United Way of Southeast Minnesota is a community change organization that fights for a healthy community, youth opportunity, financial security, and community resiliency. United Way fights to erase divisions, bridge divides, and right inequities. We connect people with resources that change lives and transform our community. Please see our opportunities below if you are interested in working or volunteering with us.
United Way is an equal opportunity employer. Individuals who share lived experiences with the people and communities we serve are strongly encouraged to apply. We intentionally do our best to eliminate bias and remove barriers that may limit other applicant pools. United Way encourages applications from individuals of all races, genders, ages, and abilities.
For any questions please contact Mathew Bjorngaard at mathewb@uwsemn.org.
Employment
Vice President of Community Partnerships and Programs
United Way of Southeast Minnesota
Vice President, Community Partnerships and Programs
Department: Community Partnerships and Programs
Reports to: President/CEO
Status: Full-Time, Exempt
Direct Reports: 3–5 (anticipated; dependent on implementation plan)
WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO:
United Way of Southeast Minnesota (UWSEMN) responds to the greatest needs across our region by inspiring people to get involved, give back, and take action. We envision a resilient region defined by care and collective action where residents are healthy, households are financially secure, and young people succeed in school and life.
WHY THIS ROLE EXISTS:
UWSEMN is in the middle of a transformation. Our next chapter requires more than strong relationships, it requires the ability to turn strategy into execution across partners, programs, and systems.
The Vice President, Community Partnerships and Programs is the senior leader accountable for UWSEMN’s community-facing partnership and program portfolio, including Building Bridges as a primary transformation initiative.
POSITION SUMMARY:
The Vice President is responsible for the planning, development, management, and implementation of high-quality impact strategies—strategies that improve outcomes for individuals and families and achieve community-level change. In this role, high-quality impact strategies focus on effective partner development, system development, and improvements within UWSEMN’s year-round community service portfolios.
This position provides leadership to staff and volunteer teams and builds collaborations with key community leaders, initiative partners, community-based organizations, public entities, and other community constituents.
SUCCESS PROFILE (WHAT “GOOD” LOOKS LIKE HERE):
To be successful, this senior leader must consistently translate strategy into execution by:
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1. Converting direction into clear written plans (workplans, timelines, decision points, and accountabilities).
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2. Establishing an operating cadence (weekly priorities, meeting rhythms, partner follow-through, and internal coordination).
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3. Driving partner adoption through disciplined communication, expectation-setting, and barrier removal.
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4. Producing board-ready updates tied to outcomes, risks/controls, and next steps.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
Leadership
In this role, you will:
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1. Maintain UWSEMN’s visibility and leadership through disciplined partnership engagement and credible reporting.
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2. Identify collaboration opportunities that improve quality of life across UWSEMN’s region.
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3. Provide leadership to staff and volunteer teams to ensure the right capabilities exist to implement strategies and assume leadership roles.
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4. Translate board-approved direction into portfolio priorities, annual workplans, and performance expectations.
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5. Coordinate closely with Resource Development, Finance/Administration, and Communications to support execution.
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6. Manage portfolio operations: deadlines, budgets, and performance appraisal processes for direct reports.
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7. Provide portfolio oversight of Building Bridges—ensuring partner adoption, operational readiness, and disciplined execution through the Building Bridges Systems Manager and Partnership Coordinator.
Learning, Measurement and Reporting
You will:
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1. Distill complex information into key action items and prepare reports on community issues and needs.
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2. Identify and monitor indicators tied to partner adoption, speed-to-care (where measurable), and year-round program/service performance and reach.
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3. Translate results into plain-language updates suitable for board, partners, donors, and the public.
Partner and Community Relations
You will:
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1. Develop staff, partners, and volunteers to sustain cross-sector collaboration and shared ownership.
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2. Maintain collaborative efforts with other funding sources and community stakeholders to meet changing needs and position UWSEMN as a credible convener.
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3. In coordination with Resource Development, support identification and securing of non-traditional funding sources (foundations and government grants) by contributing partner intelligence, program narratives, and measurable outcomes.
REQUIRED WORK PRODUCTS (YES, WE MEAN WRITING)
This role requires consistent, clear, structured written work. Upon hire and ongoing, you will produce:
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1. A 90-day portfolio implementation plan (priorities, sequencing, dependencies, decision points, delegation plan for Bridges Manager/Partnership Coordinator, Partner engagement cadence, and success measures for Building Bridges and year-round programs).
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2. A rolling 12-month portfolio workplan, updated quarterly.
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3. Board-ready decision memos and updates (decision requested; rationale; risks/controls; alternatives; recommended next step).
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4. Partner-facing materials that set expectations clearly (participation standards, cadence, roles, follow-through).
QUALIFICATIONS
Minimum Qualifications
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1. Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree preferred in social work, public administration, nonprofit management, business management, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
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2. Progressive leadership experience in human services and/or nonprofit planning.
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3. Demonstrated experience working in systemic change, including cross-organizational collaboration and adoption of shared practice.
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4. Excellent written and oral communication skills, including board-ready writing and logically sequenced implementation plans.
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5. Strong facilitation/consensus-building skills; strong organizational skills; ability to work cross-functionally.
Strengths Alignment (Preferred)
Candidates with demonstrated strengths aligned with execution, operating cadence, and partner adoption are especially well-suited (Executing + Influencing + Relationship Building tendencies).
HOURS / WORKPLACE:
This is a full-time senior leadership role. Some in-person meetings and partner engagement across our region are required. Occasional evening/weekend availability is expected.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:
Salary range: $65,000–$80,000, depending on experience and qualifications. Benefits include comprehensive health coverage and retirement plan options consistent with UWSEMN’s benefits package.
TO APPLY:
Email Zeni Aly at zeni@uwsemn.org with:
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1. A short note (2–3 paragraphs) describing why you’re interested and how you match the role.
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2. In 250–400 words, describe a complex initiative you implemented. Include:
- your first 90-day plan
- how you created operating cadence/accountability
- one measurable result
3. A resume or LinkedIn profile.
Qualified applicants will receive a reply within five business days to schedule a conversation. Applications submitted before April 30th at 11:59 pm will have priority in this process. We will keep the position open until filled. Start date is flexible---ideally someone will begin full time by May 25th.
Partnership Coordinator
Title: Partnership Coordinator
Department: Community Partnerships and Programs
Reports to: VP Community Partnerships and Programs
Employment status: Full-Time
FLSA status: Exempt (salary)
Salary Range: $45,000-$50,000
WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO:
United Way of Southeast Minnesota (UWSEMN) responds to the greatest needs across our region by inspiring people to get involved, give back, and take action. We envision a resilient region defined by care and collective action where residents are healthy, households are financially secure, and young people succeed in school and life.
You can learn more about our organization, our impact, and our values at www.uwsemn.org
HOW YOU’D FIT IN & STAND OUT:
- This role is managed by the Vice President of Partnerships and Programs and sits on United Way’s Community Partnerships and Programs team, which is a team of five. Our team has strengths-based culture and finds value in diverse skills and strengths.
- Our team is a group of strong, social justice-oriented individuals who believe in high quality work to achieve community-level change. We are interested in continuous growth and improvement, as well as having hard conversations. We know that the best strategies aren’t always the easiest ones. We welcome dissenting views and would like a team member who doesn’t shy away from disagreements.
- We are looking for someone to take on the partner-facing operations of our work with local nonprofit programs and the facilitation of community partner meetings. This includes supporting community investment decisions, organizing, facilitating, and evaluating
THIS JOB IS FOR YOU IF YOU:
- Feel passionate about creating equitable community change
- Enjoy working with both people and processes
- Possess strong written and verbal communication skills in English
- Are comfortable working on a PC and using or learning Office 365, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Excel, Microsoft Forms, grants management software
- Possess the following core competencies:
- Focus on relationships:
- Plan wisely and stay organized:
- Learn from data and communicate it effectively:
TO APPLY:
To apply, please email Zeni Aly at zenia@uwsemn.org with the following information:
1) 2-3 paragraphs in the email (not attached, write in the body of the email) telling us why you are interested in this position and how you believe you meet the qualifications.
- By paragraph we mean a set of 3-7 sentences, meaning your email should be approximately 6- 21 sentences long.
- You will not receive more or less consideration because of a shorter or longer email.
2) It is preferred that you do not send us a traditional cover letter. Instead, please include a summary of your work/skills/training/educational history as an attachment OR a link to your LinkedIn profile.
- We do not have a preference on which one.
- You will not receive special consideration for sending both.
- Our aim is to understand where you have worked or volunteered before and the types of roles you have had. Maybe you have led research projects in the nonprofit sector, maybe you have incredible relational and organizational skills from the education sector, maybe you have experience facilitating groups through your faith community—we are open and interested in learning from folks across the spectrum of experience and industry.
Qualified applicants will receive a reply within five business days to schedule a conversation. Applications submitted before April 20th at 11:59 pm will have priority in this process. We will keep the position open until filled. Start date is flexible—ideally someone will begin full time by May 18th.
Volunteer
Volunteer
If you'd like to get more involved with our work, please visit our volunteer opportunities page.
If you are interested in volunteering your time and talents to United Way of Southeast Minnesota while pursuing educational credit, we respond to inquiries received three months before typical semester start dates. Please send a resume, a description outlining what type of experience you’re hoping to gain, and scheduling considerations to impact@uwsemn.org by the following dates:
- Fall semester volunteer placement: June 1st
- Spring semester volunteer placement: October 1st
- Summer semester volunteer placement: February 1st
Our ability to provide a meaningful volunteer experience depends on staff capacity, project availability, and mission alignment. If you submit an inquiry, you can expect to hear from staff within two weeks of the dates listed above to coincide with typical semester schedules.
Thank you for your interest in joining United Way of Southeast Minnesota's Board of Directors.
To submit a self-nomination, please first read the Board of Directors Job Description and consider whether you can commit to the responsibilities and time commitment required of a board member. These include supporting the organization in developing resources, meeting the ethical and fiduciary duties of a director, and participating in required board and committee activities.
After you have read the Board of Directors Job Description, you may complete the interest form below to self-nominate.
United Way of Southeast Minnesota is committed to recruiting candidates who represent the diversity of our region, contributing a variety of personal and professional expertise to support our mission.
Please contact Mathew Bjorngaard with any questions: mathewb@uwsemn.org or 507-287-2002.