Director, Community Stewardship
Who We Are:
Yoga Alliance is the largest nonprofit membership association of yoga professionals, practitioners, and advocates around the globe. We believe if more people practice yoga, the better the world will be. We’re here to amplify the power of yoga and to make it accessible to anyone wherever they are, under whatever circumstances by:
- Uplifting the transformative power of yoga,
- Surfacing and reducing barriers to the practice, and
- Building, engaging, and supporting the yoga community.
Our member-driven community is a diverse collective of wisdom holders, yoga educators, and teachers expanding their expertise; a welcoming space for those newly exploring yoga; a place for seasoned practitioners to deepen their practice; and a supportive hub where community leaders, organizations, and businesses can leverage yoga for social good.
At the core of Yoga Alliance lies a profound commitment to our people. Here, every team member is empowered to lead, innovate, dream, create, and grow. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging guide our way of being in work and in working with each other. We champion a culture of collaboration, where learning from failures is as valued as achieving success. Together, we challenge the status quo and push the boundaries of what is possible.
About the Role:
Reporting to the Head of Community Engagement, Yoga Alliance is seeking a Director of Community Stewardship to join its team.
The Director of Community Stewardship will lead Yoga Alliance’s efforts to build and nurture meaningful relationships, deepen connections, and ensure that members feel heard, supported, and valued.
This role will do this by driving initiatives that are focused on relationship management, member services, and community support that will enhance member experience, promote the core values of the Yoga Alliance community, and foster a sense of belonging, ensuring that our members remain connected and engaged.
What You Will Do:
Team Leadership
- Hire, coach, develop, and grow a team to meet long-term goals and near-term objectives.
- Lead the team through performance engagement and development process which includes goal setting, regular one-on-one meetings, mid-year, and annual feedback events.
- Coach team members on delivering clear, consistent messaging using tailored scripts to ensure alignment with brand voice, member value, and community needs.
- Provide frequent and regular clear and specific feedback that focuses on strengthening core skills and competencies and encourage feedback in return.
- Proactively collaborate and partner with internal colleagues across the organization (Community Engagement, Social Impact, and Strategic Communication teams) to ensure alignment and knowledge sharing.
Community Cultivation, Outreach & Engagement
- Serve as a connector among members by creating, activating, and overseeing regional community groups—both virtual and in-person—to foster engagement, peer learning, and mutual support, while leading the team that provides direct support to these groups.
- Proactively identify, initiate, and foster deep relationships with external partners and industry leaders to innovatively collaborate in ways that will expand our community’s influence, outreach, and engagement.
- Lead key account management by nurturing strategic relationships with members, partners, and stakeholders to ensure satisfaction, retention, and long-term engagement.
- Travel to key events, industry conferences, and local gatherings to establish in person connections with members, leaders, and potential partners to:
- Cultivate strong, meaningful relationships that drive community engagement and organizational growth.
- Build a foundation for long-term commitment and advocacy within the community.
- Attend member events to provide in-person support, build rapport, and gather direct feedback.
Gather Feedback & Community Insights
- Regularly gather insights and feedback from the community to understand their needs, concerns, and aspirations.
- Conduct surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one conversations with members.
- Analyze data to identify patterns, measure satisfaction, and track trends to consider that may shape strategic decisions and to stay attuned to community needs, ensuring the organization remains responsive and agile in evolving its offerings to better serve its members.
Drive Membership & Credential Value
- Actively promote the value of membership and credentialing by embedding benefits into conversations with members, prospects, and stakeholders.
- Articulate tangible and intangible benefits of membership, including access to exclusive content, networking opportunities, and professional recognition.
- Develop strategies and plans for implementation to increase member retention, new member acquisition, and enhance visibility of credentialing programs, ensuring alignment between the community’s objectives and the organization’s goals.
Member Relations
- Ensure strong, lasting relationships with community members by offering consistent, personalized support through regular check-ins, addressing member concerns, and proactively identifying opportunities to improve their experience.
- Maintain ongoing communication with members to foster loyalty, trust, and belonging, thus strengthening the community and ensuring that members feel continually supported by the organization.
What You Will Bring:
- 10+ years of experience that includes:
- 7+ years of progressively increasing experience designing, implementing, growing, and sustaining community engagement, sales, or member relationship strategies, with a strong track record of program execution and measurable outcomes.
- 5+ years of progressively increasing people leadership including hiring, coaching, and direct performance engagement and development management
- 3+ years of Salesforce Service Cloud experience to track and analyze interactions to optimize service.
- Bachelor’s degree in a related field (such as Nonprofit Management, Community Development, Public Administration, Communications, Business, or Marketing with a focus on community or member engagement) – or – an equivalent combination of education and experience, such as four (4) years of progressive professional experience in community engagement, nonprofit leadership, or membership-based organizations.
- Public Speaking: Strong public speaking skills, with the ability to clearly and confidently communicate ideas to diverse audiences in meetings, presentations, and events.
- Customer-Focused Approach: A passion for delivering exceptional service and building lasting member relationships.
- Analytical Mindset: Strong analytical skills to identify trends, resolve challenges, and improve service processes.
- Operational and Project Management Excellence: A focus on innovative process design and implementation that streamlines processes and drives team performance while maintaining high service standards.
- Strength in the following core skills and competencies:
- Collaboration: Is inclusive, highly engaged team player, proactively seeks and provides thought partnership, assistance, and/or resources with/to colleagues.
- Communications: Understands, conveys, and shares information effectively through listening, inquiring, writing, editing, and speaking. Ability to read a room and adapt style, content, and tone. Comfortable with presenting to a diverse audience. Ability to manage expectations, and expectations and understand who are the stakeholders.
- Critical Thinking & Sound Judgment: Ability to look at a variety of situations in a manner that understands and identifies connections between disparate ideas and/or facts. Ability to escalate and address concerns/challenges appropriately and in a timely manner. Reflects. Seeks diversity and differences in opinions to inform and refine decision making.
- Project Management: Tracks, drives, prioritizes, reports, and engages the necessary stakeholders, tools, resources, and information to produce desired results; ability to move nimbly among a variety of projects with varying timelines.
- Solutions Oriented: Enjoys troubleshooting and surfacing creative solutions to achieve desired outcomes.
- Strategic Thinking: Knows where to look for and is able to take disparate pieces of information and effectively synthesize to produce insights and desired outcomes. Is able to map out and execute a sound plan to achieve long-term goals.
- Proven track record of contributing to work environments committed to equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and belonging.
- Proven ability to initiate and cultivate positive working relationships internally and externally across a diverse group of people at all levels and across a variety of lived experiences.
- Ability to travel to regularly attend in-person work-related events and functions, and work on-site in Yoga Alliance’s Arlington, VA office as needed (35%).
- Experience developing and managing regional or affinity-based groups, networks, or chapters.
- Familiarity with digital platforms and tools that support community engagement, online forums, or member experiences.
We encourage individuals to apply even if they do not have any of the desired qualifications.
What We Offer:
Yoga Alliance provides excellent employee benefits including comprehensive health insurance plan offerings that are 100% employer paid for employees and 65% paid for dependents, a 401K plan, a generous paid-leave policy, and reimbursement for professional development opportunities. Employees enjoy a casual dress code so they can arrive to work as their most authentic selves. Our office culture is supportive and collaborative with conscious attention to body and mind health. It is common for the office staff to participate in group meditation, quiet time, and group yoga.
Location:
Yoga Alliance is a remote-first organization, but does have an office open and accessible to all Yoga Alliance employees in Arlington, Virginia within sight of the historic northwest region of Washington, D.C.
Salary Range:
$100,000 – $120,000 (commensurate with experience). This position is a full-time, exempt position.
Application and Timeline:
Interested applicants are encouraged to apply by September 22 to ensure consideration of your application. Following September 22, we will continue to review applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
A cover letter is required and all cover letters will be read during the application review process.
Please, no phone calls or walk-ins.
Our Commitment to an Inclusive Workplace:
At Yoga Alliance, we value a diverse team and a culture of inclusivity and belonging. We encourage applications from all individuals without regard to an individuals' race, color, sex, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other basis protested by federal, state or local laws. Women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.