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THE OPPORTUNITY

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation is seeking a Director of Youth Mental Health to lead the strategy and implementation of  initiatives to ensure children and youth in North Carolina grow up in strong and supportive communities that provide them and their families with the best opportunity to be mentally healthy and thrive across prevention, early intervention, and care systems that span schools, communities, and health care   

The Director will work closely with other senior leaders to create an enterprise-wide strategy, partnering with internal teams and external organizations to make a meaningful impact on youth mental health through activities that both leverage the tools of the business and demonstrate a high value for prevention and promoting resilience and well-being at the community level. The Director will oversee grantmaking efforts, manage a team, facilitate enterprise-wide and cross-sector collaborations to achieve the organization's goal of improving youth mental health. This role has up to 10% blended responsibilities working within Blue Cross NC Corporate Social Responsibility.   

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Leadership & Partnership

• Design and implement a stakeholder-informed and purpose-driven strategy that leverages tools of the Foundation and company including grantmaking, convening, partner development, and business levers to improve youth mental health and resiliency in NC.  

• Partner with leaders across Blue Cross NC to inform and support an enterprise-wide, purpose driven strategy that leverages all assets of the company, including data, reputation and leadership, volunteerism, and products and services, to improve youth mental health and wellbeing.  

• Serve as a subject matter expert, applying deep understanding of child and youth mental health systems, best practices, and emerging evidence to inform strategy, guide investment decisions, and demonstrate leadership and influence the field.   

Grantmaking & Program Management  

• Exercise strategic judgment in deploying grantmaking, contracts, and partnerships to advance systems‑level outcomes—balancing rigor, learning, risk-taking, and relationship‑based philanthropy. 

• Implement feedback loops and learning practices that inform real‑time strategy adjustments, support grantee success, and generate insights for enterprise and field‑wide learning. 

• Manage grantmaking activities and contracts across a diverse portfolio, including designing relevant funding opportunities and soliciting, reviewing, and awarding and managing grants to organizations aligned with strategic priorities.  

• Engage directly with grantees to support their work through capacity building, thought partnership, connections to resources, and facilitating introductions to support their goals.  

Internal and External Collaboration 

• Convene and facilitate enterprise-wide councils to inform strategy, clarify priorities, and identify, track and report on KPIs and other accountability metrics. 

• Partner with leaders in the business to identify where philanthropic and community insights and business capabilities can be mutually reinforcing. This can include advancing pilots, learning agendas, or product and service improvements that advance youth mental health leveraging data, product design, delivery models, and workforce as well as philanthropic tools.  

• Build and leverage cross-sector relationships with community and state leaders including potential applicants, grantees, advocates, policy makers, and other funders working in the field to identify and advance solutions collaboratively.  

• Represent the organization at community events, conferences, and other forums through speaking engagements and written pieces to advance our mission to improve health for all.  

Team Leadership  

• Develop project plans and recommendations in support of enterprise and Foundation objectives. Lead implementation and track and report on the status of projects.  

• Manage and support a small team of direct reports, providing guidance, mentorship, and professional development opportunities to ensure success in meeting organizational goals.  

• Oversee the budget and policy compliance for assigned program strategies, ensuring efficient allocation of resources and adherence to financial guidelines and policies.  

The Ideal Candidate Profile  

The ideal candidate is a systems‑oriented leader with deep youth mental health expertise who is energized by partnering across philanthropy, business, and community to transform the conditions that support youth mental health at scale and will possess the following qualifications, skills, and competencies:  

• Entrepreneurial builder mindset, able to move from strategy to action by piloting, adapting, and scaling ideas; comfortable testing new approaches, navigating ambiguity, and learning in real time 

• Leadership experience managing teams, programs, and multi-stakeholder collaborations  

• Background in grantmaking, public health, policy change, health promotion, or community health strongly preferred 

• Ability to translate between community context, policy, and business strategy 

•  Knowledge of mental health care delivery system/health care financing. 

• Experience in a corporate environment or working with the private sector  

• Demonstrated success in developing and implementing cross-department or cross-sector initiatives or strategies  

• Strong communication and storytelling skills  

• Strong strategy and project management skills  

• Ability to clearly communicate strategy, insights, and decisions to varied audiences, including senior executives and community partners 

• Outstanding judgement and independent decision making  

The selected candidate must live in or relocate to North Carolina.  

• Bachelor's degree with advanced degree preferred;  

• 10 years of work experience in a philanthropic, nonprofit, social services, communications, project management, or health-related field, with at least five years of leadership experience. 

• In lieu of degree, 12+ years of experience in related field 

• Foundation and/or public health knowledge or experience is required. 

About the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation is a private, charitable foundation established as an independent entity by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina in 2000. Over the past two decades, the organization has worked with - and supported - nonprofit organizations, government entities, and community partnerships across the state, investing $288 million into North Carolina through more than 1,700 grants, collaborations, and special initiatives.

Want to know more? Visit the Foundation’s website at https://www.bcbsncfoundation.org/.  

How To Apply:  A link to apply will be posted on this page on June 5 with the application period lasting until at least June 12.