Senior Programs Director

JOB TITLE: Senior Programs Director

REPORTS TO: Executive Director

EMPLOYMENT TERM: Full-Time/Permanent

DESIRED START DATE: August 1st, 2025

Groundwork Milwaukee seeks a Senior Programs Director to lead the organization’s resident-led land transformation initiatives. The Director’s primary role is to spearhead resident organizing and community power-building to implement neighborhood open-space development goals. This role includes operational and staff leadership of the Climate Safe Neighborhoods Partnership, Milwaukee Grows Garden Network, and Green Team (Youth) programs. The Director will be responsible for designing and implementing a community engagement strategy to cultivate partnerships with residents, community organizations, and municipal stakeholders and will play a leadership role on local coalitions, steering committees, and working groups.

The mission of Groundwork Milwaukee is to bring about the sustained regeneration, improvement, and management of the physical environment by developing community-based partnerships that empower people, businesses, and organizations to promote environmental, economic, and social well-being.

The Senior Programs Director’s core functions include:

• Community building and organizing: working closely with residents, community-based organizations, government, faith leaders, educators, and businesses to empower community members to become impactful advocates for social, environmental, and climate justice.
• Community Program Development, Implementation, and Reporting: supporting and managing the Milwaukee Grows Organizer, volunteers, and stakeholders to design and implement open-space development projects, tree planting, long-term maintenance strategies, and lead data collection efforts.
• Organizational Leadership: as part of the leadership team, develop aligned administrative and program operations.

Responsibilities include:

CLIMATE SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS

• Works closely with our partners at Groundwork USA to develop and implement the timeline, partners, goals, and milestones needed to build an organizing campaign out of the Metcalfe Park community visioning process.
• Manages staff to lead data collection and mapping to be used as a tool for storytelling and community engagement.
• Establishes and trains paid resident and youth groups to develop a neighborhood Climate Adaptation Plan.
• Manages staff to facilitate youth-led installation and stewardship of demonstration projects.
• Facilitates resident leaders to co-develop and implement a strategy to build multi-partner coalitions to advocate for systemic changes to achieve their vision.
• Creates new partnerships across diverse stakeholders, including resident groups, community organizations, businesses, and local government, to build trust and facilitate meaningful resident engagement in local decision-making and regional planning processes.
• Participates in Climate Safe Neighborhoods Great Lakes Regional Cohort meetings and activities.
• Tracks and reports on grant activities.

MILWAUKEE GROWS GARDEN NETWORK

• Provides leadership for a 100+ member network of community gardens in the city of Milwaukee, including positive relationship building with garden leaders and departments within the City of Milwaukee that support the delivery of community garden programming.
• Develops and reinforces clear expectations for member gardens and Groundwork Milwaukee.
• Ensures all Milwaukee Grows member gardens complete yearly paperwork with Groundwork Milwaukee and City of Milwaukee departments, if necessary.
• Develops a model for delivery and implementation of a cohort learning and leading model. Cohorts include:
  • Tree Care
  • Garden Maintenance
  • Food production and preservation
  • Garden Leader Council.
• Manages and supports the Milwaukee Grows Organizer.
• Plans and coordinates planting up to 50 trees in Fall 2025.
• Communicates and partners with Groundwork USA Urban Forestry staff.
• Ensures high-quality preparation for the delivery of Milwaukee Grows programming, communications, and volunteer engagement.

GREEN TEAM

• Leads the planning for the relaunch of Green Team youth programming for the summer of 2026.
• Collaborates with Groundwork USA staff and Groundwork affiliates to understand the opportunities and resources available to implement high-quality youth programming.
• Serves as Groundwork Milwaukee’s representative to the Environmental Youth Collaborative.

TEAM LEADERSHIP.

• Closely collaborates with the Executive Director to ensure program operations, fundraising strategy, and organizational development are in alignment.
• Collaboratively sets clear goals and objectives for staff and the team to reach.
• Provides clear, collaborative, and actionable feedback to staff.
• Supports the strategic planning and budgeting process.
• Attends Quarterly board meetings to provide program updates to the board of directors.
• Establishes and manages meticulous project management protocols, ensures adherence to federal and other grant guidelines, and tracks project outcomes.
• Implements processes for organizing and empowering residents to join, participate, learn, act, and eventually lead projects they identify that increase climate resilience in their communities, including but not limited to tree planting and tree maintenance.
• Coordinates the creation of community-led open-space development programs and structures that equitably identify locations in Milwaukee that would benefit the most from ecological developments, reviews planting planning and logistics, and develops opportunities for long-term community stewardship and maintenance.
• Develops and leads the delivery of capacity-building programs for residents and community stakeholders, with an emphasis on train-the-trainer approaches.
• Leads and coaches a team of two, including a Community Programs Manager and Land Stewardship Manager, to manage program activities, relationships, and responsibilities.
• Leads data collection and management efforts, in close partnership with the Executive Director as well as the Community Programs Manager and Land Stewardship Manager.
• Collaborates with the Executive Director on program strategy and organizational direction.

Required Qualifications:

The Community Programs Director should exhibit the following core competencies:

• Must share a passion for Groundwork Milwaukee’s values and vision, including social justice, environmental justice, and community-driven solutions.
• At least five years of leadership experience, mobilizing communities or teams to accomplish shared goals.
• At least three years of experience in neighborhood organizing, climate activism, local advocacy, or educational programming with an emphasis on engaging diverse audiences.
• Experience implementing meaningful and equitable community engagement in frontline communities.
• Excellent coaching, relationship-building, and conflict mediation skills with an ability to prioritize, collaborate, and build consensus with a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including presenting and facilitating conversations with residents.
• Strong ability to navigate workplace software and digital platforms.
• Strong research, project management, and organizational skills, with the ability to independently follow through on assignments and meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated skill and experience in problem-solving in organizational settings.
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple complex projects.

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience living and working in or near the neighborhoods Groundwork Milwaukee serves.
• Experience managing programs and partnerships with 50-200 diverse stakeholders.
• Experience in urban forestry, city planning, urban ecology, green infrastructure, brownfield development, education, or related environmental fields.
• Experience developing learning cohorts with a focus on advancing member-led decision-making and member-led contributions of time and talent.
• Experience working in or with nonprofit organizations, neighborhood associations, or various advocacy groups.
• Experience or familiarity with the use of geospatial analysis to make data-informed land use decisions and lead equity-centered conversations.
• Experience managing budgets.
• Experience managing federal grants.
• Exploring issues of food sovereignty, community development, green infrastructure, civic engagement, climate resilience, and environmental justice.

Work Location and Hours:

Groundwork Milwaukee encourages staff to work with their supervisor to negotiate work location, life balance, and a schedule that aligns best with them. Currently, employees work remotely and are given a stipend to support home office infrastructure. During the year, the Senior Programs Director will be expected to attend events and meetings at locations throughout the city of Milwaukee. During the spring and summer, the Senior Programs Director can expect to work outdoors for 6-20 hours a week. Additionally, the Director will be asked to work around 10 Saturdays and 10 evenings during the year to best reach neighbors during their out-of-work hours. Typical hours are between 9 am and 5 pm, with staff expected to work 40 hours per week.

Compensation and Benefits:

• The expected starting salary range for this full-time position is $63,000-$65,000/yr.
• Paid Time Off
  • 12 Holidays
  • 160 Hours Vacation
  • 40 hours Personal Time
• Benefits
  • Groundwork Milwaukee does not offer medical benefits.
  • Salaries are calculated to offer a higher base pay that allows employees to make decisions on how best to spend their salary on benefits.