Senior Director, National Market Leader

OVERVIEW:

The National Market Leader is a critical Senior Director role at Year Up United (YUU), responsible for leading a high-performing team of Regional Market Leaders while directly overseeing one assigned region. This dual responsibility positions the National Market Leader as both a local ambassador and a national integrator, advancing YUU’s mission, deepening market presence, and ensuring the consistent execution of enterprise strategy across all geographies.

Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, with a dotted line to the Chief Talent Networks Officer, the National Market Leader will drive alignment between regional execution and organizational priorities, foster innovation, and elevate YUU’s visibility in the national workforce development landscape. This leader will cultivate high-impact relationships with local governments, community partners, workforce boards, and employers, advocating for equitable workforce policies and expanding access to work-based learning and career opportunities.

As a key connector, the National Market Leader will engage with students, alumni, and staff to foster vibrant, inclusive, and professionally enriching local ecosystems. In alignment with YUU’s values, this leader will also serve as a coach, facilitator, and mentor, building community and trust while modeling excellence across regions.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

National Market Leadership & Strategy Integration

• Lead and support Regional Market Leaders to ensure consistent implementation of national market strategy.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and best practice exchange across regions to drive innovation, operational consistency, and impact.
• Serve as a thought partner to the COO, Executive Team, and senior leaders, surfacing regional insights and opportunities to inform enterprise decision-making.
• Monitor performance across markets and support Regional Market Leaders in setting priorities and resolving operational challenges.
• Convene and facilitate regular Market Leadership forums to align on strategy, execution, and continuous improvement.
• Represent the Market Leadership function in cross-functional strategic planning and transformation efforts.
• Partner with Enrollment, Program, Talent Networks, CE, YUPRO, Grads of Life, and other national teams to ensure field perspectives shape national strategy and vice versa.

Regional Strategy & Market Growth:

• Develop and execute a regional strategy to expand YUU’s reach within assigned markets.
• Identify and evaluate new market opportunities based on workforce trends, economic data, and local labor needs.
• Explore how to increase YUU's impact to close the opportunity divide by engaging in intensive on-the-ground efforts to learn, understand, and leverage knowledge to secure partnerships and offer programming to support opportunity talent.
• Cultivate opportunities to increase talent employment, explore and vet revenue generation opportunities for YUU, leverage cross-functional relationships, and engage in relationship management within markets.
• Share information and create strategic alignment internally, developing market insights to explore innovation to include apprenticeships, educational institutions, and workforce entities to expand YUU’s blueprint, reach, and influence.
• Meet with peers in other markets to share learnings and best practices.
• Work closely with internal teams to ensure market strategies align with national priorities.
• Collaborate with YUU Advisory Boards to validate local market strategies and offerings.

Partnership and Community Building:

• Strengthen relationships with community colleges, corporate partners, and local organizations to meet partnership targets aligned with the 2025 strategic roadmap.
• Actively engage with market workgroups defining the rapidly changing future of work, showcasing YUU’s expertise as a forward-thinking workforce solution provider that anticipates and adapts to emerging industry trends.
• Attend internal and external partner meetings to build relationships, exchange feedback, educate partners about Year Up United, and address their talent needs.
• Participate in partner meetings as requested by CE to bolster relationship building, manage service recovery, and strategize future engagement.
• Organize roundtables, engage with influencers, establish advisory boards, and convene local board meetings to drive robust community engagement.
• Build strong alumni connections in the market, creating onramps for student, staff, partner, and civic engagement.

Team Development & Talent Management:

• Coach and develop Regional Market Leaders, supporting their success, professional growth, and impact.
• Provide direct oversight and guidance to the Director of Market Operations (once hired), ensuring operational excellence across markets.
• Support onboarding and development of new market leadership hires to accelerate effectiveness and alignment.
• Model and promote a culture of collaboration, accountability, and inclusive leadership.

Year Up United Citizen:

• Live the values of YUU.
• Participate in special projects and initiatives that support YUU's effectiveness, growth, and impact.
• Actively participate in YUU’s Learning Community, supporting students as a coach, facilitator, and/or mentor.

Qualifications:

• 12+ years of experience, including leadership in workforce development, regional growth strategy, or public-private partnerships
• Proven experience managing and influencing high-performing, geographically distributed teams.
• Exceptional communication, interpersonal, and stakeholder/client management skills.
• Proven experience in workforce, youth, and community development initiatives.
• Self-motivated and proactive, with a proven ability to drive initiatives with minimal oversight.
• Adept at thriving in high-visibility, high-pressure environments.
• Versatile contributor who adds value across high-level strategic planning and detailed operational execution.
• Strong change management expertise—embracing change as an integral part of Year Up United’s culture while designing and driving transformative initiatives.
• Deep passion for Year Up United’s mission and a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
• Comprehensive understanding of the Opportunity Divide and its underlying drivers.
• Exceptional public speaking and storytelling skills.
• Must reside in one of the assigned Regional Markets.

Travel:

• Frequent travel is required.

WORKING AT YEAR UP UNITED:

Starting January 5, 2026, employees are expected to work on-site at least two days per week (Monday through Thursday dependent on job requirements). To be eligible for employment, candidates must live and work in a state (or an approved proximate state*) where Year Up United operates. For a list of eligible locations, please visit:  https://www.yearup.org/job-training/locations

*Approved proximate states where Year Up United operates are: Connecticut, Indiana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, South Carolina and Virginia.

• Year Up United has established salary ranges for each of our sites, which allows us to pay employees competitively, equitably and consistently in different geographic markets. For roles in which the location is listed as flexible, the range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations. Salary offers take into account a candidate’s skills, experience, and location. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process.

• Benefits: Comprehensive healthcare options and dental coverage; 401(k) match for eligible participants.

• Vacation: Earn three weeks paid vacation in first year of employment; four weeks after initial year.

ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION:

Year Up United is a national 501(c)3 workforce development organization committed to ensuring equitable access to economic opportunity, education, and justice for all young adults—no matter their background, income, or zip code. Employers face a growing need for talent while millions of talented young adults lack access to meaningful careers. These inequities only further perpetuate the opportunity gap that exists in our country—a gap that Year Up United is determined and positioned to close through three interconnected strategies: providing targeted skills training and connections to livable-wage employment for students and alumni; empowering others to serve and support young adults, and changing systems that perpetuate the opportunity gap. Year Up United’s intensive training program utilizes a high expectations, high support model where students learn in-demand technical and professional skills and apply them during a corporate internship. Year Up United has directly served more than 40,000 young adults since its founding in 2000. Year Up United's nationwide presence includes Arizona, Austin, Bay Area, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Greater Atlanta, Greater Boston, Greater Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, the National Capital Region, New York City/Jersey City, Pittsburgh, Puget Sound, Rhode Island, South Florida, Tampa Bay, and Wilmington.

Voted one of the Best Nonprofits to Work For in the country by The NonProfit Times, Year Up United is a rewarding and impactful place to work. Our staff is passionate, supportive, mission-driven, and committed to positive change and continuous learning. We set high standards for both ourselves and our students and live by a set of core values that reflect an unshakable belief in the talent and potential of our young people. The work we do is life-changing, and we know that our team is the greatest asset in achieving our mission.

Year Up United embraces diversity and equal opportunity in a serious way. All aspects of employment, including the decision to hire, promote, discharge, or discipline, are based on meritocracy. We do not permit 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 characteristics protected by federal, state, or local laws. Learn more about our commitment to diversity: http://www.yearup.org/about-us/careers/commitment-to-diversity/
Year Up United is also committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. Your recruiter can provide details regarding the expected work environment and any physical requirements. Please let our hiring team know if you need an accommodation at any point during the interview process. Information received relating to accommodation will be addressed confidentially.

Please submit a thoughtful cover letter and resume through our website.

We respectfully request no phone calls.