Big Brothers Big Sisters High School Mentoring Coordinator

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts•Boston, MA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

At Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts (BBBSEM) we believe that every child deserves to have a mentor in their corner to ignite and defend their potential. That's why we are committed to promoting the healthy development of children through the nurturing of continuing, one-to-one friendships with caring responsible adults, supported by trained professional staff. We are supported in our mission by generous donors and who believe in what we do and donate to fund our operations year after year. Role Summary As a Program Coordinator within our Big Futures programming you will play a unique role in shaping the growth of our Big Futures Mentoring program model as we expand the number of youth we serve. Our Big Futures Mentoring Program Coordinators are embedded within a local high school and work directly with students, school staff, and volunteer mentors to support and engage students through our program. During the school year, you will teach a 1-hour class several times a week, organize and host monthly mentor-mentee curricular events, screen and train volunteer mentors, and counsel both “Bigs” and “Littles” on making the most of their relationship. All in all, you will be the primary point of contact for youth, mentors, and staff in carrying out a curriculum aimed at helping youth achieve their potential and expand their pathways after high school. This position will work closely with some non-native English speakers within our community and thus language capacity beyond English (especially Spanish) will be preferred.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree with one or more years of work experience, preferably in youth development, volunteer or program management, and/or education with high school students
Availability to work a full-time schedule. Hours will include evenings due to event facilitation and support calls.
Access to reliable transportation – candidates will need to be able to attend daily classes and meetings at their assigned school and our Boston office, as well as staff mentor-mentee events from 6-8 pm on some weeknights
Familiarity with Microsoft Office
Ability to communicate with professionalism, assertiveness, and empathy to large groups and individuals verbally and in writing

Nice To Haves

Bilingual Spanish-English skills preferred
Willingness to commit to a minimum of two (2) years in the role
Demonstrated comfort and ability to work with and motivate a wide variety of people, including high school students and professional adults, with a preference for candidates with experience in racially, ethnically, and socio-economically diverse urban and/or recent immigrant communities
Ability to successfully work independently and in a team environment.
Enthusiasm, creativity, a positive sense of humor, and a “can do” attitude.
Dedication to the high school and post-high school success of youth and a desire to help students determine the best pathway for themselves and their families
Understanding of various post-secondary programs, including trade programs and college admission
Proven organization and time management skills to complete a high volume of varied responsibilities in a fast paced setting
Positive, “can do” attitude

Responsibilities

Facilitate high impact relationships between ~80 mentee/mentor pairs, including monitoring participation; providing individualized attention; case management; proactively assisting relationships through regular communication, support, and advice; and identifying pairs who need additional support and implementing strategies to improve relationships
Document and track all support provided to participants; maintain high quality, timely notes on match progress in the program
Assess youth for participation in the program. Contact references and collateral persons connected with the interested party.
Carefully and thoughtfully prepare each interested party in order to make them ready to participate in our agency mission and coordinate the “matching” process.
Design and implement strategies to ensure longevity of mentor/mentee pairs
Engage students during dedicated class time and encourage mentor communication
Lead orientations and trainings for teachers and mentees
Organize and staff multiple large scale and multi-faceted mentor-mentee events (i.e. career workshops, museum visits, end-of-year events), overseeing all logistics, content, and budgets, including evening and weekend commitments
Develop and manage relationships with teachers and administration
Track program participation, conduct pre-, mid-, and post-program evaluations
Support all aspects of program implementation and improvement and BBBSEM's overall mission