Director of Workforce Development

Job Title: Director of Workforce Development

Reports to: Senior Director of Programs 

FSLA Status: Salary, Full Time, Exempt (40 hours per week) 

Hiring Range: $60,000 - $63,000

Prepared Date: July 2025 

About WMCAT 

The West Michigan Center for Arts + Technology (WMCAT) provides a culture of opportunity for people to make social and economic progress in their lives and community. We fulfill our mission through visual arts and tech engagement, workforce development, and social enterprise. 

Workforce Development (WFD) builds income security with families and young adults through post-secondary exploration, career training, and leadership development. This includes: 

WMCAT’s tuition-free Adult Career Training Program offers Kent County adults experiencing under and unemployment the opportunity to learn a new career, grow personally and professionally, and build a network with industry and community leaders. Our welcoming environment, small class sizes, and holistic supports move adults toward new careers in the pharmacy technician and cybersecurity fields. These career pathways pay living wages, may offer benefits, and provide opportunities for career advancement.

Step Year at WMCAT is specifically designed to help young adults find a career or educational path that’s right for them. The tuition-free program is a unique mix of college and career exploration, self-discovery, and connections to employment pathways in a variety of sectors. Through WMCAT's curated curriculum and mentorship approach, students develop an action plan to guide their next steps toward post-secondary education and career. Step Year is tuition-free and is open to young adults ages 18-24 who have a high school diploma or GED and live in Kent County. 

Position Summary 

The Director of Workforce Development is responsible for leading and evolving WMCAT’s adult career training, Step Year, and other workforce development initiatives. This includes casting vision, driving program strategy, leading a dynamic team, cultivating strategic partnerships, and ensuring alignment with student and community needs. 

The ideal candidate is deeply passionate about workforce equity, brings experience working at both programmatic and systems levels, and values lived experience as a form of expertise. They will ensure WMCAT’s workforce programs are innovative, equitable, and responsive, providing holistic support to students and shaping the local and regional workforce development landscape. 

Essential Duties + Responsibilities 

Program Leadership

• Provide leadership to all adult career training pathways, Step Year, and other workforce development initiatives.

• Lead a dynamic team to develop and implement program elements in recruitment, enrollment, retention, content instruction, and placement support and services. 

• Manage program development, promotion, implementation, and evaluation. 

• Prepare and communicate short-term and long-term plans with key stakeholders.

• Develop and manage budgets for the workforce development program based on broad organizational goals and growth objectives 

• Ensure curriculum and content aligns with employer partner and student needs 

• Empathize with adult students experiencing unemployment, underemployment, or other unanticipated circumstances.

Facilitation + Leadership By Design

• Develop, implement and facilitate Leadership by Design curriculum (personal and professional exploration) with all workforce students. 

• Leverage lived experience to build trust with students, deliver content that engages adults in a structured personal leadership development journey, create space for voice elevation, and provide support in navigating the career journey. 

• Ensure program content is relevant, engaging, and co-design with the industry input and student voice.

Community Engagement + Partnerships

• Build and maintain beneficial working relationships with strategic employer partners, community organizations, and higher education institutions.

• Leverage partnerships to increase access to jobs, resources, and post-secondary pathways for students.

• Be familiar and engaged with various community organizations to ensure students can access necessary services.

• Participate in systems-level work and initiatives to drive systemic change for students and families.

Holistic Support

• Lead the strategy and implementation of holistic, student-centered support for all adult workforce development participants. Ensure that wraparound services, including mental health support, resource navigation, and case management, are proactive and tailored to individual student needs. 

• Identify barriers and develop action plans to ensure students are supported in their career and education journeys. 

• Cultivate and manage key support partnerships (e.g., Arbor Circle, DHHS) to expand the safety net for adult learners. 

Operations

• Maintain database of student and programmatic success. 

• Track demographics and program outcomes. 

• Evaluate instructors, student progress, and key goals attained. 

• Ensure that all organizational activities and operations are executed in compliance with local, state, and federal regulations and laws governing business operations. 

Development

• Work with the development team on identifying funding opportunities and provide content for grant proposals and reporting. 

WMCAT Mission + Organizational Expectations 

• Advance WMCAT's mission (see above) and vision to provide equitable access to opportunity. 

• Recognize your responsibility and contribution to the culture of WMCAT. 

• Represent WMCAT at occasional, designated events throughout the year, which may occur outside of standard scheduled hours. 

• Foster positive relationships with staff, students, and the Board of Directors. 

• Desire to align with WMCAT’s values (listed below). 

Requirements

Preferred Experiences + Skills

• Demonstrated experience which could include: 

• Active engagement in workforce development initiatives 

• Program management experience 

• Experience working through the complexities and impact of systemic inequities on students and families 

• Experience working in a nonprofit, education, or human services sectors 

• Experience building community and partnerships development

• Bachelor’s degree preferred 

• Proven ability to engage with a diverse group of people 

• Experience facilitating with diverse groups 

• Ability and desire to share lived experience to engage with students 

• Demonstrated strategic thinking, innovation and action 

• Proven track record of developing people 

• Facilitation and curriculum design for diverse learners 

• Strong written and verbal communication skills to work well with a variety of people in a team setting with an appreciation for a collaborative environment. 

• Excellent organizational skills and desire to maximize efficiency in this role. 

• Ability to work independently and with initiative while prioritizing multiple tasks. 

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to handle, or feel, and is frequently required to talk or hear. The employee regularly is required to sit, walk, stand, and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to stoop, kneel, climb or crouch. The employee must frequently lift and/or move from 15-45 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, and ability to adjust focus.

Additional Details: Recognizing there is leadership in every community, WMCAT is seeking candidates with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. We are dedicated to hiring employees that reflect the communities we serve across race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and socioeconomic status. No person shall be excluded from WMCAT services, employment or volunteer participation because of ethnicity, race, national origin, age, height, weight, genetic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, economic circumstance, veteran status, physical and/or mental abilities/characteristics, philosophy/religion, or any other status that is protected by State of Michigan or federal law or by local ordinance for those jurisdictions where WMCAT operates. 

WMCAT’s Values

• Design for Equity: Creating a world that works for all of us. Rooted in an understanding that systemic oppression is perpetuated by design, we center marginalized voices, consciously co-create solutions, and challenge unjust systems to provide equitable access to opportunity.
• Pursue Learning: Engaging the experiences and expertise around us. Acknowledging that we never “arrive” in our understanding, we engage each other, ourselves, and our community with curiosity and appreciation for diverse lived experiences, seeking out new ideas, more robust context, and opportunities for growth.

• Build Community: Curating belonging for collective good.  Grounded in the belief that our humanity, prosperity, and futures are interconnected, we intentionally create space for belonging, build authentic relationships, seek partnership in our collective work, and respect our shared context. 

• Center People: Leading with empathy. Guided by the mindsets of equitable human-centered design, we seek the perspectives of and create solutions with those most affected, embracing the inherent value of each individual and prioritizing whole-person thriving.

In-person at WMCAT: This position is in-person in Grand Rapids, Michigan; there is some flexibility for remote work as responsibilities allow. WMCAT’s regular office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. This position could include some evenings and weekends related to events. 

COVID-19 Vaccination Policy:  All WMCAT employees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.  

Benefits

Pay:  Compensation within the listed hiring range is based on experience and nonprofit industry standards. Competitive benefits package provided, including:  

• 15 days of PTO  

• 15 paid holidays  

• Birthday day off  

• Half-day Fridays during the summer  

• Simple IRA with employer match of up to 3%  

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental, and Vision), premium 65% (average) paid by employer  

• HSA plan option 

• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary, and AD&D)  

• Paid Family Leave  

• Professional development and opportunities for personal growth