Senior Director of Community Education

Position Overview
El Puente seeks a Senior Director of Community Education with deep understanding of critical pedagogy, political and popular education to design culturally responsive program content aligned with El Puente’s history, values, and strategic priorities. The Senior Director of Community Education will develop programmatic content to foster critical thinking, leadership skills, organizing capacity, and civic engagement among youth participants and community leaders. This work will help institutionalize and advance the practices, methodologies, and strategies of political and popular education necessary to advance youth-led justice, democratic participation, and community transformation.

This role will also support the training and mentoring of entry-level staff and youth workers providing direct services across El Puente’s youth development and civic engagement programs. The ideal candidate is an experienced educator and program leader who understands that community education is a tool for collective empowerment, social analysis, healing, and action.

Key Responsibilities
Political and Popular Education & Curriculum Leadership
Lead the integration of popular education principles and practices across all youth programs, including participatory learning, dialogue, reflection and collective analysis that help young people analyze systems of oppression, build critical consciousness, and develop strategies for collective action.
Develop culturally responsive curricula that build critical consciousness around issues such as racial justice, environmental justice, immigration, public health, housing, education equity, and civic participation.
Design and lead content and educational initiatives grounded in critical pedagogy, participatory/project-based learning, and youth-led inquiry.
Develop facilitation guides and training materials that are culturally responsive and aligned with positive youth development principles.
Collaborate across the senior leadership or the organization to create youth leadership pathways that strengthen youth voice, organizing skills, public speaking, facilitation, advocacy, and civic participation.
Integrate El Puente’s core values of social and environmental justice, arts and cultural affirmation, and community wellness into all program activities.
Ensure content honors community knowledge, multilingualism, intergenerational learning, and the cultural traditions of diverse communities.

Staff Supervision, Training & Capacity Building

Support Program Directors and staff in the implementation and management of projects.
Train, coach and support entry-level staff, youth workers, and Program Directors to implement curriculum.
Foster the creation of learning spaces that foster identity development, creativity, and collective leadership.
Provide ongoing professional development and feedback culturally sustaining and anti-racist practices, facilitation, classroom management, popular education, and community organizing.
Monitor program quality through observation, feedback loops, reflective practice, and data analysis.
Provide regular reflective performance feedback and professional development planning.
Design and deliver staff trainings on:
Popular and political education methodology
Group facilitation
Youth safety and safeguarding
Anti-racist and culturally sustaining practices
Community organizing and civic engagement
Build a collaborative learning culture that promotes accountability, growth, and shared leadership.

Community & Organizational Leadership

Represent El Puente in community coalitions, conferences, trainings, and public events.
Collaborate across organizational departments to align youth development, arts, environmental justice, education, and community organizing strategies.
Contribute to strategic planning, grant development, reporting, and organizational learning efforts.

Evaluation & Learning

Develop participatory evaluation processes that center youth and community voice.
Collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data related to leadership development, civic engagement, educational outcomes, and community impact.
Produce reports, case studies, and presentations that communicate program outcomes and lessons learned.
Use data and reflective practice to strengthen program effectiveness and advance organizational learning.

Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Education, Youth Development, Social Work, Community Organizing/Development, Sociology, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred) or deep, progressive experience in developing and facilitating programs in youth development, community education, popular education, or social justice.
Strong knowledge of popular education, critical pedagogy, participatory action research, restorative practices, and positive youth development frameworks.
Experience facilitating leadership development programs for adolescents and young adults, particularly Black, Latinx, immigrant, and other historically marginalized communities.
3+ years of staff supervision and training experience, including mentoring entry-level staff.
Excellent facilitation, curriculum development, and group process skills.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to work evenings and occasional weekends.

Strongly Preferred

Bilingual English/Spanish proficiency.
Familiarity with Brooklyn communities and New York City youth-serving systems.
Experience managing program budgets and contributing to grant proposals and reports.