Program Director - Middle School

Summary

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in education, social work, youth/child development, non-profit management, public administration or a related field; graduate degree preferred.
• Minimum of five to seven years’ experience working in education, social work, and/or youth development.
• Experience working with middle school aged youth.
• Knowledge and understanding of youth development, after school and public education arenas specifically in New York City.
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship building skills.
• Ability to develop partnerships, work with and in teams.
• Ability to multi-task, problem-solve and produce results in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work collaboratively and manage multiple priorities, people and projects effectively.
• Experience building and supervising a team.
• Energized by the idea and process of creating and implementing new initiatives.
• Strong writing and oral communication skills.
• Highly organized, detail oriented and trustworthy.
• Ability to analyze and synthesize information from multiple sources. 

Duties

Program Management & Implementation 

• Oversee day-to-day operations of the after school program
• Ensure a safe, inclusive and structured environment that promotes youth engagement and learning
• Lead the planning and implementation of high-quality activities that are nurturing, physically and emotionally safe and aligned with the school's curriculum and SAYA’s primary focus areas and initiatives
• Establish rapport with youth and provide mentoring, guidance and overall direction for their personal development
• Advocate on behalf of students and families and make appropriate referrals to families for outside support services when needed
• Initiate and organize special events such as performances, parent engagement events, field trips, etc. 

Staff Supervision & Coaching 

• Build a team of youth development professionals, including Mentors and Activity Specialists
• Supervise, coach and support a team of one Program Coordinator and 15-20 part-time staff including Mentors and Activity Specialists
• Lead regularly scheduled team meetings and individual supervisory meetings with staff
• Foster a positive staff culture that values collaboration, accountability and continuous improvement
• Provide ongoing professional development and performance evaluations to staff 

School & Community Partnerships 

• Build and manage partnership with school administration, teachers/key school personnel, program/organizational partners, subcontractors and vendors
• Attend school and community events as needed to represent the program
• Build and maintain strong, positive and welcoming relationships with parents through regular communication, meetings and events
• Prepare and distribute written materials to promote SAYA programming, including flyers, brochures, newsletters, and postings on school bulletin boards
• Collaborate with colleagues to collect and utilize data to evaluate program impact, inform promising practices, celebrate successes and identify areas of improvement

Contract and Budget Management & Compliance 

• Meet all compliance and safety requirements set forth by SAYA, the school in which the program operates, NYC Public Schools, NYC Department of Youth & Community Development and NYS Department of Health
• Ensure the NYC Department of Youth & Community Development database is updated weekly including enrollment, attendance, workscope, program schedule, and staffing
• Assist in the development and monitoring of the program’s budget in collaboration with the leadership team and finance department
• Track spending and resource allocation to ensure cost-effective operations and compliance 

The above is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by this position. Other functions may be assigned, and management retains the right to add or change the duties at any time.