Director of Workforce Development at Immigrant Family Services Institute
Can you meet with an employer partner on Monday and present a workforce road map to senior leadership on Thursday? Immigrant Family Services Institute is looking for a Director of Workforce Development who wants to do both.
Riverwalker Talent has been retained by Immigrant Family Services Institute (IFSI) to lead this search.
Job Type: Full-Time, Exempt | Hybrid, Mattapan HQ with travel across Greater Boston sites | Salary: $90,000–$105,000 annually + benefits
Reports to: Chief of Staff and Programs, Jennifer Pamphile
Supervises: 3 core staff across sites, and supports 12–14 instructors
Location: Mattapan, MA (hybrid), with travel to Brockton, Malden
About Immigrant Family Services Institute (IFSI)
IFSI provides holistic education and workforce solutions, empowering immigrants to succeed in today's job market with support and training. Services range from ESOL classes and job readiness training to licensed nurse aide training programs. We emphasize integration, education, and advocacy to create meaningful opportunities for the immigrants that we serve, with a focus on recently arrived immigrants. IFSI addresses the needs and aspirations of recently arrived immigrants through direct service programming, thought leadership, coalition building, and advocacy.
About the Role
The Director of Workforce Development will lead IFSI's workforce development model at a pivotal time. IFSI has staff focused on ESOL, computer, Nurse aide and home health aide instruction, and this role builds what comes next for students and instructors. That means connecting them to training, employers, and jobs. This leader will evaluate the current model and strategic road map, determine next steps, and build and carry out a plan to reach those goals.
The Director will build out IFSI's workforce development components. This includes developing employer relationships, creating a pipeline that moves students from IFSI's classes and training programs into jobs, and collecting and using program data to show what is working. Current career pathways include healthcare and early childhood education, with the goal of expanding into culinary arts and biotechnology
This is a strategic role. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker and a hands-on leader. You can look at IFSI's workforce development model as a whole, streamline what is not working, and build the systems, partnerships, and data practices that help students move into good jobs. You will balance day-to-day oversight with building and implementing a long-term plan for the department.
What Success Looks Like
First 90 Days: Learn and Evaluate
- Gain a deep understanding of all workforce programs across IFSI's 3 sites, and the staff, instructors, and students in them.
- Evaluate IFSI's workforce development model and the strategic road map, including career pathways, employer partnerships, job placement, and how program data is collected.
- Identify what is working and should continue, what needs to change, and where the gaps are.
- Provide onboarding, professional development, and support to instructors.
- Build relationships with staff, instructors, department leads, and leadership to establish trust and alignment.
- Share your findings and recommended next steps with senior leadership.
By Six Months: Plan and Build
- Build a strategic plan with senior leadership, with clear goals, timelines, and measures of success.
- Move forward on what is working, and begin streamlining or redesigning what is not.
- Put systems in place for instructor support and evaluation, data tracking, and funder reporting.
By One Year: Implement
- The department is running on the plan, with regular check-ins on progress and adjustments as needed.
- Staff and instructors have clear expectations, consistent support, and regular feedback.
- Program outcomes are tracked and reported clearly to leadership and funders.
- The groundwork is in place for new career pathways.
What You'll Do
Program Strategy & Leadership
- Lead the strategy for IFSI's workforce development programs, building and implementing a strategic road map in partnership with senior leadership.
- Build out IFSI's career pathways in healthcare (nurse aide and home health aide) and early childhood education, and develop the employer relationships that turn training into jobs.
- Monitor enrollment patterns and program outcomes, adjusting formats and delivery models as needed (e.g., consolidation, online pivots, hybrid approaches).
- Contribute to senior leadership discussions to ensure workforce development aligns with IFSI's broader mission and work.
Staff & Instructor Management
- Supervise 3 core staff across multiple sites, providing coaching and accountability.
- Mentor and provide support to 12–14 instructors through onboarding, training, and ongoing professional development.
- Build systems for instructor support and evaluation, raising instructional quality and consistency.
- Explore staffing models and bring strategic ideas for the department to senior leadership.
Administration & Partnerships
- Strengthen program administration, data tracking, and reporting for funders.
- Collaborate with internal teams to reduce silos and improve coordination between workforce development and adult education.
- Build and maintain external partnerships to enhance training pipelines and job placement opportunities.
- Develop systems and resources that support both staff efficiency and student success.
What We Need From You
We recognize strong candidates may not meet every qualification. If you're excited about this role and believe your experience could contribute to our mission, we encourage you to apply.
About You
- You have led workforce development, adult education, or related programs that moved participants to real results, with at least five examples of programmatic success over time.
- You direct the work through your team, and you are also ready to step in yourself when needed, whether that means meeting with a student, covering for an instructor, or working through an enrollment problem side by side with staff.
- You have grown or redesigned programs to get better outcomes for participants. You can point to what you changed, why you changed it, and what improved, such as completion rates, credentials earned, or job placements.
- You've supervised teams through performance issues, remotely and in person, including staff with internships or part-time responsibilities. Or, you have the transferable skills to share how you would handle this. Some supervision experience is needed.
- You thrive building structures where there is none or very little. You collaborate well with other department leads, and you know how to implement a road map for strategic success.
- You care deeply about access, and you understand why workforce development matters for immigrants specifically.
- You have a collaborative, supportive leadership style, and you can pivot and problem-solve in fast-changing environments.
- You have strong program evaluation and strategic planning skills.
- You can design and implement onboarding and professional development systems for instructors.
- You have exceptional verbal and written communication skills.
- You are comfortable traveling between multiple sites across Greater Boston.
- You have strong mission alignment with IFSI's work supporting immigrants and multicultural communities.
These experiences would add to your profile
- Bilingual in Haitian Creole (preferred).
- Multilingual candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
- Nonprofit leadership experience.
Work Environment
This is a hybrid role, with primarily in-person work at IFSI's Mattapan headquarters and regular travel to the Brockton, and Malden sites.
What We Offer
- Salary: $90,000–$105,000 annually.
- Benefits: comprehensive package including health and dental insurance, paid holidays, PTO, and professional development opportunities.
- A hybrid schedule with in-person work at Mattapan HQ and travel to Brockton, Malden,
- The chance to come in at a pivotal time, help us build the plan, and implement it.
- A warm, community-rooted workplace where your leadership will have visible impact.
Commitment to Equity & Inclusion
IFSI is committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization. We strongly encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, including immigrants, people of color, multilingual candidates, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, and individuals with lived experience of immigration or adult education programs.
What to Expect: Interview Process & Estimated Timeline
- Applications reviewed on a rolling basis. Priority deadline is November 11, 2026.
- Screening interviews with Riverwalker Talent (Zoom), rolling from October 28 through November 20.
- Second round interviews with IFSI staff and leadership, late November through early December.
- Reference checks and offer by mid-December.
- Anticipated start date: early to mid January 2027.
How to Apply
We do not require a cover letter. Instead, we ask you to respond to the prompts below so we can understand your experience, judgment, and approach.
We are committed to accessibility in our hiring process. If written responses are not your preferred format, you are welcome to respond via video or audio recording (up to 2 minutes per question). If you choose this option, please include links to your recordings in place of written answers and make sure sharing permissions allow us to access them.
Please submit your resume and your responses to the prompts by filling out the application.
Application Questions:
- Why this role at IFSI, and why now? What does access to education and career pathways mean to you, and how has that shown up in your work?
- Tell us about a program you changed, designed, or redesigned. This could be in workforce development, adult education, ESOL, or a related field. What did you notice that told you something needed to change, what did you do, and what was the result?
- Tell us about a time you stepped into a program or department that lacked structure. How did you figure out what was working, what did you decide to keep or change, and how did you build a plan to move forward?
- Tell us about a time you supported a staff member or instructor through a performance issue. What did you do, and what happened? If you have not done this directly, how would you approach it?
Additional Questions
- Which city and state are you based in?
- Are you legally authorized to work in the United States? Will you now or in the future require visa sponsorship?
- Where did you hear about this role?
- Do you require any accommodations to participate in the interview or hiring process? If so, please let us know how we can support you.
AI Policy
We believe AI can be a helpful tool in work and learning and are not opposed to its use in general. We use 100% human review of these applications. For this process, we ask that your responses reflect your own thinking, experience, and communication style. Please do not use AI in this application. This role requires strong independent judgment and problem-solving, and we want to understand how you naturally approach real situations.
EEOC Statement
Immigrant Family Services Institute is an equal opportunity employer, committed to building diverse, equitable, and inclusive teams, and encourages applications from candidates of all backgrounds and lived experiences.
For accessibility accommodations or questions, please email info@riverwalkertalent.com. No phone calls.
