Vice President of Community Initiatives

The Vice President of Community Initiatives leads the design, execution, and continuous improvement of United Way of Greater Knoxville’s (UWGK) community impact operations. This role oversees collaborative projects, grant and contract management, data and evaluation systems, and strategic partnerships to ensure initiatives are efficient, compliant, and deliver measurable results.

The VP of Community Initiatives builds strong internal processes, fosters cross-department alignment, and supports staff in driving high-quality impact work across priority focus areas. This leader champions data-driven decision-making, promotes learning and accountability, and strengthens relationships that advance equitable outcomes for children, families, and communities.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Provide direct supervision, coaching, and performance management for staff leading UWGK’s impact initiatives in Early Care and Education, Community Schools, Healthy Communities, and Economic Mobility, data and evaluation staff, and other assigned roles.
• Model UWGK values and foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performance culture grounded in teamwork, accountability, trust, continuous learning, and service.
• Set clear expectations, establish goals, and conduct regular check-ins, performance reviews, and professional development planning for team members.
• Delegate responsibilities and empower effectively, providing mentorship and support to ensure staff have the tools, resources, and guidance needed to succeed in their roles and advance strategic impact priorities.
• Collaborate closely with People & Operations department leadership to support hiring, onboarding, training, retention, and advancement of talent within the Impact team.
• Lead team meetings and facilitate communication to ensure staff stay informed, aligned, and engaged with organizational priorities and initiatives.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
The following responsibilities reflect the core functions of the role and are considered essential to the position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list but rather a representation of the key duties required to advance UWGK’s mission. Duties may evolve based on organizational needs and community priorities.

Operational Leadership & Departmental Oversight

• Lead and manage the daily operations of UWGK’s community impact initiatives, ensuring that UWGK’s impact agenda, grant-funded projects, stakeholder convenings, and collaborative investments are executed efficiently, consistently, and in alignment with organizational goals.
• Develop and maintain internal systems, workflows, standard operating procedures, and compliance processes that support scalable, high-quality project management, program development, and capacity-building
• Align cross-departmental activities with UWGK strategic priorities and community-level outcomes, adjusting strategies based on data, learnings, and community feedback.
• Serve as an executive thought partner, ensuring that Impact strategies and processes are integrated with departments, including Finance, Advancement, and Communications.

Grant & Subcontract Management

• Oversee the lifecycle of inbound grants and subcontract agreements, including proposal development support, managing partnership agreements, compliance monitoring, performance tracking, and reporting.
• Ensure appropriate systems and infrastructure exist to manage grant documentation, deliverables, deadlines, and compliance requirements.
• Collaborate with Finance and administrative functions to track grant budgets, invoices, and reimbursement processes.

Data Evaluation & Systems Oversight

• Oversee Impact data and resource management staff to ensure effective data collection, quality assurance, analysis, and visualization of outcomes.
• Champion a culture of learning by using data insights, research, and evaluation practices to drive decision-making and continuous program improvement.
• Lead efforts to standardize shared measurement systems and processes across internal Impact teams and collaborative initiatives.

Community Partnerships & Collective Impact

• Collaborate with Impact directors, community partners, and coalitions to identify gaps, emerging needs, and strategic opportunities for greater alignment and coordination.
• Represent UWGK in local, regional, and statewide coalitions and committees, serving as a thought leader in systems-building, equity-centered impact, and cross-sector partnership strategies.
• Build and sustain strong relationships with public agencies, nonprofit partners, and funders to advance shared goals and maximize community resources.
• Partner with the Community Investments team to monitor and update UWGK’s impact agenda and to align short and long-term impacts and outcomes with outbound-grant-funded partners.

Communications & External Engagement

• Partner with Communications and Advancement staff to develop compelling storytelling, case studies, reports, and data-driven messaging that demonstrate UWGK’s impact and enhance donor and stakeholder engagement.
• Support fundraising strategies by providing impact insights, outcome data, and project and partner successes to Advancement teams.
• Ensure consistent and authentic communication of program outcomes, impact, and lessons learned across channels and audiences.
• Support strong UWGK governance, including building relationships with the Board of Directors and committee volunteers, facilitation of impact committees, and providing strategic updates and leading decision-making with the board and committees on community initiatives.

Budget & Resource Management

• Manage the Impact department budget, overseeing financial planning, resource allocation, forecasting, and spending oversight for programmatic and grant-funded activities.
• Establish, monitor, and implement processes for departmental and grant budgeting, forecasting, expense management, reporting, contract management, and performance oversight to ensure fiscal accountability and operational excellence across Impact areas.

Other duties as assigned.

Education and Experience

• A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field is required.
• Minimum of 15 years of progressive experience in nonprofits, public administration, program and systems management, including developing tools, processes, and policies to support complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives.
• Minimum 5 years of experience supervising and developing staff and leading high-performing teams.
• Experience leading complex budgets, resource allocations, and grant and contract management processes, including compliance, reporting, and performance monitoring across multiple programs or funding streams.
• Knowledge of collective impact principles, systems-change strategies, and cross-sector partnership development.
• Familiarity with the Greater Knoxville community, including local assets, needs, partners, and systems.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and experience with data platforms, outcome measurement systems, and technology-driven tools to support program operations.

Desirable, But Not Required

• A master’s degree in public administration, public health, social sciences, business, nonprofit management, or a related field.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent credential.
• Experience with Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) or similar performance and learning frameworks.
• Demonstrated training and/or experience in equitable practices, inclusive decision-making, and facilitation with diverse groups and partners.
• Demonstrated success in building or managing large-scale data and evaluation systems to measure impact and support organizational learning.

Start your journey here:

The United Way of Greater Knoxville (UWGK) is part of a global organization that directly impacts our local communities. We are committed to fostering a collaborative culture where every team member feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute. Our work is rooted in making a meaningful impact, changing lives, and embracing the strengths of our community. YOU are an essential part of making our mission a reality. Join a team of great people, collaborate on meaningful work, and serve the communities you call home while you do it.

To model equitable hiring practices, UWGK strives to provide a reasonable compensation range for this role. The determination of this range includes factors such as skill set level, experience, training, licensure, and certifications. To support merit-based performance, UWGK typically does not hire individuals at or near the top of the pay range for their role. Compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is $110,000 to $120,000 per year.

How we think:
Our human capital is our most valuable asset. The collective sum of individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities, and talent that our employees bring to their work represents a significant part of our culture, reputation, and the organization’s achievements.

When you join UWGK, you become a trusted advisor, collaborating with colleagues and community stakeholders to deliver actionable insights that drive meaningful, sustainable outcomes. In 2022, we celebrated the United Way of Greater Knoxville’s centennial year and unveiled our plans for the next 100 years.

As a Thriving United Way, we are broadening our scope to include system-level work in Community Schools, Early Education, Economic Mobility, and Health Communities. We will continue acting as a nonprofit funder and supporter, but we will also advocate on a larger scale to create lasting, systemic changes in our community.

As an equal opportunity employer, we want to empower all our teammates to succeed and grow. Please let us know if you require accommodation at any point during the recruitment process. We will be happy to assist.

Ready to become part of our mission? Join UWGK - where your ideas and actions make a difference.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their race, ethnicity, ancestry, color, sex, religion, creed, age, national origin, citizenship status, disability, pregnancy, medical condition, military and veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and gender expression, familial status, political affiliation, genetic information, or any other legally protected status or characteristics.

UWGK provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities.

UWGK offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of a background investigation. Background investigation components can vary depending on specific job criteria. UWGK will consider employment-qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in accordance with all local regulations and ordinances.

UWGK will not discharge or, in any other manner, discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with UWGK’s legal duty to furnish information.