Overview:
SisterReach is seeking a dynamic, visionary, and experienced leader with a deep commitment to Reproductive and Sexual Justice (RSJ) to join our growing team. The Director of Programs and Leadership Development will report to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and work collaboratively with the executive team to advance SisterReach’s mission. This role will oversee the planning, implementation, evaluation, and execution of organizational programs while fostering staff leadership development, monitoring program outcomes, and building strategic partnerships.
The ideal candidate will possess a strong background in team management, leadership development, cultural humility, program evaluation, and public-facing advocacy. Experience in reproductive health, rights, justice, or human rights; grant writing and reporting; and community organizing and mobilization is essential. This is a full-time, on-site position based in Memphis, TN.
Job Summary:
The Director of Programs and Leadership Development will lead all programmatic initiatives, providing strategic direction to ensure the success of organizational goals and fostering staff leadership growth. This position manages five direct reports—Director of Policy and Advocacy, Director of Harm Reduction, Director of Education, Program Director of the SisterReach Village, and Director of Culture Change—ensuring program alignment with organizational objectives, monitoring program achievement, and guiding implementation and evaluation efforts.
In partnership with the Director of Marketing and Communications, this role ensures that programmatic materials, messaging, and outreach strategies effectively convey the goals, outcomes, and impact of SisterReach’s work. Additionally, the Director of Programs and Leadership Development collaborates with the Director of Research and Development to integrate data-driven insights and evidence-based practices into program design, implementation, and reporting. Together, these collaborations ensure that all programs reflect SisterReach’s mission, values, and strategic priorities while resonating with target audiences and stakeholders.
Primary Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership:
- Collaborate with the CEO, COO, and leadership team to define organizational programming goals and long-term strategies.
- Maintain, develop, and implement programs aligned with SisterReach’s vision, mission, culture, and values.
- Serve as a key advisor to executive leadership on programmatic trends, innovations, and outcomes.
Administrative Responsibilities:
Actively participate in individual weekly check-in meetings, organizational staff meetings, and relevant departmental discussions.
- Engage in professional development opportunities to enhance skills and align with organizational goals.
- Support and participate in the organization’s special events, campaigns, and initiatives as needed.
Staff Leadership and Development:
Recruit, onboard, and support program staff to build a dynamic, high-performing team.
- Supervise five directors across key departments—Policy and Advocacy, Harm Reduction, Education, SisterReach Village, and Culture Change—ensuring alignment across programs.
- Foster an inclusive and respectful workplace culture rooted in cultural humility and human rights.
- Conduct regular staff evaluations (30, 60, 90-day, and annual).
- Oversee professional growth opportunities, including leadership development, team building, conflict resolution, and self-care initiatives.
Program Oversight:
Supervise and guide program leads, communications teams, and volunteers to ensure effective program execution.
- Monitor program deliverables to ensure alignment with grant agreements and organizational goals.
- Oversee the planning, implementation, evaluation, and documentation of all SisterReach programs.
- Provide regular updates and reports to leadership and the research and development department.
- Collaborate with the Director of Marketing and Communications, Director of Research and Development, COO, and CEO to ensure program strategies align with organizational goals.
Collaboration with Communications:
- Partner with the Director of Marketing and Communications to ensure program materials (e.g., educational handouts, policy briefs) align with program goals and organizational messaging.
- Provide input on communication strategies to amplify program visibility and community engagement.
Partnerships and Public Advocacy:
- Build and sustain local, state, and national partnerships to amplify SisterReach’s impact.
- Represent SisterReach in meetings, on panels, webinars, and at conferences, serving as a key public spokesperson.
- Develop and conduct trainings on Reproductive & Sexual Justice, advocacy, and related topics for diverse audiences.
Skills and Abilities:
- Proven ability to manage and lead diverse teams with dignity, respect, and cultural humility.
- Strong oral and written communication skills, including public speaking and report writing.
- Expertise in community organizing, education, and mobilization around social justice and human rights.
- Demonstrated ability to balance strategic vision with operational execution.
- Highly organized with excellent task and time management skills.
- Action-oriented, innovative, and solution-driven.
- Flexibility to work evenings and weekends as needed and travel for organizational needs.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s or advanced degree in nonprofit management, public health, sociology, social work, or related fields (preferred).
- Minimum of 5 years of experience in program management, leadership development, or nonprofit administration.
- Experience supervising multiple teams or departments in a nonprofit setting.
- Comprehensive knowledge of marginalized communities in Tennessee and surrounding regions.
- Strong grant-writing, reporting, and evaluation skills.
- Proficient in multitasking and meeting deadlines under pressure.
- Reliable transportation with minimum liability insurance coverage.
Who We Are
We Are The People We Serve
Founded October 2011 in Memphis, TN, SisterReach is a grassroots 501(c)3 nonprofit that supports the reproductive autonomy of women and teens of color, poor and rural women, LGBTQIA+ people and their families through the framework of Reproductive Justice.
Our mission is to empower our base to lead healthy lives, raise healthy families and live in healthy and sustainable communities. We achieve our work through a 4-pronged strategy of education, policy & advocacy, cultural shift and harm reduction, and our reach is local, regional, national and international.
We seek to increase awareness and impact our supporters through centering the voices, experiences and leadership of those most marginalized, curating community-centered discussions and trainings to enhance and engage knowledge and base building among the people we serve, and strategically engage stakeholders whose work aligns with our mission and vision and expands our capacity to reach our base and achieve human rights.
Prior to our existence, there was no organization or entity formally working specifically from the reproductive justice framework in Tennessee. Since our founding, the reproductive justice framework has been adopted and adapted among state and regional stakeholders who consider the reproductive justice framework and lens a strategy and practice to achieve human rights for their work and base.
Organizational Pledge
SisterReach is committed to empowering women and teens of color, poor and rural, LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming individuals, and their families from all walks of life, ethnicities, genders, and faith beliefs.
WE BELIEVE that people are most empowered when they have access to all information regarding their health and well-being.
We are committed to Reproductive Justice and applying its framework to all we do and who we are.
WE SUPPORT a person's right to lead a healthy life, raise a healthy family, and live in a healthy and sustainable community.
WE DO NOT DISCRIMINATE against individuals or families in need based on their socio-economic standing, sexual orientation, age, religion, sexual orientation, ability, or race.
Guided by the biblical principle expressed in Hosea 4:6 (King James Version), “My people are destroyed by a lack of knowledge...”, it is our purpose to ensure optimum reproductive and sexual health, and human rights for the people we serve while confronting and fighting all forms of reproductive and spiritual oppression.