Director of Community Partnerships & Creative Aging

Director of Community Partnerships & Creative Aging

Position Summary

The Director provides strategic leadership for Creative Aging Connections, helping to

shape and advance its vision, strategic priorities, annual goals, and long-term direction,

while cultivating community partnerships that enhance the Assisted Living community and

advance Goddard House’s broader mission.

Founded in 1849, Goddard House is one of the nation’s oldest nonprofit organizations

dedicated to serving older adults. Our mission is to embrace the aging experience for

seniors living in the Boston area by operating a high-quality assisted living community and

by creating innovative programs that support our need for purposeful engagement,

autonomy, and choice as we age.

Goddard House operates under two strategic directions:

● The continued high-quality operation of Goddard House, an innovative assisted

living and memory care community in Brookline, MA, which has a long history of

providing creative and enriching experiences for our residents.

● The growth of Creative Aging Connections (CAC), a Goddard House initiative that

develops and supports creative aging programs and partnerships engaging under-

resourced older adults throughout Boston. Through visual arts, music, dance,

storytelling, and other forms of creative expression, CAC fosters creativity, social

connection, and well-being through programs led by professional teaching artists

and enriched by student interns.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Responsibilities are organized into three primary areas:

1. Strategic Leadership, Program Operations & Community Partnerships

● Lead implementation of CAC strategic priorities and annual work plans.

● Develop new creative aging initiatives and identify opportunities for program

innovation, expansion, and continuous improvement.

● Cultivate, develop, and sustain partnerships with community organizations,

affordable housing providers, colleges, universities, cultural institutions, healthcare

organizations, businesses, and other strategic partners that strengthen Creative

Aging Connections, enhance the Assisted Living community, and advance Goddard

House’s broader mission.

● Negotiate and oversee site agreements, memoranda of understanding (MOUs),

contracts, and other agreements, coordinating organizational and legal review as

appropriate.

● Represent Goddard House and Creative Aging Connections at meetings,

conferences, community events, and public presentations.

● Establish annual program goals, priorities, quality standards, and performance

measures.

● Develop and manage CAC program budgets, monitor financial performance and

resource allocation, and collaborate with Finance and organizational leadership on

annual budgeting and financial planning.

● Ensure Creative Aging Connections programs align with Goddard House’s mission,

strategic priorities, and organizational values.

● Serve as a member of Goddard House’s leadership team and contribute to

organizational planning, strategic decision-making, and cross-functional

collaboration.

2. Team Leadership, Intern, Volunteer & Teaching Artist Development

● Supervise, mentor, coach, and evaluate the Creative Aging Program Manager.

● Recruit, contract, orient, support, and evaluate teaching artists.

● Develop university, volunteer, internship, and educational partnerships.

● Provide overall leadership for CAC’s network of staff, teaching artists, interns,

volunteers, and other program partners, ensuring clear roles, effective

communication, and accountability for program quality.

● Foster a collaborative culture focused on creativity, learning, innovation, and

continuous improvement.

● Establish staffing priorities, workflows, and professional development opportunities.

● Evaluate workforce needs and recommend staffing or partnership enhancements.

3. Fundraising, Communications, Events & Program Impact

● Collaborate with the President & CEO, Development, Marketing, Finance, Assisted

Living leadership, and other departments to advance Creative Aging Connections

and Goddard House’s strategic priorities.

● Partner with the President & CEO and Development staff to identify funding

opportunities and actively participate in foundation, corporate, government, and

individual fundraising efforts.

● Provide program leadership for grant development by shaping program concepts,

budgets, outcomes, evaluation measures, and reporting requirements.

● Participate in the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of donors and funders,

including donor meetings, site visits, presentations, and other engagement

opportunities.

● Oversee program evaluation, performance measures, and data collection practices

that support continuous improvement, demonstrate impact, and inform strategic

decision-making.

● Analyze program outcomes and communicate impact to leadership, funders,

community partners, and the Board of Trustees.

● Advance the visibility of Goddard House and Creative Aging Connections and help

position the organization as a leader in creative aging through presentations,

conferences, publications, media opportunities, and community engagement.

● Provide strategic oversight for major CAC exhibitions, performances, community

events, and other public-facing activities.

● Support annual planning, budgeting, organizational reporting, and long-term

sustainability initiatives.

Qualifications

Education

Bachelor’s degree required.

Experience

● Minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible experience in nonprofit,

community-based, arts, aging services, healthcare, senior living, or related program

administration, including demonstrated leadership responsibility. Experience in arts

administration, creative aging, or community-based arts programming preferred.

● Demonstrated ability to develop, implement, and evaluate innovative programs or

initiatives that respond to the needs and interests of older adults and achieve

measurable outcomes.

● Experience developing and managing program budgets, operating plans, and

organizational resources.

● Demonstrated experience developing successful grant proposals and participating in

fundraising, donor cultivation and stewardship, and grant reporting activities.

● Demonstrated experience supervising, coaching, and developing staff required.

General Skills

● Entrepreneurial, team-oriented, collaborative, diplomatic, adaptable, and

comfortable working in a growing, evolving program environment.

● Excellent verbal, written and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage, inspire,

build credibility and engender trust.

● Strong professional presence and ability to represent Goddard House effectively

with community partners, funders, professional audiences, and other external

stakeholders.

● Demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally and foster a collaborative,

accountable team environment.

● Ability to work closely with a variety of stakeholder groups including businesses,

nonprofits, educational institutions, faith-based organizations, and community

organizations.

● Demonstrated ability to work effectively and respectfully with older adults from

diverse cultural, racial, socioeconomic, and linguistic backgrounds.

● Excellent project planning, budgeting, reporting, and management skills.

● Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously without sacrificing attention to

detail.

● Strong proficiency with Google Workspace and other technology used for program

management, communications, data tracking, and reporting.

Compensation

$95,000-115,000 annually, commensurate with experience.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

Goddard House is committed to nurturing a diverse, inclusive, and equitable environment

where older adults, employees, families, and leadership are respected, valued,

empowered, and feel a strong sense of belonging. Through compassion, innovation,

collaboration, and curiosity, we deliver high-quality care, meaningful programs, and a

supportive culture that upholds dignity and engagement for all.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Goddard House is committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all Associates

and applicants for employment without unlawful regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual

orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, age, national origin or ancestry,

service in any branch of the military, disability, genetic information or the result of genetic

testing, or any other characteristic or classification protected by state, federal, or local

law.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment including, but not limited to,

hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, re-hire, transfer, leaves of absence,

compensation, and training. Goddard House believes that providing a work environment

free from discrimination and harassment of any kind is essential to each Associate’s ability

to contribute and succeed.