Director of Workforce Strategy

Position Description:     Director, Workforce Strategy
Reports To:                   President & CEO 
Organization:                OneFuture Coachella Valley
Status:                          Full-Time, Exempt (40 hours per week, with benefits)
Location:                      Hybrid – Coachella Valley, CA

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director, Workforce Strategy, advances OneFuture Coachella Valley’s vision to ensure local students succeed in college, career, and life by strengthening their pathways into meaningful, in-demand employment and engaging employers to support local students as the future workforce. As a key member of OneFuture’s senior leadership team, this role co-develops and leads the regional strategy that supports students in securing high-quality internships, work-based learning, and employment that leads to economic mobility.
 
The Senior Director provides strategic and operational leadership across OneFuture’s workforce initiatives[JT1] —beginning with healthcare as the initial sector—overseeing day-to-day implementation, systems design, and cross-sector partner alignment. Working collaboratively with internal teams, K–12 and postsecondary institutions, and employer partners, this role facilitates streamlined education to workforce systems and strong student outcomes. Through this work, the Director, Workforce Strategy contributes directly to OneFuture’s education, economic development, and community impact.
 

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

Division Leadership and Systems Management

• Develop and lead the strategy and implementation of a Workforce Transitions Unit that extends OneFuture’s college and career success programming to provide students with the support needed to successfully transition into the workforce and achieve long-term career success. 
• Serve as project lead for OneFuture’s existing pathways initiatives, including career explorations and work-based learning programming, undergraduate internships, post-secondary partnerships, and health professions pipeline projects.
• Develop and lead employer engagement strategies, conduct workforce needs assessments, and co-design effective referral and hiring strategies for local students.
• Create a student engagement and case management system that extends OneFuture’s current student support programming to workforce transitions.
• Provide overall leadership and operational oversight, ensuring coordinated implementation across applicable grants, contracts, initiatives and overall organizational strategy.
• Establish a regional talent pipeline communications strategy to inform employers of the pipeline of local students pursuing positions and ensure graduates have strong career opportunities. 
• Align key functions of Program Management, Data & Evaluation, Partnerships, and Communications with both short-term deliverables and long-term sustainability goals.
• Develop progress-to-goals tracking/reporting systems for student internship/job placement and/or other metric(s), including monthly dashboard updates and annual survey collection process.
• Develop staff structure to achieve Workforce Unit goals and desired impact; Recruit, onboard, train and manage staff.  
• Develop and maintain internal documentation and process tools (e.g., reporting cadence, partner engagement protocols, communication workflows). 

Business & Employer Partnership Development

• Build, cultivate, communicate, and manage relationships with employers to gain a comprehensive understanding of job opportunities within the Coachella Valley, strengthen the region’s talent pipeline, and advance job placement outcomes for local students.
• Build an inspiring vision for supporting local students as valuable assets to the local workforce and implement strategies that motivate partners to action.
• Convene employer-led health pathways alignment teams and OneFuture’s Healthcare Workforce Leadership Roundtable.
• Collaborate with Employer Partners to execute on skill development, networking opportunities/events and host internships and work-based learning experiences that provide purposeful career pathways for students.
• Represent OneFuture at regional and statewide convenings, industry roundtables, and employer coalition meetings, positioning the organization as a trusted workforce intermediary. 

Student Engagement

• Build supportive, trusting relationships with students and engage directly with them to understand their lived experiences, career aspirations, financial circumstances, and family responsibilities.
• Identify and help address barriers that may affect persistence, program participation, career exploration, or employment outcomes.
• Create programming and events that connect students with networking, professional development, skill building, engagement and job referral opportunities.
• Source OneFuture scholars for internships or volunteer opportunities and knowledge of ethical, legal and liability issues involved in supervising or referring students including student safety, scope of practice, documentation, confidentiality, and partnership responsibilities. 

Management

• Participate in individual annual and quarterly planning and all team events.
• Other duties as assigned. 

Brand / Sustainability

• Collaborate cross-functionally to help build the OneFuture brand.
• Represent OneFuture externally as needed.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

• Cohesive and high-performing Workforce Transitions division with clearly defined systems, roles, and workflows.
• Strong alignment between education, employer, and community partners around shared goals and data-driven decision-making.
• Streamlined evaluation and reporting processes that demonstrate measurable impact and return on investment.
• Sustainable infrastructure to support student success in the workforce, employer engagement and advance a high quality of workforce from within the student population of the Coachella Valley.

LOCATION
OneFuture requires employees in this position to reside within commuting distance of our office in Palm Desert, CA. We offer a flexible hybrid work schedule, with a combination of remote and in-person work determined by the needs of the position.
 
QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree required; Masters preferred in Business Administration, Public Administration, Education, Workforce Development, or related field.
• 5–7+ years of experience in manager or director level role in workforce development, organizational or business management, education partnerships, or complex multi-stakeholder initiatives.
• Track record of success managing complex relationships and projects
• Proven capacity to work with partners at all levels of organizations – project level, management/leadership and executive level. 
• Proven success managing operations, systems design, grant writing, contract development and reporting.  
• Exceptional organizational, strategic planning, and communication skills.
• Track record of success in program design, evaluation, data collection and analysis and data-informed program adaptation.
• Proficiency with project management and data tools (Dropbox, Airtable, Microsoft applications or similar).
• Demonstrated commitment to inclusive practices, partnership-building, and community impact.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

• Full-time, exempt position (40 hours per week) with comprehensive benefits, including:
  • Medical, dental, and vision coverage
  • Paid time off, sick leave, and holidays
  • 401K plan match and participation
  • Professional development opportunities
     
• Competitive salary commensurate with experience.

To be considered, application must include a cover letter describing your interest in the position, specific qualifications that match the above requirements and resume.
 
Email complete packet in PDF or Word Format to: Jacqui@OneFutureCV.org

No phone calls please.