Guided by our shared values of caring, health, honesty, inclusiveness, respect, advocacy, and responsibility, the YMCA offers meaningful roles where your work is felt every day. If you’re ready to bring energy and care to a team that keeps moving forward, you’ll find purpose here.
Nature and Scope: The General Manager, Social Impact provides strategic leadership for YMCA of Niagara’s Social Impact portfolio, advancing the Association’s commitment to building potential, strengthening communities, and creating opportunities for people to thrive. The portfolio develops and delivers responsive programs and initiatives that strengthen well-being, social connection, life stability and participation in community life. The General Manager is accountable for identifying opportunities where the YMCA can create meaningful community impact and leading the development, planning and execution of sustainable, funded and measurable programs and services in response to those opportunities. A defining responsibility of the role is the ability to mobilize quickly and execute effectively. Establishing new programs within compressed timelines, assembling highly competent teams, activating partnerships, and putting the infrastructure and systems in place to meet funding, contractual, financial and service-delivery commitments from the outset. Working collaboratively across the Association and with community partners, the General Manager strengthens connections between programs, services and resources to reduce barriers, create pathways to greater opportunity, and advance more coordinated responses to community priorities. Through diverse funding streams and effective stewardship of YMCA resources, the portfolio will continue to evolve in response to YMCA strategic priorities, community conditions and opportunities for investment. Given the senior nature of the position, the scope of responsibility is broad and will evolve in response to organizational priorities, community needs, funding opportunities, and emerging service requirements.
Responsibilities: Strategic Leadership & Community Impact • Translate YMCA of Niagara’s strategic priorities into a focused Community Impact strategy and portfolio. • Identify opportunities where YMCA of Niagara is positioned to create meaningful and measurable community impact. • Use community trends, evidence, participant experience, program performance and partner knowledge to inform program development and investment decisions. • Lead the development, planning, implementation and evolution of programs and services that strengthen well-being, social connection, life stability and access to opportunity. • Establish measurable outcomes and use results to strengthen, scale, redesign, transition or conclude programs and services. • Ensure Community Impact initiatives complement other YMCA service areas and create pathways to further opportunity. Funding Development, Program Design & Mobilization • Proactively identify and pursue government, foundation, philanthropic, corporate and other funding opportunities aligned with the Community Impact mandate and YMCA strategic priorities. • Lead the development of funding applications, proposals, service models and implementation plans, leveraging the expertise and support of the Philanthropy team and other Association resources. • Assess opportunities for strategic alignment, impact, operational feasibility, financial sustainability and organizational risk. • Rapidly mobilize successful funding opportunities, moving from approval to operational delivery within required timelines. • Establish the people, partnerships, systems and infrastructure required for successful program launch. • Maintain an active pipeline of funding and program development opportunities to support the growth and evolution of the portfolio. Operational Excellence & Performance • Provide leadership and oversight to Community Impact programs, leaders and teams. • Ensure programs achieve contractual obligations, service targets, financial parameters, quality standards and participant outcomes. • Maintain rigorous oversight of performance and identify operational, financial or contractual risks early, taking timely corrective action. • Ensure compliance with YMCA policies, funding agreements, legislative requirements and applicable standards. • Maintain effective quality assurance, evaluation and reporting practices that support continuous improvement and funder accountability. Community Partnerships & Collective Impact • Build strategic partnerships that strengthen collective responses to community challenges. • Work with partners to align expertise, resources and services, reduce fragmentation and strengthen coordination. • Create intentional pathways between Community Impact initiatives and other YMCA and community programs and services. • Advance opportunities that support participants to build the stability, readiness and capacity to successfully transition to education, employment, health, recreation and other specialized services. • Leverage partnerships to evolve service models, strengthen investment and increase collective community impact. • Represent YMCA of Niagara on relevant community planning tables, advisory committees, sector networks and collaborative initiatives. Government, Funder & Stakeholder Relations • Develop and maintain strong relationships with municipal, regional, provincial and federal governments, foundations, funders, educational institutions, public agencies and community organizations. • Monitor government priorities, policy directions, funding trends and emerging opportunities relevant to the Community Impact mandate. • Build confidence in YMCA of Niagara through strong relationships, accountability and demonstrated performance. • Represent the YMCA of Niagara in funding, service-planning and partnership discussions as assigned. • Collaborate with the Chief Operations Officer and other YMCA leaders to advance organizational priorities and strategic relationships. Financial Management & Stewardship • Develop and manage divisional budgets, forecasts and financial plans. • Ensure responsible stewardship of YMCA resources and compliance with funding and contractual requirements. • Monitor financial performance and address variances and risks promptly. • Work collaboratively with Chief Operations Officer and Finance to ensure accurate reporting, funding accountability, audit readiness and compliance. • Assess program sustainability and financial viability and recommend adjustments as required. People Leadership • Build and mobilize highly competent teams capable of rapidly establishing and delivering programs within defined funding and performance requirements. • Recruit, develop, coach and evaluate leaders and staff throughout the portfolio. • Establish clear expectations and hold leaders accountable for performance and results. • Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, urgency and continuous improvement. • Support succession planning, leadership development and workforce planning. • Promote employee engagement and alignment with YMCA values and strategic priorities. • Other duties related to the role as assigned.
Core Competencies: Strategic Leadership Translates organizational priorities into focused portfolio direction and measurable action. Community Impact & Program Development Identifies opportunities for meaningful impact and develops responsive programs and service models. Funding Development & Stewardship Identifies and secures funding opportunities and demonstrates strong stewardship of resources entrusted to the YMCA. Execution & Mobilization Moves effectively from opportunity to implementation within demanding timelines. Results Orientation & Performance Management Establishes clear expectations, monitors performance and takes timely action to achieve results. Partnership Development & Collaboration Builds trusted relationships and leverages collective expertise and resources to strengthen community outcomes. Financial Management Demonstrates sound financial judgment, budget management and accountability within complex funding environments. People Leadership & Development Builds high-performing teams, develops leaders and creates a culture of accountability and continuous learning. Innovation & Change Leadership Leads effectively through ambiguity, growth, program start-up and changing community and funding environments. Communication & Influence Communicates effectively and builds commitment with staff, partners, funders and stakeholders. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Values and promotes diverse perspectives and inclusive practices that strengthen YMCA teams, programs and communities.
