Director

Director, STRONG Accountable Care Community (STRONG ACC)

The Opportunity

The STRONG Accountable Care Community (STRONG ACC) is seeking a visionary and collaborative executive to lead one of the nation's most comprehensive place-based partnerships dedicated to improving outcomes for children, youth, and families.

Serving Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, STRONG ACC brings together leaders from healthcare, education, workforce development, philanthropy, government, business, and nonprofit organizations around a shared goal:

To improve physical, social, and economic health in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, especially for economically disadvantaged children and their families.

This leader will guide a network of more than 400 partner organizations, advance shared regional priorities, strengthen cross-sector partnerships, and help shape policies and investments that improve lives across Appalachian communities.

This is a unique opportunity for an accomplished collaborative leader who excels at building trust, aligning diverse stakeholders, translating strategy into measurable results, and inspiring others around a common purpose to lead a nationally recognized collective impact initiative working at the intersection of health, education, workforce, and community development. The Director will help shape the future of a collaborative committed to improving economic mobility and quality of life across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia through partnership, innovation, and measurable community impact.

Position Summary

The Director serves as the chief executive leader of the STRONG Accountable Care Community (STRONG ACC), providing strategic leadership, organizational direction, and operational oversight for one of the region's most significant cross-sector collaboratives.

STRONG ACC is a bi-state, cradle-to-career partnership dedicated to improving economic mobility and well-being for children, youth, and families across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Working alongside leaders from healthcare, education, workforce development, government, philanthropy, business, and nonprofit organizations, the Director advances a shared regional agenda focused on measurable improvements in community outcomes.

Reporting to the Chief Health Disparities Officer and working closely with the STRONG ACC Leadership Council, the Director serves as the collaborative's primary leader, relationship builder, strategist, and public representative.

Core Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Lead the development and execution of STRONG ACC's strategic vision and organizational priorities.
• Translate strategic goals into measurable action plans that improve economic mobility and community well-being.
• Foster alignment among diverse partners around shared goals, metrics, and evidence-based strategies.
• Identify emerging opportunities, challenges, and partnerships that strengthen the collaborative's long-term impact.
• Promote systems-level change that improves outcomes for children, youth, and families throughout the region.
• Champions the collective impact framework throughout the region.
• Provides backbone leadership to the STRONG ACC structure and partners through effective goal setting, delegation, and communication.
• Ensures effective governance, partner engagement, and accountability structures.
• Supports workgroups in developing and executing action plans tied to measurable outcomes.
• Provide leadership for the STRONG ACC collective impact model and backbone functions.
• Support governance structures that promote accountability, transparency, and effective decision-making.
• Guide cross-sector workgroups in developing and implementing action plans tied to shared outcomes.
• Foster collaboration across organizations with differing perspectives while maintaining a focus on collective results.
• Ensure partners remain engaged, informed, and aligned around common priorities.

Partnership Development and Community Engagement

• Build and sustain trusted relationships with leaders across healthcare, education, government, philanthropy, workforce development, business, and nonprofit sectors.
• Convene diverse stakeholders to develop collaborative solutions to complex regional challenges.
• Engage community members, including individuals with lived experience, to help inform strategies and priorities.
• Represent STRONG ACC through meaningful partnerships that advance regional collaboration and shared ownership.

Resource Development & Organizational Sustainability

• Develop and implement strategies to secure grants, philanthropic investments, public funding, and strategic partnerships.
• Cultivate relationships with foundations, institutional funders, government agencies, and community partners.
• Oversee financial stewardship in partnership with backbone organizations and fiscal agents.
• Ensure the long-term sustainability and organizational health of STRONG ACC.

Public Policy & External Relations

• Represent STRONG ACC with local, state, and federal policymakers, advisory groups, funding organizations, and community leaders.
• Monitor policy developments affecting children, families, education, health, and economic mobility.
• Coordinate regional, nonpartisan advocacy efforts that advance STRONG ACC priorities.
• Position STRONG ACC as a respected regional leader in collaborative community improvement.
• Champion a culture of data-informed decision-making and shared accountability.
• Oversee shared measurement systems that monitor progress toward regional goals.
• Ensure timely reporting of outcomes to partners, funders, and community stakeholders.
• Promote continuous learning and improvement across the collaborative.

Communications & Public Leadership

• Serve as the primary spokesperson for STRONG ACC.
• Increase public awareness of STRONG ACC's mission, impact, and strategic priorities.
• Develop communications that strengthen stakeholder engagement and partner alignment.
• Represent the organization through presentations, meetings, conferences, and community events.

Organizational Leadership

• Build and lead a high-performing, mission-driven team.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and performance management for staff, consultants, and contractors.
• Foster a culture grounded in collaboration, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure effective planning, operations, and organizational growth.

Qualifications

Required

• Master's degree in public health, public administration, education, social work, nonprofit leadership, or a related field highly preferred. Significant executive leadership experience may be considered in lieu of an advanced degree.
• Minimum of five years of senior leadership experience in community health improvement, collective impact, nonprofit management, public sector leadership, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success leading complex, multi-stakeholder partnerships.
• This is a hybrid position and requires an ability to be in the STRONG ACC region approximately 3 days a week.

Preferred Experience

• Experience leading cross-sector collaborative initiatives.
• Success securing grants, philanthropic investments, or public funding.
• Strong understanding of health equity, social determinants of health, education, workforce development, or community development.
• Experience working within rural and/or Appalachian communities.
• Experience leading organizational strategy, governance, and change initiatives.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Exceptional relationship-building and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Strategic thinking with the ability to translate vision into measurable results.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication, including public speaking and facilitation.
• Political acumen and the ability to navigate complex organizational environments with credibility and neutrality.
• Strong financial, organizational, and project management capabilities.
• A collaborative leadership style that inspires trust, accountability, and shared ownership.
• A commitment to improving opportunities and outcomes for children, youth, and families.