Strengthening Cradle-to-Career Coordination to Improve Family Outcomes

The City of Birmingham is partnering with Woodlawn United to strengthen place-based coordination that improves cradle-to-career outcomes for children and families in the Woodlawn-Kingston community. The FUSE Executive Fellow will align cross-sector partners around shared priorities, strengthen family navigation and data systems, and build coordination, governance, and collaboration across the partnership. Ultimately, this work will build sustainable partnership infrastructure that enables Birmingham to expand community-centered coordination and drive long-term improvements in outcomes across additional neighborhoods.

Fellowship Dates: October 26, 2026 – October 22, 2027

Salary: Executive Fellows are FUSE employees and receive an annual salary of $95,000. Fellows can also access various health, dental, and vision insurance benefits. This amount is not representative of market-rate salaries for the experienced professionals in our program but is intended as compensation for a year of public service.

ABOUT THE FUSE EXECUTIVE FELLOWSHIP

FUSE is a national nonprofit dedicated to increasing the capacity of local governments to work more effectively for communities. We embed private sector executives in city and county agencies to lead projects that improve public services and accelerate systems change. Since 2012, FUSE has led over 400 projects in 58 governments across 26 states, impacting a total population equivalent to 1 in 10 Americans.

When designing each fellowship project, FUSE works closely with government partners and community stakeholders to define a scope of work that will achieve substantive progress toward high-priority local needs. Projects address today’s most pressing challenges and opportunities, including affordable housing, economic mobility, climate resilience, public safety, infrastructure, technology, and more.

FUSE conducts a full executive search for each individual project to ensure that the selected candidate has at least 15 years of professional experience, the required competencies for the role, and deep connections to the community being served.

Executive Fellows are embedded in government agencies working with senior leaders for at least one year of full-time work. Prospective responsibilities may include thorough data analytics and research, developing enhanced operations and financial models, building change management and strategic planning processes, and/or building broad coalitions to support project implementation efforts. Executive Fellows are data-driven and results-oriented and able to effectively manage complex projects. They build strong relationships with a broad array of stakeholders, foster alignment within and across various layers of government, and build partnerships between governments and communities.

Throughout the fellowships, Executive Fellows receive training, coaching, and professional support to help achieve their project goals.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Place-based partnerships are essential to strengthening cradle-to-career outcomes and expanding access to opportunity for children and families. These approaches align schools, local governments, community-based organizations, and service providers around shared goals, enabling communities to address complex, interconnected challenges through coordinated action. In neighborhoods where families navigate multiple systems to access education, health, housing, and social supports, strong cross-sector coordination plays a critical role in improving outcomes such as school attendance, academic progress, and long-term economic mobility. When communities build integrated systems grounded in local leadership, shared data, and consistent engagement, they create the conditions for more connected, responsive, and impactful support for children, caregivers, and intergenerational households.

In Birmingham, AL, the Woodlawn-Kingston community has emerged as a leading example of community-driven revitalization, supported by sustained investment, strong local leadership, and a robust network of partners. Woodlawn United has spent over a decade building an ecosystem that includes schools, youth-serving organizations, housing partners, and city stakeholders working to support children and families across multiple dimensions of well-being. At the same time, the City of Birmingham is advancing a broader cradle-to-career strategy to improve outcomes for youth and strengthen long-term economic mobility. As these efforts expand, stakeholders have identified an opportunity to further align existing programs, strengthen coordination across partners, and improve how families connect to available services. Current efforts provide a strong foundation, with growing momentum to enhance shared data practices, deepen cross-sector collaboration, and ensure that resources are deployed in a more coordinated and effective way.

The City of Birmingham will partner with FUSE to accelerate the development of a coordinated, place-based system that strengthens outcomes for children and families in Woodlawn-Kingston while informing broader citywide strategy. Ultimately, this work will strengthen how existing investments translate into measurable outcomes, expand access to opportunity for families, and position Birmingham to scale a community-centered approach to cradle-to-career success across additional neighborhoods.

PROJECT APPROACH

Beginning in Fall 2026, the FUSE Executive Fellow will work with the City of Birmingham, in partnership with Woodlawn United and local stakeholders, to strengthen the coordination of cradle-to-career efforts that support children and families in the Woodlawn-Kingston community. The fellow will focus on: building and aligning cross-sector partnerships by supporting the development of a coordinated, place-based system that connects education, community services, and family supports; strengthening collaboration among partners; and advancing shared, data-informed goals. Through this work, the fellow will help partners operate more cohesively to drive measurable, long-term improvements in outcomes for children and families.

During the first 90 days, the fellow will conduct a comprehensive discovery phase to build a deep understanding of the current landscape across Woodlawn-Kingston and the broader city context. The fellow will lead a structured listening tour with key stakeholders, including Woodlawn United leadership and staff, city departments, Birmingham City Schools, public charter school leaders, youth-serving organizations, housing partners, and community members. This process will capture insights into existing coordination efforts, community priorities, service delivery pathways, and opportunities to strengthen alignment across partners. The fellow will also conduct a landscape analysis and review key materials, including prior planning efforts, program data, community engagement findings, and relevant city initiatives. In parallel, the fellow will research best practices from comparable place-based partnership models nationally. Based on these insights, the fellow will synthesize key findings and present concepts to refine the project approach, including proposed strategies for coordination, family navigation, and data alignment, for review and approval by City and Woodlawn United leadership before advancing to the next phase of work.

Using the insights gathered during discovery, the fellow will design and implement strategies to strengthen coordination across partners and improve how children and families access services and supports. This work will include developing a cradle-to-career coordination framework that defines partner roles, aligns efforts around shared goals, and strengthens accountability across schools, nonprofits, and city agencies. The fellow will design and operationalize a centralized approach to family navigation, establishing clear pathways that connect families to appropriate resources while enabling partners to track engagement and identify gaps. The fellow will also support the development of shared data practices by working across organizations to define priority indicators, align reporting approaches, and strengthen how information is used to inform decision-making. In addition, the fellow will facilitate regular cross-sector engagement, convening partners to review progress, address challenges, and refine strategies. In collaboration with Woodlawn United and city stakeholders, the fellow will pilot coordination approaches, gather feedback, and refine systems to ensure they are practical, community-centered, and integrated into ongoing work.

By the end of the fellowship, the City of Birmingham and its partners will operate with a stronger, more aligned place-based coordination infrastructure to support children and families in Woodlawn-Kingston. Partners will have increased capacity to coordinate services, guide shared strategy, and align resources around common goals, while families will experience clearer pathways to access support. The City will have a more defined and scalable approach to cradle-to-career coordination, enabling expansion of this model into additional neighborhoods. To ensure sustainability, the fellow will work with city and community partners to embed new practices within existing organizations, establish clear ownership of coordination functions, and strengthen ongoing structures that support continued alignment, learning, and improvement beyond the fellowship period.

The fellow will be embedded within the City of Birmingham, reporting directly to the Project Supervisor and receiving strategic guidance from the Executive Sponsor. In addition to this primary reporting relationship, the fellow will maintain a formal “dotted line” relationship with Woodlawn United, serving as the backbone place-based partner, with a regular communication cadence to ensure alignment with community priorities and partnership efforts. This dual alignment will enable the fellow to effectively bridge city leadership and community-based implementation, ensuring that project activities remain grounded in the local context while advancing broader citywide goals.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

By Fall 2027, the Executive Fellow is expected to have produced the following:

• Developed a Cradle-to-Career Coordination Framework – Designed and supported the adoption of a clear, place-based framework that defines partner roles, aligns efforts around shared goals, and establishes accountability across schools, community organizations, and city agencies, enabling more coordinated and effective support for children and families.
• Established a Centralized Family Navigation System – Created and operationalized a structured model for connecting families to services, including defined intake, referral pathways, and tracking mechanisms, improving access to resources and strengthening follow-through across partners.
• Defined Shared Data and Performance Alignment Systems – Developed shared indicators, reporting protocols, and practical tools to support data-informed decision-making, improve visibility into outcomes such as attendance and engagement, and align efforts across organizations.
• Strengthened Cross-Sector Partnership Infrastructure – Established consistent convening structures, communication channels, and collaboration processes that improve coordination among education, nonprofit, and city stakeholders and support ongoing alignment across the partnership.
• Developed a Sustainability and Replication Strategy – Produced a roadmap outlining long-term ownership, integration into existing systems, and pathways for scaling the model to additional neighborhoods, ensuring sustained impact and enabling broader citywide application.

KEY STAKEHOLDERS

• Executive Sponsor – Ed Fields, Senior Advisor and Chief Strategist, City of Birmingham
• Interim Project Supervisor – Ed Fields, Senior Advisor and Chief Strategist, City of Birmingham
• Place-Based Partnership Liaison: Mashonda Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, Woodlawn United

QUALIFICATIONS

• 15+ years of progressively responsible experience in organizational transformation and change management, from practitioner to enterprise-level leadership.
• Synthesizes complex information into clear and concise recommendations and action-oriented implementation plans.
• Develops and effectively implements both strategic and operational project management plans.
• Generates innovative, data-driven, and result-oriented solutions to complex challenges.
• Respond quickly to changing ideas, responsibilities, expectations, trends, strategies, and other processes.
• Communicates effectively verbally and in writing and excels in active listening and conversing.
• Fosters collaboration across multiple constituencies to support more effective decision-making.
• Establishes and maintains strong relationships with diverse stakeholders, both inside and outside of government, particularly community-based relationships.
• Embraces differing viewpoints and implements strategies to find common ground. Demonstrates confidence and professional diplomacy while effectively interacting with individuals at all levels of various organizations.

FUSE is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply for this position.