Director, Community Partnerships

Department/Team: State & Community Partnerships 

Salary: $100,000 - $110,000 

FLSA Status: Exempt 

Expected Start Date: ASAP 

Location/Travel Requirements: Remote with 25% travel 

About Sandy Hook Promise  

Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) envisions a future where all children are free from school shootings and other acts of violence. As a national nonprofit organization, SHP’s mission is to educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes, and communities. Creators of the lifesaving, evidence-informed Know the Signs prevention programs, SHP teaches the warning signs of someone who may be in crisis, socially isolated, or at-risk of hurting themselves or others and how to get help. SHP also advances school safety, youth mental health, and responsible gun ownership at the state and federal levels through nonpartisan policy and partnerships.    
 
SHP is led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.    

Commitment to Belonging, Community, Engagement, and Respect  

SHP strives to ensure its culture and work environment reflect the values of belonging, community, engagement and respect.  We actively seek to understand and respond to the diverse perspectives and lived experiences of individuals across socioeconomic backgrounds, rural and urban communities, and diversity of thought, in addition to traditional protected categories. We are committed to ensuring that every SHP employee feels heard, valued, and a true sense of belonging.  SHP encourages individuals who share our commitment to these core values and to our mission to apply.   

Location 
We are a U.S. based organization and most of our staff work remotely nationwide. This role will require 25% travel (on an as-needed basis). 

Candidates should reside within a reasonable distance of a major airport to ensure efficient, cost-effective travel. Team members are expected to make thoughtful travel decisions that balance cost, convenience, and sustainability.    

About the Role 

The Director, Community Partnerships will lead a portfolio of community-based and out-of-school time initiatives. Reporting to the Vice President, Innovation, Research, Evaluation and Quality Improvement (IREQI), this role will drive the organization's out-of-school time strategy and serve as the internal subject matter expert for this audience and delivery environment. The Director will oversee pilot initiatives, strengthen and codify promising models, and guide their expansion toward a broader national scale. 

This role requires an experienced partnership leader and strong project manager capable of advancing complex, cross-functional initiatives. The Director will build and maintain trusted partner relationships, establish the infrastructure needed for consistent implementation, and translate lessons learned into scalable practices and models. Success in this role requires the ability to influence across teams, build alignment, clarify ownership, address challenges proactively, and drive progress across organizational boundaries. 

Location 
We are a U.S. based organization and most of our staff work remotely. This role will require 25% travel (on an as-needed basis). Candidates should reside within a reasonable distance of a major airport to ensure efficient, cost-effective travel. Team members are expected to make thoughtful travel decisions that balance cost, convenience, and sustainability.    

Job Responsibilities 

Community Partnership & Out-of-School Time Program Leadership 

• Ensure the portfolio advances SHP's strategic priorities and broader goals related to youth violence prevention, systems influence, and national thought leadership. 
• Lead the planning, execution, and ongoing management of out-of-school time programs and community partnerships. 
• Advise organizational leaders on opportunities to engage young people beyond traditional school settings. 
• Oversee community partnerships and out-of-school time initiatives, guiding promising programs toward sustainable, scalable national models. 
• Manage contractors to ensure high-quality deliverables and alignment with strategic priorities. 
• Lead, coach, and develop managers to achieve partnership and program goals, including planning, execution, logistics, and follow-up activities.   

Partnerships and Cross-Functional Program Leadership 

• Build and sustain strong relationships with out-of-school time providers, community organizations, national networks, funders, and other key partners. 
• Understand partners' goals and operating environments while maintaining clarity around SHP's expectations, standards, resources, and decision-making authority. 
• Lead cross-functional initiatives by establishing clear ownership, roles, decision rights, timelines, and stakeholder engagement strategies to drive alignment and mitigate risks. 
• Provide organizational leaders with concise, action-oriented updates and represent SHP in partner, funder, and field-facing meetings and presentations. 
• Represent the portfolio on Director-level committees and leadership forums, advocating for and advancing community partnership and out-of-school time priorities across the organization. 

Infrastructure and Continuous Improvement 

• Develop and implement scalable tools, processes, and resources to support partner selection, readiness assessments, pilot launches, implementation support, communications, documentation, risk management, sustainability, dissemination, and project closeout. 
• Capture and codify lessons learned and best practices to support replication and scale across partners and communities. 
• Leverage feedback and evaluation findings to strengthen implementation, inform investment and scaling decisions, and enhance organizational storytelling. 
• Manage project budgets, contracts, scopes of work, consultants, vendors, and grant deliverables. 
• Perform other duties as assigned to support organizational priorities. 
• A commitment to SHP’s mission and values. 

Desired Skills & Experience 

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree or relevant certification preferred.  
• 7+ years of progressive experience leading out-of-school time programs, youth-serving initiatives, community partnerships, or complex cross-sector programs. 
• Deep knowledge of the out-of-school time field and the needs of community-based organizations and youth-serving networks. 
• Experience designing, launching, evaluating, and scaling pilot programs and initiatives. 
• Strong project management skills, including managing cross-functional work, budgets, timelines, stakeholder relationships, and competing priorities. 
• Demonstrated ability to build partnerships and influence outcomes across organizations and stakeholder groups without direct authority. 
• Experience developing operational processes, systems, and infrastructure to support program implementation and scale. 
• Excellent judgment, communication, and relationship management skills, with the ability to engage effectively with executive leaders, partners, funders, and community stakeholders. 
• Ability to leverage data, evaluation findings, and partner feedback to drive continuous improvement and inform decision-making. 
• Experience managing budgets, contracts, vendors, consultants, and grant deliverables. 
• Commitment to culturally responsive, equitable, and community-centered practices. 
• Experience working in a remote or geographically dispersed organization preferred. 

Artifact Submission Requirement 

As part of the interview process, candidates are required to submit a project plan document or presentation deck from a previous project. This artifact will be used as a discussion piece during the panel interview and the final interview with the Hiring Manager and Associate Vice President, Innovation. Candidates should be prepared to walk through the project, their specific contributions, key decisions, outcomes, challenges encountered, and lessons learned. 

Application Instructions 

• Interested SHP staff and volunteers are invited to apply by Tuesday, August 18, 2026, and should notify HR and Talent Acquisition upon submission. 
• Applications will close on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. All are welcome to apply.  
• Please note: applicants must be based in the U.S. Thank you! 

Benefits and Salary Range   

The salary range for this position is $100,000 - $110,000. 

SHP uses a structured internal rubric to guide salary placement and ensure equitable pay. Typically, new hires are placed at the start of the salary range to ensure equity with current employees, and as a practice, we do not negotiate salaries. 

• SHP offers a competitive benefits package, including: 
  • Unlimited PTO 
  • Flexible schedules 
  • Paid holidays and 10 days sick leave 
  • Paid parental leave 
  • Health, dental, and vision 
  • Employer paid life insurance and short- and long-term disability 
  • 401k match 
  • Professional development stipend 
  • Wellness & mental health support 
  • Employer Paid Employee Assistance Program. 

Our organization operates within a distributed workforce, allowing for location flexibility across the country for most positions. We provide remote office support for all staff, which includes a laptop, home office reimbursement, monthly Wi-Fi reimbursement up to $40, and monthly cell phone reimbursement up to $50.   

Equal Opportunity Employment  

SHP is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We strive to be an employer of choice: where a diverse mix of talented people want to come and do their best work. SHP does not make employment-related decisions based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. We are focused on promoting multiculturalism and inclusion so that all SHP employees feel valued and respected. We believe deeply that a diverse workforce comprised of people of all beliefs, backgrounds, and life experiences who seek to prevent gun violence and stop the tragic loss of life will make SHP a stronger, more effective organization.