Executive Director - Tennessee State Alliance

• Supports the YMCA mission and models the YMCA core values: Caring, Honesty, Respect and Responsibility. Models and puts into practice behavior that supports inclusion and diversity.

Alliance Operations: Manages day-to-day operations of the Alliance.

• Ensures the Alliance has a long-range strategy to achieve its mission, and toward which it makes consistent and timely progress.
• Provides leadership with the Executive Committee and staff in developing programs, organizational and financial plans, and executes plans and policies authorized by the Executive Committee.
• Promotes active and broad volunteer participation in Alliance work.
• Identifies and coordinates strategic statewide initiatives that support and advance the objectives of Alliance strategic plan and the Y National Movement.
• Identifies public and private funding opportunities that support Alliance and/or Y Association goals (e.g., chronic disease prevention, education funding, childhood obesity, child care, summer camp, child safety, etc.) and either pursues or refers funding opportunities to local Ys as appropriate.
• Provides leadership and direction to Alliance staff team. Recruit, hire, train, develop, schedule and direct staff team and volunteers as needed to ensure sound operations. Review and evaluate staff performance. Develop strategies to motivate staff and achieve goals.
• Develops and maintains budget, operating within the budget guidelines.
• In coordination with Y-USA Resource Director, facilitates the building of organizational capacity of all the state’s Ys and provides opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and support.

Alliance Communications: Manages proactive communications with internal and external audiences.

• Jointly, with the Executive Committee, conducts official correspondence of the Alliance, and, jointly with designated officers, executes legal documents.
• Creates and delivers a plan for sharing statewide community benefit of all Y Associations in the Alliance; implementing targeted communications to advance advocacy and proactive communications of Alliance activities and events.
• Develops and implements an internal and external communications plan that includes managing the Alliance website, newsletter, social media and other applicable communications tools and channels.
• Manages Alliance marketing and public relations under direction of the Executive Committee and in partnership with Alliance Communications Committee.
• Engages in open sharing of information, best practices, opportunities and challenges with other state alliances and Y-USA.

Collaborations: Builds relationships and bridges for the Y at the state level to advance policy, systems and environmental change, and to advance strategic goals.

• Convenes Y leaders to facilitate the development of statewide program initiatives that allow for impactful change in youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.
• Builds relationships, forms partnerships and joins key coalitions to position the Alliance as a leading nonprofit and legislative advocate.
• Serves on statewide task forces, coalitions or committees, and works to get Y staff assigned to such bodies that facilitate the Y Voice being heard in state-level decision making organizations.
• Hosts statewide events and engages Alliance member Ys in common program initiatives to raise the profile of the Y statewide and to generate statewide impacts that are measured and communicated.
• Aligns Alliance work with that of Y-USA, both programmatically and legislatively, including and YMCA Professional Networks (YPN).

Advocacy: Leverages collective influence around policy change at the local, state and national levels. Ensures the Ys speak with one voice in support of youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

• Builds relationships with public officials, and builds the capacity of Y staff and volunteers to do so.
• Actively advocates on behalf of the YMCAs of Tennessee; hosts/supports annual advocacy events for federal and state lawmakers.
• Actively engages YMCA advocates in supporting public policy priorities/legislative agenda, and engages staff and volunteers in Alliance legislative activities through trainings, meetings, calls, etc.
• Develops annual legislative agenda with input from Public Policy Committee, Alliance members and volunteers, and contract lobbying team.
• Facilitates subject matter experts among Y CEOs, staff and volunteers to respond to statewide regulations or serve on agency task forces that have direct effect on the Y’s mission.
• Actively manages the Alliance contract lobbyist, ensuring delivery of contract provisions. This includes evaluating lobbyist performance annually, developing and issuing an RFP where applicable, and communicating and strategizing regularly to ensure accurate representation of Y legislative agenda and positions.
• Monitors and authors legislation that may have adverse and/or positive effects and communicate issues effectively to Ys.

Miscellaneous

• Seeks legal counsel where applicable.
• Consistently communicates with and visits member Ys and neighborhood events.