diverse stakeholders, present to and engage leaders, and conduct analyses and distill their findings into opportunities.

Associates report to the Director of Strategy and collaborate with other Strategy team members on their assigned projects.

This is an extraordinary opportunity for mission- and results-driven individuals with business strategy and people and project management experience to have a significant and national-scale impact on youth and families.

Youth Villages is a nationally recognized non-profit organization helping youth, young adults, and families live successfully. With a high-performing and dedicated staff of over 4,000, services in 26 states and D.C., and an annual operating budget of over $400 million, the organization serves more than 40,000 individuals annually.  Our commitment to helping youth, young adults, and families find success spans 40 years and includes a comprehensive array of evidence-based programs and services implemented by Youth Villages and our partner organizations and complementary systems change efforts, including state and federal policy, national advocacy, and research. We seek individuals with a strong sense of purpose who are passionate about making a difference in the lives of youth and families.  

Responsibilities

Strategy Projects (50% of work)

• Execute projects focused on specific areas of improvement or opportunity for the organization and the communities we serve (e.g., workforce investments and staff experience, community-based program process improvements, multi-year strategic and fundraising business plans)
• Partner with other Strategy team members to ensure projects remain on track, maintain buy-in across the organization, and are positioned for successful implementations
• Independently conduct market research and operational analysis to help identify future improvements and opportunities; research may include stakeholder interviews, internal staff interviews, surveys, market analysis, and organizational analysis

Strategic and Tactical Planning (50% of work)

• Manage aspects of the annual planning process for Youth Villages states (direct services and partner jurisdictions) and certain functional departments (e.g., marketing), helping to identify strategic priorities, service and budget goals and projections, key tactics, and interim milestones
• Oversee implementation and impact measurement of annual and multi-year Youth Villages strategic plans (e.g., 5-year organization-wide National Strategic Plan, philanthropic investment plans, state annual plans)
• Proactively support planning activities by establishing meeting cadences and timelines, creating materials and agendas, assigning owners, and creating tracking tools

Travel: up to 15% of job time requires domestic travel, with some months being higher and others having no travel

Compensation: $50,000-$60,000 with flexibility commensurate with experience.

The successful candidate will have:
• Bachelor’s degree (preferred)
• 1+ years’ professional experience in areas such as strategy development, business and financial analysis, consensus and trust building, and project management
• Professional or personal experience with nonprofits, particularly in the areas of child welfare, juvenile justice, homelessness, community-based human services and anti-poverty services and programs
• Applicants with lived experience or a personal connection to communities affected by the foster care, juvenile justice, or other social service systems are strongly encouraged to apply

Skills and Qualities
• Passion for Youth Villages’ mission, motivation to improve the systems that touch the lives of children and families, and eagerness to work in an environment that prizes continuous learning, growth, and inclusiveness
• Ability to proactively drive day-to-day project activities (e.g., project management) and work both independently and collaboratively with project teams and extended stakeholders (e.g., Youth Villages front-line staff, peer organization leaders)
• Positive, customer service-oriented attitude
• Skilled communicator and listener who is comfortable presenting to and engaging senior leaders
• Critical thinking skills, including the ability to distill analyses into key insights
• Experience building financial models and projections and working with data analytics
• Strong Microsoft Office skills, specifically Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, Prescription Drug Coverage and Vision
• 401(k)
• 2 weeks paid vacation
• 12 paid sick days per year
• 11 paid holidays
• Mileage & Cell Phone Reimbursement (when applicable)
• Paid parental leave

• Tuition reimbursement and licensure supervision

• Growth & development through continuous training

• Clinical and administrative advancement opportunities

Youth Villages is an equal opportunity employer and provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Youth Villages is committed to not only advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace but also in our work with children and young adults. We know that children, families and young people of color can face inequity in child welfare and justice systems, and we train our employees to build the skills they need to work with the communities that we serve, as well as, other employees from different cultures and backgrounds. Youth Villages is opposed to racism in any of its forms and is committed to inclusion, equity, and diversity. We believe that respect for each other is crucial in the work that we do each day.