Jobs With the YMCA Healthy Living Initiative - Chicago & Washington, D.C.

Please find below four postings for six positions at Y-USA in the Healthy Living department. The Health Partnerships and Policy position and one of the Senior Manager State Advocacy positions are
located in Washington, DC; the others will be based in Chicago. The closing dates vary, with the earliest deadline on Jan. 31. Apply via ymca.net.


Job Title:  Specialist, Healthy Living (Early Childhood                                  Grade: E
                                and Afterschool Programs) 
          
Department:  Healthy Living                                             Date:  1/13 
FLSA Type: Exempt                                  Reports to:  Senior Director, Organizational and                                         
Community Change  
EEO Job Category: Professionals                             Leadership Level: Team Leader 
    
GENERAL FUNCTIONS 
The Specialist, Healthy Living (Early Childhood and Afterschool Programs) will be 
responsible for organizing and advancing Y-USA’s efforts to support local Ys and their 
communities in adopting the Y's Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (HEPA) Standards for 
Early Childhood and Afterschool Programs so that the Y becomes the nation’s healthiest 
provider.  This position will facilitate a national implementation team that will introduce 
innovative approaches and methodologies to local Y staff that have the potential to 
substantially advance and reduce barriers to promoting health and well-being for up to 
700,000 children and their families across the nation.  The implementation of these 
standards is part of a commitment the Y made to First Lady Michelle Obama and the 
Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) in November 2011, as part of its efforts to help 
curb childhood obesity. 
This position is funded by a variety of grants and is contingent upon funding being annually 
secured.    
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES 
• Bachelor’s degree is required. A degree in Education, Child Development, Early 
Childhood Education, Public Health, or Organizational Development is preferred    
• Minimum 3-5 years of experience managing projects with quantifiable metrics and strict 
deadlines among multiple stakeholders who are outside of employee’s span of control is 
required 
• Experience with the Y or comparable organization, in the area of early childhood and 
afterschool programs, is required 
• Must possess experience in providing technical assistance to a range of organizational 
leaders and designing and delivering virtual and in-person trainings based on adult 
learning principles  
• Must be able to travel up to 20% of the time  
• Must possess superior verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills and 
presentation skills 
• Must possess strong listening, coaching and counseling skills 
• Ability to follow directions and translate strategies into the execution of objectives 
and/or the influencing of others to achieve objectives  
• Ability to collaborate, build partnerships, and inspire individuals within all levels of an 
organization to advance a common cause and various strategic goals 
• Ability to multi-task and manage complex systems with superior technical and project 
management skills  
• Must possess excellent analytical and problem-solving skills Knowledge of community/organizational change methodologies as well as early 
childhood and out-of-school-time program and policy development and implementation 
is preferred  
• Requires a commitment to the YMCA character development values of caring, honesty, 
respect and responsibility 
CORE COMPETENCIES  
• Values.  Demonstrates in word and action the Y’s core values of caring, honesty, 
respect, and responsibility and a commitment to the Y’s mission, in all matters at all 
times.
• Inclusion.  Values all people for their unique talents, and takes an active role in 
promoting practices that support diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence.
• Relationships.  Builds authentic relationships in the service of enhancing individual and 
team performance to support the Y's work.
• Communication.  Listens and expresses self effectively and in a manner that reflects a 
true understanding of the needs of the audience.
• Quality Results.  Demonstrates and fosters a strong commitment to achieving goals in 
a manner that provides quality experiences.
• Change Capacity.  Leads self and others through change by navigating ambiguity 
appropriately and adapting well to new situations, obstacles, and opportunities.
• Emotional Maturity.  Demonstrates effective interpersonal skills.
• Self-Development.  Is dedicated to the improvement of own capabilities and 
demonstrates this through the continual expansion of knowledge and skills. 
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS  
• Support aspects of the recruitment of Ys into adopting the HEPA standards, within Y-USA 
through inspiring other departments to incorporate the standards within their work with 
local Ys 
• Coordinate the development and alignment of trainings, materials, and other resources 
to enable local Y and community leaders to successfully adopt and implement the HEPA 
standards 
• Ensure that the HEPA standards and associated trainings, materials and other resources 
are communicated to multiple stakeholders in ways that create demand among Ys to 
adopt and implement the HEPA standards 
• Develop and execute a technical assistance plan to support Y’s in adopting and 
implementing the HEPA standards, including, but not limited to: counseling Ys on leading 
practices in the field and connecting similarly-situated Ys to one another 
• Develop quarterly recommendations of appropriate strategies for supporting local Y staff 
and community leaders in adopting and implementing the Y's HEPA Standards for Early 
Childhood and Afterschool Programs based on the capture of key lessons learned from a 
network of local Y and Y-USA contacts 
• Execute and monitor an evaluation plan to ensure that outcomes are being tracked and 
met 
• Work with Y-USA Financial Development to develop and execute RFPs for local Y grant 
recipients;  track progress of recipients and conduct final reports  
• Develop and execute a content plan for a designated extranet site (Exchange) site to 
further knowledge sharing in line with knowledge management governance policies 
• Develop, execute and continually update a project plan that is used to facilitate the 
accomplishment of an implementation team’s milestones that meet the requirements of 
the initiative and ensure the delivery of the highest quality support to local Ys and their 
partners 
• Perform other duties as assigned by Senior Director, Organizational and Community 
Change FFECT ON END RESULTS/STRATEGIC IMPACT 
This position is essential for organizing and advancing efforts to enable the Y Movement to 
deliver on its commitment to the Partnership for Healthier America to become the nation’s 
healthiest provider of afterschool and early childcare programs.   

##


Job Title:  Manager, Healthy Living                 Grade:  F 
Department:  Healthy Living                                   Date:  1/13 
FLSA Type: Exempt                                 Reports to:  Senior Director, Organizational and                                         
Community Change  
EEO Job Category: First Mid-Level Officials & Managers Leadership Level: Multi-Team Leader  
    
GENERAL FUNCTIONS 
The Manager, Healthy Living will be responsible for managing and advancing Y-USA’s efforts 
to support local Ys and their partners in improving the health and well-being of communities 
and states across the nation.  This position will build on the Y’s Healthier Communities 
Initiative model, which has introduced innovative policy, systems and environmental 
approaches at the community and state levels to reverse alarming trends in chronic disease 
rates (such as childhood obesity) and improve health equity.  Through a series of trainings, 
peer learning engagements, and regular support, this position and direct reports will help 
local communities create awareness about, provide opportunities for, and remove barriers 
to healthy living. In addition, this position along with their direct reports will work 
collaboratively with others across the Y network to advance cutting edge national priorities 
to ensure the Y continues to be a leading nonprofit for improving America’s health.  
This position will also manage a portfolio of grants from foundation, corporate and federal 
donors.  This position will be responsible for the achievement of the deliverables within the 
grant and report to the funder. 
This position is funded by a variety of grants and is contingent upon funding being annually 
secured.    
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES 
• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.  Concentration in Public Policy, 
Public Health, Organizational Development, or a similar field preferred 
• Minimum 5 years of experience working in a YMCA or similar organization to implement 
significant health priorities through organizational, community and/or state-level change 
strategies  
• Minimum 2 years of experience supervising a team of people is required 
• Minimum 2 years of experience managing a budget is required 
• Minimum 5 years of experience building strong relationships effectively among a wide 
variety of stakeholders (physicians, public health officials, employers, payers, health 
seekers, and community based organizations) to advance a common cause is strongly 
preferred  
• Ability to travel 40% of the time 
• Project management experience with a demonstrated ability to develop and execute 
project plans from concept to implementation required 
• Must possess excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills 
• Experience in writing and/or managing a grant is strongly preferred 
• Must have experience with public speaking to groups of 50 or more  
• Must have advanced computer skills, particularly in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and online survey instruments  
• Knowledge of both community/organizational change methodologies and policy program 
development and implementation is required  
• Knowledge of marketing, communications and program evaluation processes are 
required 
• Understanding of healthy lifestyle challenges faced by individuals, and families in 
diverse, underserved communities is required  
• Must be familiar with culturally adaptive practices and working with diverse constituents  
• Must possess a solid understanding of health equity and social determinants of health  
• Ability to work independently, as well as within a team  
• Must possess the ability to perform under pressure, attention to detail, multi-task, and 
meet deadlines 
• Ability to influence others to achieve objectives  
• Must have the ability to organize, analyze and synthesize data, using this information in 
to inform work  
• Must have the ability to interact with the full range of YMCA and community leaders in a 
manner that is sensitive to community and organizational dynamics  
• Must have the ability to listen, coach, and counsel individuals in ways that facilitate their 
own problem solving  
• Must have knowledge of population-wide approaches to policy, system and 
environmental change strategies that positively impact health of communities and states 
• Requires a commitment to the YMCA character development values of caring, honesty, 
respect and responsibility 
CORE COMPETENCIES  
• Values.  Demonstrates in word and action the Y’s core values of caring, honesty, 
respect, and responsibility and a commitment to the Y’s mission, in all matters at all 
times.
• Inclusion.  Values all people for their unique talents, and takes an active role in 
promoting practices that support diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence.
• Relationships.  Builds authentic relationships in the service of enhancing individual and 
team performance to support the Y's work.
• Communication.  Listens and expresses self effectively and in a manner that reflects a 
true understanding of the needs of the audience.
• Developing Others.  Recognizes and acts on the need to continually develop others' 
capabilities to attain the highest level of performance possible.
• Project Management.  Supports goal attainment by prioritizing activities, assigning 
responsibilities in accordance with capabilities, monitoring progress, and evaluating 
impact.
• Decision Making.  Integrates logic, intuition and sound judgment to analyze 
information to identify greatest opportunities, make sound decisions, and solve 
problems.
• Change Capacity.  Leads self and others through change by navigating ambiguity 
appropriately and adapting well to new situations, obstacles, and opportunities.
• Emotional Maturity.  Demonstrates effective interpersonal skills.
• Quality Results.  Demonstrates and fosters a strong commitment to achieving goals in 
a manner that provides quality experiences.  ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS  
• Supervise staff (which may include full-time and part-time staff, consultants, interns, 
etc.) to deliver the highest quality support to local Ys and their partners  
• Develop, execute and continually update a project plan to ensure all aspects of 
innovation, implementation, and dissemination are met for each initiative the Manager 
has primary responsibility for  
• Coordinate and effectively work with partners, including governmental and private nonprofit or for-profit organizations, local YMCA’s, academic institutions, foundations, and 
other individuals or organizations that are supportive of Y-USA’s mission, goals and 
objectives   
• Assist in the development of an annual budget and manage resources to the budget  
• Direct the collection, development and dissemination of stories and other 
communications from/to various stakeholders using different knowledge sharing and 
media platforms for each initiative the Manager has primary responsibility for  
• Direct the collection, analysis and reporting of data and evaluations from/to various 
stakeholders for each initiative the Manager has primary responsibility for  
• Advise and support Y and community leaders through the delivery and creation of 
various technical assistance strategies, tools and learning experiences 
• Support Senior Director in fundraising/grant efforts that ensure sustainability and 
growth of Organizational and Community change initiatives  
• Perform other duties as assigned by Senior Director, Organizational and Community 
Change 
EFFECT ON END RESULTS/STRATEGIC IMPACT 
This position is essential to strengthening local Y’s ability to develop and implement specific 
policy, system and environmental improvement strategies that will lead to healthier, more 
equitable communities and states across the nation.

##


Job Title: Senior Manager, State Advocacy                     Grade: F
Department: Government Relations and Policy                Date: 01/13
FLSA Type: Exempt                  Reports to: Director, State Relations
EEO Job Category: Professionals       Leadership Level: Multi-Team/Branch Leader
GENERAL FUNCTIONS
The Senior Manager, State Advocacy provides government relations and public policy 
support and consulting services to local YMCAs and YMCA State Alliances. The 
primary function of the position is focused on increasing YMCA’s and state alliances’ 
capacity to proactively influence local and state policy in the areas of youth 
development, healthy living and social responsibility. This position supports Y-USA’s 
national legislative priorities and the objectives of Y-USA’s strategic plan.
A portion of this position is supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson 
Foundation. Funding is secure until 12/2014, with the possibility of being extended 
thereafter.  This position is located in a Y office.  Options include the Government 
Relations and Policy office (Washington, DC), Y-USA Headquarters (Chicago), or in a 
State Alliance or other Y office. This position also requires significant travel and will 
serve a region of YMCA State Alliances (approximately 20). 
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
 Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred
 Minimum 7 years of direct policy or advocacy experience working as a lobbyist or 
in a position with state government or state legislatures
 Ability to travel between 25% to 50% of time
 Experience working with high-level government/elected officials and community 
leaders is required
 Knowledge of political processes and the role of effective advocacy
 Knowledge of legislative issues that affect the nonprofit sector related to healthy 
living and youth development issues is preferred
 Must possess excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills
 Excellent public speaking and conducting group training skills
 Strong organizational skills 
 Must possess the ability to effectively manage complex tasks and schedules
 Intermediate skills in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint) and computers
 Must possess initiative and strategic thinking
 Ability to work as part of a team 
 Requires a commitment to the YMCA character development values of caring, 
honesty, respect  and responsibility
CORE COMPETENCIES
 Values.  Demonstrates in word and action the Y’s core values of caring, honesty, 
respect, and responsibility and a commitment to the Y’s mission, in all matters at 
all times.
 Inclusion.  Values all people for their unique talents, and takes an active role in 
promoting practices that support diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence. Relationships.  Builds authentic relationships in the service of enhancing 
individual and team performance to support the Y's work.
 Communication.  Listens and expresses self effectively and in a manner that 
reflects a true understanding of the needs of the audience.
 Developing Others.  Recognizes and acts on the need to continually develop 
others' capabilities to attain the highest level of performance possible.
 Project Management.  Supports goal attainment by prioritizing activities, 
assigning responsibilities in accordance with capabilities, monitoring progress,
and evaluating impact.
 Decision Making.  Integrates logic, intuition and sound judgment to analyze 
information to identify greatest opportunities, make sound decisions, and solve 
problems.
 Change Capacity.  Leads self and others through change by navigating 
ambiguity appropriately and adapting well to new situations, obstacles, and 
opportunities.
 Emotional Maturity.  Demonstrates effective interpersonal skills.
 Quality Results.  Demonstrates and fosters a strong commitment to achieving 
goals in a manner that provides quality experiences. 
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
 Builds, strengthens and supports YMCA advocacy networks, proactively working 
with YMCA State Alliance leadership to increase their government relations 
capacity to advance the YMCA mission 
 Guides YMCA State Alliances in a wide-range of state alliance advocacy best 
Practices and strategies which include, but are not limited to: developing 
statewide legislative priorities, management of state lobbyists, supporting 
strategic collaborations and coalitions
 Provides proactive, expert legislative assistance and consulting to state alliances 
and local associations in resolving state and local legislative and regulatory issues, 
including tax/mission challenges
 Builds positive, effective working relationships with YMCA State Alliance 
leadership (includes Y staff, Y CEOs, contract lobbyist and Y-USA colleagues.) 
Establish clear, consistent, and frequent two-way communication.
 Develops trainings, tools and resources to support state alliances and local 
associations in implementing effective government relations activities in their 
states and communities
 Participates and assists in planning agendas for state alliance meetings, state 
advocacy days and regional meetings and conferences and serve as a speaker, 
trainer and resource
 Helps identify state policy trends, key issues and potential initiatives and share 
model practices with YMCA advocates nationwide
 Builds, strengthen and activates grassroots networks at the local, state and 
national level to support and promote the Y-USA federal legislative agenda and YUSA national initiatives 
 Collaborates with the Healthy Living team on meeting benchmarks of Y-USA 
grants, including Statewide Pioneering Healthier Communities. Regularly connect 
with the Statewide PHC team to coordinate / facilitate / assist with relationships 
and policy efforts of State Alliances. 
 Provide primary assistance in the planning and execution of a biennial State 
Advocates meeting and as support staff to the National Advocacy Days conference 
held annually in Washington, D.C
 Performs other duties as assigned by Director, State RelationsEFFECT ON END RESULTS/STRATEGIC IMPACT
This position provides legislative support to the YMCA of the USA, supporting 
government relations and policy interests at the local, state and federal level as 
outlined in the strategic plan.
If interested please apply online before 1/31/13 via ymca.net.

##


YMCA of the USA 
JOB DESCRIPTION 
Job Title:  Manager, Healthy Living                 Grade:  F 
Department:  Healthy Living                                   Date:  1/13 
FLSA Type: Exempt                                 Reports to:  Senior Director, Organizational and                                         
Community Change  
EEO Job Category: First Mid-Level Officials & Managers Leadership Level: Multi-Team Leader  
    
GENERAL FUNCTIONS 
The Manager, Healthy Living will be responsible for managing and advancing Y-USA’s efforts 
to support local Ys and their partners in improving the health and well-being of communities 
and states across the nation.  This position will build on the Y’s Healthier Communities 
Initiative model, which has introduced innovative policy, systems and environmental 
approaches at the community and state levels to reverse alarming trends in chronic disease 
rates (such as childhood obesity) and improve health equity.  Through a series of trainings, 
peer learning engagements, and regular support, this position and direct reports will help 
local communities create awareness about, provide opportunities for, and remove barriers 
to healthy living. In addition, this position along with their direct reports will work 
collaboratively with others across the Y network to advance cutting edge national priorities 
to ensure the Y continues to be a leading nonprofit for improving America’s health.  
This position will also manage a portfolio of grants from foundation, corporate and federal 
donors.  This position will be responsible for the achievement of the deliverables within the 
grant and report to the funder. 
This position is funded by a variety of grants and is contingent upon funding being annually 
secured.    
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES 
• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.  Concentration in Public Policy, 
Public Health, Organizational Development, or a similar field preferred 
• Minimum 5 years of experience working in a YMCA or similar organization to implement 
significant health priorities through organizational, community and/or state-level change 
strategies  
• Minimum 2 years of experience supervising a team of people is required 
• Minimum 2 years of experience managing a budget is required 
• Minimum 5 years of experience building strong relationships effectively among a wide 
variety of stakeholders (physicians, public health officials, employers, payers, health 
seekers, and community based organizations) to advance a common cause is strongly 
preferred  
• Ability to travel 40% of the time 
• Project management experience with a demonstrated ability to develop and execute 
project plans from concept to implementation required 
• Must possess excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills 
• Experience in writing and/or managing a grant is strongly preferred 
• Must have experience with public speaking to groups of 50 or more  
• Must have advanced computer skills, particularly in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and online survey instruments  
• Knowledge of both community/organizational change methodologies and policy program 
development and implementation is required  
• Knowledge of marketing, communications and program evaluation processes are 
required 
• Understanding of healthy lifestyle challenges faced by individuals, and families in 
diverse, underserved communities is required  
• Must be familiar with culturally adaptive practices and working with diverse constituents  
• Must possess a solid understanding of health equity and social determinants of health  
• Ability to work independently, as well as within a team  
• Must possess the ability to perform under pressure, attention to detail, multi-task, and 
meet deadlines 
• Ability to influence others to achieve objectives  
• Must have the ability to organize, analyze and synthesize data, using this information in 
to inform work  
• Must have the ability to interact with the full range of YMCA and community leaders in a 
manner that is sensitive to community and organizational dynamics  
• Must have the ability to listen, coach, and counsel individuals in ways that facilitate their 
own problem solving  
• Must have knowledge of population-wide approaches to policy, system and 
environmental change strategies that positively impact health of communities and states 
• Requires a commitment to the YMCA character development values of caring, honesty, 
respect and responsibility 
CORE COMPETENCIES  
• Values.  Demonstrates in word and action the Y’s core values of caring, honesty, 
respect, and responsibility and a commitment to the Y’s mission, in all matters at all 
times.
• Inclusion.  Values all people for their unique talents, and takes an active role in 
promoting practices that support diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence.
• Relationships.  Builds authentic relationships in the service of enhancing individual and 
team performance to support the Y's work.
• Communication.  Listens and expresses self effectively and in a manner that reflects a 
true understanding of the needs of the audience.
• Developing Others.  Recognizes and acts on the need to continually develop others' 
capabilities to attain the highest level of performance possible.
• Project Management.  Supports goal attainment by prioritizing activities, assigning 
responsibilities in accordance with capabilities, monitoring progress, and evaluating 
impact.
• Decision Making.  Integrates logic, intuition and sound judgment to analyze 
information to identify greatest opportunities, make sound decisions, and solve 
problems.
• Change Capacity.  Leads self and others through change by navigating ambiguity 
appropriately and adapting well to new situations, obstacles, and opportunities.
• Emotional Maturity.  Demonstrates effective interpersonal skills.
• Quality Results.  Demonstrates and fosters a strong commitment to achieving goals in 
a manner that provides quality experiences.  ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS  
• Supervise staff (which may include full-time and part-time staff, consultants, interns, 
etc.) to deliver the highest quality support to local Ys and their partners  
• Develop, execute and continually update a project plan to ensure all aspects of 
innovation, implementation, and dissemination are met for each initiative the Manager 
has primary responsibility for  
• Coordinate and effectively work with partners, including governmental and private nonprofit or for-profit organizations, local YMCA’s, academic institutions, foundations, and 
other individuals or organizations that are supportive of Y-USA’s mission, goals and 
objectives   
• Assist in the development of an annual budget and manage resources to the budget  
• Direct the collection, development and dissemination of stories and other 
communications from/to various stakeholders using different knowledge sharing and 
media platforms for each initiative the Manager has primary responsibility for  
• Direct the collection, analysis and reporting of data and evaluations from/to various 
stakeholders for each initiative the Manager has primary responsibility for  
• Advise and support Y and community leaders through the delivery and creation of 
various technical assistance strategies, tools and learning experiences 
• Support Senior Director in fundraising/grant efforts that ensure sustainability and 
growth of Organizational and Community change initiatives  
• Perform other duties as assigned by Senior Director, Organizational and Community 
Change 
EFFECT ON END RESULTS/STRATEGIC IMPACT 
This position is essential to strengthening local Y’s ability to develop and implement specific 
policy, system and environmental improvement strategies that will lead to healthier, more 
equitable communities and states across the nation.