Director, Community Engagement - Operations at Water Environment Federation – Alexandria, Virginia

Job Type Full-time

Description

Location – Hybrid or Remote from these states (VA, DC, MD, PA, NC, FL, GA, NM, IL, OR, WA,

WV, MA, SD, MN, OK & AL)

Salary Range : $107,000 - $127,000

The Director of Community Engagement – Operations is a hands-on leader responsible for

executing, operationalizing, and scaling community engagement initiatives that advance

organizational mission and strategy. This role is designed for a doer—someone who not only

contributes to ideas and strategy but is deeply involved in building programs, managing details, and

driving initiatives from concept through completion.

Working across teams and directly with volunteers, partners, and stakeholders, the Director of

Community Engagement – Operations is accountable for turning strategy into measurable

outcomes. This position balances leadership with active implementation, ensuring initiatives are

delivered effectively, on time, within budget and with impact.

The Director of Community Engagement – Operations must thrive on initiative, problem

solving, being agile, inclusive and a team player. The ideal candidate will have experience

working across our mission, and industry to best serve the Water Community.

Key Responsibilities

Initiative Execution & Program Ownership

• Lead the end-to-end execution of community engagement initiatives, from planning and development through launch, delivery, and evaluation.
• Translate organizational goals and strategies into actionable workplans, timelines, and deliverables.
• Actively manage initiative logistics, workflows, and follow-through to ensure successful completion.
• Monitor outcomes, gather feedback, create and deliver surveys and make real-time adjustments to improve effectiveness and impact.

Leadership & People Management

• Supervise and develop direct reports through clear expectations, hands-on guidance, and regular feedback.
• Lead by example with a strong execution mindset, demonstrating accountability and attention to detail.
• Support team members in prioritization, problem-solving, and delivering high-quality work.

Cross-Functional Implementation

• Work closely with internal stakeholders to execute community initiatives and projects in coordination with events, programs, and communications efforts.
• Manage the operational aspects of initiative-related work tied to major events, engagement opportunities, and professional development offerings.
• Ensure alignment across departments by taking initiative to actively coordinate tasks, deadlines, and responsibilities.

Community & Partner Engagement

• Serve as a primary point of contact for assigned volunteer groups, member associations, and external partners.
• Actively support volunteers and partners by focusing on empathy and service when providing clear guidance, resources, and consistent follow-through to various communities within WEF.
• Build and sustain engagement by delivering initiatives that provide tangible value and clear outcomes.
• Ensures collaboration and coordination between internal WEF staff, member associations, and WEF communities, as needed.
• Coordinate and support charitable programs, community outreach initiatives, and volunteer events.
• Build and maintain relationships with nonprofit partners and community organizations.
• Manage program logistics, budgets, and reporting for charitable initiatives.
• Track participation, impact metrics, and outcomes for community-focused programs.
• Represent the organization at events, fundraisers, and community meetings.

WEFUnity Platform Management

• Oversee the day-to-day operation, content management, and continuous improvement of WEFUnity by collaborating for collective impact to continually drive improvement in the platform.
• Actively manage engagement efforts within WEFUnity, driving participation, adoption, and meaningful interaction.
• Implement enhancements and improvements to WEFUnity based on user feedback, data, and engagement trends.
• Use insights from WEFUnity to inform decision-making, refine initiatives, and improve execution across programs.

Operations & Continuous Improvement

• Manage initiative budgets, timelines, and resources with a focus on efficiency and results.
• Support annual budgeting and regular financial planning cycles. Monitor expenses and identify opportunities for cost savings or process improvements.
• Identify inefficiencies and implement practical solutions, not just recommendations.
• Complete additional responsibilities as needed to support evolving community engagement priorities.

• 10+ years of experience in community engagement, volunteer engagement, program execution, or related fields.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated success of developing strategy, executing initiatives and managing complex projects from cradle to grave.
• Strong project management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.
• Proven ability to lead while remaining highly hands-on and detail-oriented.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
• Experience presenting to executive-level audiences.
• Experience developing or scaling charitable or volunteer programs.
• Ability to work collaboratively while maintaining personal accountability for outcomes.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office 365, Teams, SharePoint, Word, and Excel.
• Experience using Hivebrite or comparable community or membership engagement platforms.
• Ability to travel up to 25%.

At WEF, we are committed to an interview experience that is authentic, transparent, and equitable. Candidates are asked to answer interview questions in their own words, without real-time AI assistance, so we can fairly assess individual experiences, skills and qualifications.

To support a genuine interview experience, WEF’s interviewers also refrain from using AI tools during live interviews. If a candidate’s responses appear inconsistent or suggest outside assistance, WEF’s interviewers may pause to clarify or adjust the interview to maintain fairness for all candidates.

These measures are not intended to be punitive; rather, they aim to ensure a consistent evaluation process that aligns to WEF’s cultural and ethical principles.

WEF is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the

basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy,

age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any

other characteristic protected by law.