Vice President of Student Support and Success

Summary

WhoWe Are:

Row New York is a unique, sports-based non-profit organization that uses the sport of rowing as a challenge and support to youth while building their academic and social-emotional skills for success in high school and college. In addition to providing a signature youth program to middle and high school student-athletes from diverse racial, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, the organization supports students through college with a College Success program and alumni services.

Row New York also provides rowing programs to participants with disabilities, Veterans and local community members. We currently serve participants in Washington Heights/Inwood (Manhattan) and Flushing Meadows Corona Park (Queens).

Position Summary:

The VP of Student Support and Success (SSS) drives the design and delivery of high quality, effective, and uniquely tailored programs to support the academic and social-emotional needs of Row New York’s students in grades 8 through college. The VP is also an integral part of Row New York’s senior leadership team.

The youth program serves 175 middle and high school students across two sites (Manhattan and Queens) and encompasses college access services, social work support, and tutoring along
with workshops and special activities designed to enhance communication, health and wellness, academic skills, career readiness, and social justice awareness. The VP also supports a college success program and alumni services reaching approximately 80 students.

The VP of SSS works collaboratively with the VP of Rowing to ensure cohesive and effective youth programming across an interdisciplinary team. An excellent candidate is highly collaborative and innovative, and has considerable management experience of people, teams and projects in education and/or youth development. Candidates should be committed to
serving students from under-resourced communities. The position offers a unique opportunity for original program development.

The position is currently hybrid; local residency in the New York City metro-area is required. Currently, approximately 60-80% of the work may be performed remotely if desired for at least the first 6-12 months; 20-40% of the time will be spent in Row New York’s midtown office and visiting programming or program partners in person in Queens and Manhattan. After the first
6-12 months, in-person work may ramp up.

Row New York requires all staff to receive at least one updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine dose, except as may be required by law.

Qualifications

• Passion for and commitment to serving low-income communities and students who are first-generation college students; sensitivity to the dynamics of serving a racially and economically diverse student population
• Strong demonstrated commitment to youth development principles, including youth leadership
• A sense of humor, tolerance for change, and a demonstrated ability to create a positive culture and sense of empowerment for students
• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s in nonprofit management, education or related field preferred
• Experience in sports-based youth development is a strong plus
• Minimum of 8 years’ related professional experience, with significant experience in a youth-serving organization in New York City strongly preferred
• Minimum of 3 years’ successful management experience, including supervising and developing full-time staff;
• Demonstrated ability to be an active leader in the organization’s work to be a diverse, inclusive and equitable organization -- for and with all stakeholders -- including participants and staff
• Demonstrated experience in project management and program development

Duties

• Ensure the coordination, integration, and high quality delivery of all Student Support and Success program components
• Ensure collaboration and communication among SSS program components and between SSS and Rowing program
• Directly coach and manage three program manager-level staff; promote professional development and growth; provide assistance and guidance on the direct reports’ management of part-time staff
• Support a team-oriented learning culture that promotes inclusion and respect, shared decision-making, mutual support, solutions orientation, and high expectations
• Ensure data is used for continuous learning, innovation and program improvement
• Create program budgets and monitor expenses and expense reporting
• Communicate actively and openly with Executive Director on status of programs and emerging challenges or successes
• Develop and maintain relationships with internal and external stakeholders; including meeting with funders
• Collaborate with the senior leadership team on organization-wide initiatives and management
• Ability to actively build, promote, and model an organizational culture that values teamwork, respect, building trust, asking for help, and learning from mistakes