Director, Success By 6

Why Choose United Way Central Florida?

Imagine going home each day with the satisfaction of knowing you’ve made a lasting difference in the lives of children and families. At United Way Central Florida (UWCF), our team is mission-driven by a deep commitment to strengthening our community through education, support, and meaningful connections that help children thrive from the very beginning.

Together, we work in a collaborative environment where relationships matter, innovation is welcomed, and every role contributes to creating brighter futures. Our culture is one of support, shared purpose, and continuous growth -- where your leadership is valued, your voice matters, and your impact can be seen across our community.

If you are a people-centered leader passionate about early childhood success, operational excellence, and building strong teams, we invite you to consider joining our organization.

Position Overview

The Director, Success By 6 is a strategic and operational leader responsible for overseeing United Way Central Florida’s portfolio of early childhood initiatives designed to support school readiness, healthy development, and family success from birth through the early elementary years. Reporting to the Chief Impact Officer, this role provides leadership for program operations, team performance, community partnerships, and service delivery across the Success By 6 continuum.

This position leads The Carol Jenkins Barnett UW Children’s Resource Center (CRC) and related early childhood programming, ensuring programs operate effectively, meet measurable outcomes, and consistently deliver high-quality services to children and families throughout Polk County. The Director serves as a visible ambassador for UWCF’s early childhood work -- building partnerships, supporting staff development, stewarding resources, and advancing outcomes that strengthen families and prepare children for lifelong success.

This role offers meaningful leadership for someone who enjoys developing people, strengthening systems, cultivating community partnerships, and ensuring mission-driven programs achieve measurable impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee UWCF’s Success By 6 portfolio, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities, operational excellence, compliance, and consistent delivery of high-quality early childhood, family engagement, and support programs.
• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the Children’s Resource Center (CRC), including oversight of early learning initiatives, family support services, parent education programs, supervised visitation services, and facility operations.
• Oversee the Parent Lending Library, Born Learning, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL), supervised visitation programming, and other early childhood initiatives, ensuring effective planning, implementation, evaluation, continuous improvement, and meaningful community impact.
• Represent UWCF through community meetings, partnerships, volunteer engagement opportunities, collaborative initiatives, and events that strengthen visibility, advance mission-driven outcomes, and support broader Community Impact strategies.
• Develop and deliver presentations, program information, and community outreach efforts to cultivate partnerships, increase awareness of Success By 6 initiatives, support sponsorship opportunities, and strengthen family and community engagement.
• Supervise, coach, and develop multidisciplinary teams -- including managers, coordinators, Master Teachers, and visitation staff -- fostering accountability, engagement, professional growth, and high performance.
• Monitor program outcomes, analyze performance metrics, maintain compliance with funding and program requirements, and implement improvements that strengthen quality, effectiveness, and measurable impact.
• Build and sustain collaborative relationships with school districts, early learning providers, families, community organizations, and stakeholders to strengthen coordination, expand access to resources, and advance early childhood success across Polk County.
• Manage program budgets and resources while partnering with Resource Development and Marketing teams to support grant reporting, donor engagement, storytelling, and accurate representation of program outcomes and community impact.

What We’re Looking For

Skills & Qualifications

• Strong people leadership skills with demonstrated ability to supervise, coach, and develop high-performing teams.
• Exceptional organizational and operational management abilities with experience overseeing multiple programs and priorities simultaneously.
• Ability to analyze performance metrics, drive accountability, and implement improvements that strengthen outcomes and service delivery.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills with the ability to engage effectively with families, staff, volunteers, community partners, and stakeholders.
• Collaborative leadership style combined with a commitment to quality, consistency, and mission-driven work.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and program reporting systems.
• Ability to work both strategically and operationally in a fast-paced nonprofit environment.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Bachelor’s degree in education, early childhood development, nonprofit management, public administration, social work, or related field required; Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum 5+ years of progressive experience in early childhood programming, nonprofit operations, community-based services, or related fields with demonstrated leadership responsibility.
• Experience supervising teams required; experience with grant-funded programming and compliance strongly preferred.
• A thoughtful and dependable leader who values operational excellence, collaboration, accountability, and strong outcomes for children and families.

Work Schedule & Travel Expectations

This role requires regular onsite presence at the Children’s Resource Center in Lakeland, Florida, along with engagement throughout the community. Occasional early mornings, evenings, or community events may be required to support partnerships, programming, and organizational priorities.

Compensation & Benefits

This position offers a starting salary range of $70,000 – $82,000 annually, commensurate with experience and qualifications, along with a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, paid time off, holidays, retirement savings, and professional development opportunities.

Disaster Response

Every United Way Central Florida employee is considered a disaster response worker and may be expected to support emergency response efforts when community Emergency Support Functions (ESF) are activated, after ensuring personal and family safety.

Inclusion at UWCF

We are an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and welcome all qualified applicants. UWCF is a drug-free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.

Ready to Make an Impact?

If you are a passionate leader committed to strengthening early childhood outcomes, supporting families, and creating lasting community impact, we encourage you to apply.

Submit your resume to hr@uwcf.org and take the next step in advancing your career while helping children and families thrive across Central Florida.