Now Accepting Applications

Position Profile

Executive Director of the SAY Detroit Play Center

The SAY Detroit Play Center is a premier training center for young people in Detroit to improve their community, starting with themselves. Located on 14 acres at Lipke Park on the northeast side of Detroit, the Play Center is the brainchild of best-selling author Mitch Albom and made possible through a unique partnership with the City of Detroit and Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries. It features a new football field, baseball field and basketball court, as well as a recording studio, Lego Robotics room, dance room, café, and 7,000 square-foot digital learning center.

The mission of the Play Center is to develop great readers and great people, and 200 young people who come every week earned a 2.5 GPA last year, 36% higher than their peer group. The successful candidate for this position will be asked to lead the organization’s growth to help members increase their GPA to 3.0 and higher and to better prepare the organization’s high school members for college or workforce development training and experiences.

Primary Responsibilities

• Reports directly to the founder and president of SAY Detroit.
• Models the mission every day and embodies the organization’s core values of being Loving, building good Relationships, Working Hard, and doing things with Excellence.
• Ensures that all team members, partners and volunteers have what they need each day to create an environment of joy and achievement for our members.
• Develops and implements activities and programs with the director of academics to enhance the culture of the organization consistent with its mission and values.
• Manages and grows relationships with key staff at partner schools to best meet the social, emotional and academic needs of their students after school.
• Creates and manages the budget and oversees all expenditures of the center.
• Tends to the physical needs of the building and grounds to ensure that it remains in excellent condition at all times.
• Tracks attendance data and patterns to ensure that the center is running at maximum capacity every day.
• Oversees the recruitment and development of talent needed to execute the organization’s mission.
• Handles the discipline needs of members consistently and fairly through a restorative practices approach.
• Explores and creates opportunities to more actively engage and equip parents to help young people succeed.
• Creates a culture of individual accountability for results, both from the staff and also from the members served.
• Represents and shares the successes and needs of the organization and the community it serves with the larger community.

 

Skills Required

• Must be a highly motivated and self-directed leader who is solidly committed to helping the organization and its members reach their goals.
• Must possess at least a bachelor’s degree and a minimum of five years’ experience in the administration or leadership of a school or business.
• An ability to meet both the pressing needs of managing the center daily so that every member has a positive experience and also to focus on the long-term development of programs and staff to ensure that the organization and culture continues to grow.
• Extensive leadership experience in youth development in high-poverty contexts.
• Excellent communication skills to effectively hear from and reach young people and their parents, as well as staff, volunteers and funders from a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives.
• A proactive team leader with a proven “take-charge” record of accomplishment.
• A good sense of humor, intellectual depth, humility, confidence, and a desire to serve.

 

The successful candidate must be able to work from noon to 8:00 during weekdays and some Saturdays.

 

How to Apply

Those interested in this position should send a personalized cover letter explaining how their skills and experience have prepared them for this role and why it appeals to them, along with a resume, by Monday, October 22, 2018 to:

 

Mike Tenbusch

mtenbusch@sayplay.org

 

See www.sayplay.org for more information about the organization.