Senior Director of Programs

About the Opportunity

826 Boston seeks a dynamic candidate with a strong command of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles to serve as our Senior Director of Programs. The ideal candidate is someone who can lead large-scale projects while coordinating the work of others, build and leverage strong networks to cultivate meaningful relationships with students, teachers, school leaders, volunteers, and community partners, and approach challenges with creativity and speed. The ideal candidate will bring a track record of success and innovation with building programs that achieve both depth and breadth of student engagement and have a passion for writing and youth leadership development.

The Senior Director of Programs will have at least four direct reports and oversee the organization’s entire Programs department, currently consisting of two sub departments (In-School and Out-of-School) and a portfolio of 11 individual programs. The Senior Director of Programs will also serve on the organization’s senior management team, contributing to organizational decision-making and vision-setting. 

Our Mission: 

826 Boston is a nonprofit writing, tutoring, and publishing organization where students in grades K-12 and beyond can share their stories, amplify their voices, and develop as leaders in school and in life.

Responsibilities: 

The Senior Director of Programs will work 40 hours a week and is expected to be in-person at an 826 Boston office or program site at least three days/week (Monday-Thursday), including occasional evenings, in order to have a consistent presence across the full program portfolio. 826 Boston office or Program sites are located in Roxbury, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, and Hyde Park. The Senior Director of Programs can also anticipate being in-person at our Tutoring center located at 3035 Washington Street in Roxbury, approximately one Friday per month. Applicants must reside in Massachusetts before the role starts.  

Program Leadership

• Lead the expansion of 826 Boston’s programs portfolio in alignment with the organization’s strategic plan and current five-year campaign for growth, resulting in eight Writers’ Rooms, 20 Boston Public School partner sites, and 5,000 students served annually across the full programs portfolio by school year 2028-29


• Serve as key liaison between 826 Boston and Boston Public Schools, maintaining annual data-sharing agreements, financial requirements, and contractual commitments


• Collaborate with the Senior Deputy Director to coordinate program evaluation in order to improve program design and report out on program outcomes to school, district, and funding partners


• Ensure accurate program data across the Programs Department, including tracking volunteer and student attendance, ensuring the completion of student and teacher surveys, administering the annual writing assessment, and collecting student release form


• Manage the Programs Department budget, guiding resource allocation and resource deployment and ensuring accurate record keeping of expenses


• Manage program substitute system to ensure adequate coverage caused by staff PTO, including serving as a substitute on a regular basis

Programs Department Leadership 

• Provide coaching and guidance to the growing Programs Department, comprised of 20+ full-time staff members, 30+ part-time interns, and 300+ volunteer tutors


• Guide Programs Department staff in establishing team goals and individual work plans in support of department goals


• Identify, plan, coordinate, and lead monthly professional development sessions for Programs Department staff members 


• Supervise two In-School Department Program Co-Directors, the Out-of-School Time Program Director, and the Writing Workshop Program Manager


• Lead opportunities to strengthen and increase cross-team and cross-department communication, collaboration, and community

Organizational Leadership

• Serve on the senior management team to ensure progress toward strategic plan goals and identify areas of strength, opportunity, and vulnerability in infrastructure, resources, and staff


• Support the 826 Boston Board of Directors in their program engagement


• Serve as staff liaison to at least one board committee and guide the committee’s quarterly meetings and activities 


• Liaise with 826 National and the network of chapters, attending monthly Program Director cohort calls, and serving as the primary point of contact for all program related needs and opportunities


• Provide support at select outreach and fundraising events, including nights and weekends on occasion


• Support organization-wide summer programming


• Provide other services as reasonably requested by the Executive Director

Qualifications: 

The ideal candidate is a team player with a steadfast commitment to improving the quality of K-12 education, including adopting antiracist/anti-oppressive approaches, with a desire to work in a collaborative and inclusive culture, and a passion for youth empowerment through writing and publishing.

826 Boston recognizes that impostor syndrome and the confidence gap might prevent some applicants from applying. Few candidates will have all of the relevant experience listed below, but 826 Boston is committed to assessing candidates with transferable skills and a willingness to be trained for this role.

Skills and Experiences: 

• 5+ years of professional experience in a programmatic leadership or oversight role at a K-12 school, education, or youth development nonprofit


• Exceptional team management skills with the ability to mentor, coach, and develop staff alongside fostering community, building a strong sense of team, and embracing values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging 


• Exceptional time management, project management, and resource management skills with close attention to detail 


• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills


• Strategic and innovative thinker who is self-directed, adaptable, and deadline-driven


• Ability to incorporate anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices into analysis, planning, and programming


• High level of intercultural competence and experience working in urban communities


• Familiarity with the Boston Public Schools system, particularly the schools in Roxbury, Dorchester, Hyde Park, and Jamaica Plain


• Reside in Massachusetts and be able to travel between the 826 Boston offices and school partner sites


• Proficiency in Spanish, Haitian Creole, or Cape Verdean Creole preferred


• Experience with Canva, Google Apps, Salesforce and InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, or similar design tools preferred

Compensation

826 Boston offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience in a similar position, with the potential for an annual performance-based bonus. The salary for this position is $97,000 annually. 

We offer competitive salaries and benefits and are committed to equity, trust, and transparency in compensation. Basing compensation on someone’s ability to negotiate or their prior salary can lead to inequities and bias in how people are paid, particularly for groups experiencing historical oppression. Therefore, we do not ask for prior pay history from our candidates, and our offer-making process is negotiation-free for salaries and benefits. New hires are typically brought into the organization at a salary based on internal equity and the budgeted amount for the role. 


Benefits include flexible work from home options, generous paid time off (including 15 PTO days, 5 days of sick leave, 13 paid holidays, 6 Summer Fridays off, and an organization-wide two-week winter break); health, dental, and vision insurance (826 Boston covers 80% of premiums), parental leave, paid sabbatical, and more.

This is an exempt, full-time position that reports to the Executive Director. The ideal start date is July 1, 2026.

826 Boston Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement 

At 826 Boston, we honor and actively work toward diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) across our organization. We are committed to centering the voices of the students who we serve, to creating inclusive spaces, and to incorporating feedback from our community into our decision-making processes. Our DEI lens is always evolving through the courageous conversations in which we participate and the relationships that we build through our work and service. We strengthen our cultural competency through experience, training, and feedback, which informs the development of all new organizational practices and goals and the evaluation of all existing procedures.

826 Boston is dedicated to providing a platform for student advocacy through writing and publishing opportunities. In our work and mission, we are committed to dismantling white supremacy culture by recognizing that we are complicit in systems of racism and oppression. We will work to hold ourselves accountable in addressing these harmful structures and behaviors. 

About Us

826 Boston is part of a national network of youth writing centers, co-founded by the award-winning author Dave Eggers and educator Nínive Calegari, that were named in GOOD Magazine’s “30 Places We Want to Work.” Since opening in 2007, 826 Boston has delivered its free youth writing and tutoring programs to more than 35,000 students and has been recognized by The Boston Globe as one of the best places in the city to volunteer. 826 Boston’s youth writers have published their work in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and in numerous award-winning 826 Boston books, including A Place for Me in the World, which was hailed as a “triumph of middle school education” by The Boston Globe. In 2013, the 826 National network garnered the prestigious American Literacy Prize awarded by the Library of Congress.

Accommodations

826 Boston provides reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities at every stage of the application process. Disclosing a disability or requesting a need for accommodations is a separate process from admissions and will have absolutely no bearing on a candidate’s application status. 826 Boston will make every effort to meet your request, but specific requests are not guaranteed. If you need to request an accommodation, please contact Catherine Gomez at [email protected].

How to Apply

Please include why you are interested in 826 Boston and how your experience has prepared you for this position in your cover letter. The priority application deadline for this position is March 4, 2026. After that date, applications will be considered on a rolling basis. It is in your best interest to apply as soon as possible.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.