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Position Snapshot

Title: Regional Director, Athletics Strategy & Operations

Department: Athletics (BGCTriad Athletics League)

Reports to: President & CEO

Team: Executive Team

Direct Reports: Athletic Directors of each city/designated territory; High Point/Asheboro, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, etc.

Classification: Full-time, exempt Location: Regional (Greater Triad); frequent travel across region

Career Pathway: Structured pathway to Vice President, Athletics

Position Summary

The Regional Director, Athletics Strategy & Operations is the architect, operator, and public face of the BGCTriad Athletics League. This role exists to do one thing exceptionally well: disrupt the pay-to-play system across the Triad.

Across our region, travel leagues, select programs, and elite opportunities have become the domain of families who can afford them. Thousands of young people have the talent, the drive, and the competitive spirit, but not the registration fee and the ability to cover associated costs (equipment, travel, etc.). The BGCTriad Athletics League is our answer: the region's first high-quality, no-cost competitive league. Same quality, same coaching, same competitive experience, regardless of address or income. Not a consolation prize. A premier league.

As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, this leader sets the regional athletics vision, leads the market-specific Athletic Directors, builds the sponsorship engine that keeps the league free to every family, and carries our message into boardrooms, conferences, and community gyms with equal confidence. Athletics is the front door. Academic excellence is the destination. This role owns the front door. 

Why This Role, Why Now

• Scale: The league launched in FY2026/2027 with a target of 450 athletes in Year one and 7,500 by Year five.
• Reach: The Beyond Sports NC partnership extends in-school reach across 43 Triad schools, creating a direct pipeline from classroom to Club. This collaborative relationship is becoming a full partnership.
• Portfolio: Basketball, soccer, volleyball, flag football, golf, cheer, esports, clinics, and seasonal camps, with baseball/softball and track & field by 2030.
• Self-sustaining model: The league does not draw on BGCTriad's core operating budget. It is funded through sponsorships and partnerships, with annual sponsorship potential of $800K–$1.5M by 2030.
• Economic impact: Athletics is projected to create 120–180 regional jobs (coaches, officials, administrators, event staff) by 2030.

As Future Ready Triad grows, the city-level Athletic Director role becomes market-specific. This role provides the regional strategy, standards, and leadership that make those markets operate as one league. 

Key Responsibilities

1. Executive Leadership & Regional Vision

• Serve on the Executive Leadership Team. Shape organization-wide strategy, budget priorities, and Future Ready Triad expansion decisions through an athletics lens.
• Own the multi-year athletics strategy: sport portfolio, market sequencing, facility partnerships, and the league's long-term sustainability model.
• Translate the vision of a no-cost premier league into clear annual goals, operating plans, and accountability measures for every market.
• Advise the President & CEO on athletics strategy, risk, and opportunity. Prepare board-ready reporting for the monthly board packet.

2. League Architecture & Operations

• Build and run the BGCTriad Athletics League as one regional system: unified rules, divisions, scheduling, officiating, playoffs, championships, and branding.
• Set regional standards for program quality, coaching, game-day operations, uniforms, equipment, and facility use.
• Lead the integration of the Beyond Sports NC partnership. Turn the 43-school footprint into a reliable feeder pipeline into Club membership.
• Lead the annual sport calendar and the phased addition of new sports and markets, including baseball/softball and track & field by 2030.
• Ensure every athlete in the league is also connected to the Club's academic interventions, mentoring, and life-skills programming. Athletics is the front door, never the whole house.

3. People Leadership: City Athletic Directors & Staff

• Directly supervise, coach, and evaluate the market-specific Athletic Directors. Hold each market accountable to shared regional standards while leaving room for local strengths.
• Build the athletics talent pipeline: recruit, develop, and retain coaches, officials, league administrators, and event staff, including Club alumni returning as paid staff.
• Establish coaching certification, positive-coaching and trauma-informed training, and performance evaluation systems across the region.
• Build a culture of discipline, belonging, and excellence where staff see themselves as youth developers first.

4. Sponsorship, Partnerships & Revenue

• Own the athletics revenue plan. Build a sponsorship portfolio that keeps the league free to every family and fully independent of the core operating budget.
• Develop, pitch, and close sponsorships: league naming rights, division and tournament sponsors, apparel and equipment partners, media partners, and in-kind support. 
• Grow strategic relationships with regional sports partners, including Carolina Core MLS Next, High Point Rockers, Greensboro Grasshoppers, Greensboro Swarm, Greensboro Gargoyles, and the Greensboro Sports Foundation.
• Partner with the Senior Director, Advancement Strategies & Systems to align athletics sponsorships with the regional campaign, cultivate donors who care about youth sports, and steward partners well.
• Pursue grants and national partnership opportunities through Boys & Girls Clubs of America and its national sports partners. 

5. External Voice & Public Leadership

• Serve as BGCTriad's lead public voice for athletics. Speak with confidence and credibility at conferences, sponsor meetings, civic forums, media interviews, and community events.
• Make the case against pay-to-play with data, stories, and a clear alternative. Position BGCTriad as the regional leader on youth sports access.
• Represent BGCTriad with school districts, parks and recreation departments, municipalities, sports commissions, and youth sports coalitions.
• Partner with Communications on the league brand, media strategy, and storytelling.

6. Data, Impact & Accountability

• Partner with the VP of Programs & Impact and the data team to track participation, retention, academic linkage, and youth outcomes through MyClubHub and NYOI.
• Help build an athletics dashboard covering enrollment by market, cost per athlete, sponsorship revenue, academic connection, and staff and coach metrics.
• Use continuous quality improvement to evaluate programs and report results to the executive team, Board, Advisory Councils, sponsors, and the community.

7. Safety, Risk & Compliance

• Partner with the VP of Safety & Sites to ensure all athletics operations meet or exceed BGCA safety requirements and state and local regulations.
• Set regional standards for background checks, concussion and injury protocols, emergency action plans, transportation, and facility agreements.
• Ensure accurate records of waivers, certifications, incidents, and facility safety audits across every market.

8. Financial Stewardship

• Develop and manage the regional athletics budget, including market-level budgets managed by City Athletic Directors.
• Maintain cost-per-athlete discipline and a sustainable ratio of sponsorship revenue to operating expense as the league scales. 

Qualifications & Competencies

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Sports Management, Business, Education, Nonprofit Management, or a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in youth sports, athletics administration, recreation, or sports business, including at least 5 years in senior leadership. 
•  Proven record of building or scaling multi-site athletic programs or leagues, with responsibility for managers who lead their own teams.
• Demonstrated success selling and closing sponsorships or corporate partnerships, with a track record of six-figure deals.
• Polished, confident public speaker who can command a conference stage, a sponsor pitch, and a parent meeting with equal credibility.
• Experience building and managing budgets of significant size and complexity.
• Strong working knowledge of youth protection, athletic safety, and risk management standards. 

Preferred

• Master's degree in Sports Management, Business Administration, Nonprofit Leadership, or a related field.
• Existing relationships across the Triad's sports, corporate, civic, and education communities.
• Experience with the Aspen Institute Project Play framework, sports-based youth development, or access-and-equity models in youth sports.
• Experience with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, a national youth-serving organization, a professional or collegiate sports organization, or a sports commission.
• Familiarity with league management platforms, CRM systems (Salesforce-based preferred), and data dashboards

Leadership Competencies

• Visionary Builder: Sees the league that does not yet exist and builds the systems, people, and partnerships to make it real.
• Revenue Driver: Thinks like a sports business executive. Understands sponsor value, activation, and renewal.
• Public Champion: Tells the pay-to-play story with data and heart. Moves rooms.
• Leader of Leaders: Develops market-specific Athletic Directors into strong market leaders. Holds a high bar with care.
• Mission-Anchored: Keeps the connection between athletics and academic excellence at the center of every decision.
• Disciplined Operator: Executes with strategic velocity. Plans, measures, adjusts, and delivers.
• Relational Partner: Builds trust with sponsors, schools, municipalities, families, and fellow executives.
• Safety-First: Treats physical, emotional, and psychological safety as non-negotiable.  

What Success Looks Like

The targets come from the Future Ready Triad plan. Bracketed figures will be set with the President & CEO during onboarding.

First 90 days: Assess every market and existing market Athletic Director; Deliver a regional athletics operating plan and FY 2026/2027 league calendar; Build a sponsor prospect pipeline of qualified partners.

Year 1: League launched with 450 athletes. Beyond Sports NC feeder pipeline active. Unified league standards, coaching certification, and safety protocols in place in every market. $200K in closed sponsorship revenue (some in collaboration with Advancement department). Athletics dashboard live in MyClubHub.

Year 3: 2,500 athletes across all active markets. Secure a named league sponsor and multi-year apparel partner. Measurable academic connection for league athletes. City Athletic Directors leading strong, stable markets.

Year 5: 7,500 athletes. $800K–$1.5M in annual athletics sponsorship. League fully selfsustaining. 120–180 athletics jobs created. BGCTriad recognized as the region's leading alternative to pay-to-play.

Pathway to Vice President, Athletics

This role is designed to grow into Vice President, Athletics as the league and the organization scale. Advancement is based on performance, not tenure. It will be reviewed against these milestones:

1. The league is operating across three or more markets under unified regional standards.
2. Athletics sponsorship revenue is sustaining the league without drawing on the core operating budget.
3. City Athletic Directors are developed into strong market leaders, with succession depth in place.
4. Athlete enrollment, retention, and academic-connection outcomes are on track with Future Ready Triad targets.
5. The leader is a recognized regional and statewide voice on youth sports access.

At the VP level, the role would carry expanded authority over the athletics enterprise, including facilities strategy, major partnerships, and a larger regional team.

Working Conditions & Physical Requirements

• Regular evening and weekend work during league seasons, tournaments, and events.
• Frequent local travel across Triad Club sites, schools, and partner venues. Occasional overnight travel for conferences and BGCA convening.
• Ability to work in gyms, fields, and outdoor settings in varied weather.
• Ability to lift up to 25 pounds and stand or walk for extended periods during events.
• Valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and a satisfactory driving record.
• Must pass a comprehensive background check and meet all BGCA child safety requirements.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Greater Triad is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a team that reflects the communities we serve. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status.