PLEASE NOTE: APPLICANTS WITH FULLTIME JOBS ARE INELIGIBLE TO APPLY
The Homeless Children's Playtime Project (HCPP) seeks strong, diverse, energetic and child-focused leaders to join our team as a Site Manager Fellow. This is an amazing opportunity for somebody looking to gain additional experience managing a program, supervising and training volunteers, managing community partnerships and relationships with shelters, and working directly with children and families living in shelters and transitional living programs in Washington DC.
HCPP is an innovative nonprofit organization dedicated to providing educational play activities and advocacy for children living in emergency and transitional housing programs in DC. HCPP's mission is to bring joy, a therapeutic environment, opportunities to improve academically and access to community resources to children who are experiencing homelessness in DC. We are seeking to hire a Site Manager Fellow to lead THREE EVENING PLAYTIME PROGRAMS each week on Monday (Valley Place), Wednesday (Griffin House) and Thursday (DASH) evenings from 6:00-8:45 p.m.
IMPORTANT: Interested candidates MUST be available EACH of these three weekly evenings to be eligible to apply. CANDIDATES WITH FULLTIME JOBS ARE INELIBLE TO APPLY as daytime office hours are required. A car would be extremely useful in this position as it requires travel three evening times per week to two sites in Anacostia and one site in NE DC. Previous experience working in a direct service setting with children is expected.
The Site Manager Fellowship is a unique, competitive professional and leadership development opportunity. The 20hr/week position begins in December 2012 and ends in June, 2013 with the possibility to extend to June 2014. The Fellowship is a stipend-paid position that offers a diverse range of experiences to people who have high potential to pursue careers in psychology, social work, teaching, community activism, or many other challenging and rewarding fields in the future. These engaging, dedicated and caring adults will work with a team of volunteers to provide a safe, structured, developmentally appropriate play space and lead a community effort to support families who are going through crisis. The Fellowship will also provide opportunities to contribute to a small non-profit and develop a broad range of administrative and program management skills.
We are confident that the Fellowship will offer many fantastic opportunities to the right candidate. Fellows will build their professional skills in a nonprofit environment, directly impacting community engagement. Skills gained include:
- Program management
- Supervising and coaching skills
- Understanding homelessness in DC
- Expertise in child development best practices
- Developing and participating in local advocacy efforts
- Development & communications
- Group facilitation and training
- Curriculum development and implementation
- Record and outcome reporting
Responsibilities include:
- Overseeing 3 evening play programs each week from 6:00-8:45 pm on Mondays (SE), Wednesdays (SE) & Thursdays (NE)
- Facilitating HCPP's play-based curriculum each night and ensuring that children's needs are met; managing crises providing leadership among your team
- Coaching volunteers in content from ongoing trainings to bolster the skills that adults bring to interactions with children, ensuring high-quality service delivery
- Coordinating with HCPP's Masters-level Social Work interns and staff to provide referrals to children for mentoring, developmental assessments, summer camps, afterschool activities and tutoring
- Partnering with shelter and transitional living site staff and school liaisons when necessary to assist children in accessing services; Educating shelter staff and parents about our model through presentations and orientations
- Managing site supplies, coordinating ongoing cleanings of playrooms, and snack purchases
- Carefully tracking and managing client records and outcomes for your play programs using Salesforce database
- Help revising, strengthening, implementing, and evaluating our innovative educational play-based curriculum
- Assisting with organization-wide communication (Facebook, Twitter, e-newsletter), volunteer coordination, and development (recruiting volunteers to attend and support our annual fundraising events)
Successful applicants will possess a range of attributes, including: • Knowledge of and commitment to the Homeless Children's Playtime Project's mission • Demonstrated ability to engage children in groups and a background or interest in child development • Strong organizational skills and ability to keep track of many details in a busy environment • Coaching skills and ability to provide and receive constructive feedback • Commitment to teamwork and collaboration with diverse groups of people • Desire to work with children of all ages and their families in a crisis environment • Ability to build relationships and influence students, colleagues, and community members • Capacity for youth development and community building skills • Strong professional skills, including teamwork, problem-solving, verbal and written communication, detail-orientation, and time management • Strong record-keeping skills and an interest in building systems that help a nonprofit track outcomes • A Bachelor's degree is required • Previous leadership experience and work in a children's program • A fun, flexible personality and a desire to learn and serve
Each Site Manager Fellow will work closely with two or three teams of 10-15 volunteers and impact over 50 children throughout the course of the year. Site Manager Fellows will report to HCPP Executive Director and Program Manager in the office and have the support of Site Coordinators (experienced volunteer leaders) in the playrooms. About 9 hours/week will be spent in the evening Playrooms (Mon-Thurs); 11 hours/ week will be spent in the office (days can be adjusted to a mutually convenient schedule); occasional weekend or out-of –hours trainings may be scheduled as well. Fellows will be paid bi-weekly stipends, partial reimbursement for health insurance if needed, five days of paid vacation, and a transportation reimbursement on days you are in the office and in the sites. A car is recommended. For more information on the Playtime Project, please visit www.playtimeproject.net.
MORE / LESSHOW TO APPLY
Interested individuals should submit a cover letter, resume and writing sample to Jamila Larson ASAP (by Wednesday Dec 5th, if possible) at jamila.hcpp@gmail.com.
