Project Coordinator

Volunteers of America Los Angeles•Downey, CA

10d•Onsite

About The Position

VOALA Helping Our Most Vulnerable Change Their Life Stories Volunteers of America is a non-profit human services organization committed to serving people in need, strengthening families, and building communities. VOALA provides a variety of social services to Los Angeles area communities such as Head Start programs, Upward Bound college prep programs, veterans’ services, homeless shelters, low-income housing program as well as drug and alcohol rehabilitation. The Project Coordinator is responsible for meeting the program goals, annually. The Program Goals for the participants served by the Project Coordinator are: Enroll and complete in a rigorous high school program of study, Achieve High School graduation, Improve academic performance on standardized tests, and competitive scores on college entrance exams, Enrollment in post-secondary education, Promote college degree attainment in six years. The Project Coordinator will ensure the annual enrollment goal of 500 participants is met by January of each year.

Requirements

Must be able to pass a fingerprint clearance, background check, including criminal history, personal references, employment and education verifications
Ability to perform under circumstances of possible emotional stress and conflicts dealing with difficult, uncooperative, and potentially aggressive clients as VOALA serves the neediest of the needy in our programs which may include clients with homelessness, mental-illness, substance abuse, recently released from incarceration and other challenges.
Bachelor’s degree required in education, counseling, social work, higher education administration, or an appropriate field related to Project objectives.
Minimum of two (2) years of experience assisting with staff supervision; budget management; program development and evaluation, reporting, and compliance with federal regulations.
Minimum of four (4) years of experience with federal TRIO programs, academic support programs, or similar programs for disadvantaged low-income 9-12th grade students that are potential first-generation college students.
Experience providing academic advising services, academic instruction, tutoring programs, non-cognitive skills, college, career, financial aid, and economic literacy information to an assigned caseload of secondary school students (grades 9-12).
Professional or personal experience in overcoming barriers similar to those confronting Project Participants.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in education, social work or counseling from an accredited college or university
Formal training and/or work experience in programming that improves secondary school retention/graduation rates
Experience preparing high school students for admission and financial aid to post-secondary schools
Bilingual in English and Spanish
Ability to develop a network with staff at other pre-college programs

Responsibilities

Supervise, evaluate and recommend staff for hire
Collect and submit data for the annual preparation and submission of the Annual Performance Report (APR)
Monitor and document participant academic progress and ensure a plan of action for improvement
Visit target school and maintain contact with school personnel to develop awareness of program services and report participant’s progress
Develop and implement a summer enrichment program
Develop and implement tutoring math program for RSSP participants
Responsible for meeting recruitment deadline, the assessment of participant needs, and that each student meets the requirements for enrollment in our ETS Program
Ensure the completion of all program forms, and the appropriate documentation of all services
Ensure the collaboration with other youth programs in the community
Maintain accurate program files for participants in the database and file cabinets
Develop resource educational materials for project use with seminars and workshops
Administer and interpret project assessment inventories for participants
Ensure the appropriate number of contacts with participants are made for college preparation, and social/personal development
Plan and conduct parent workshops
Plan and implement college or career tours
Ensure that the management of participant case load is continuously being documented to reflect the provision of services
Responsible for day-to-day Program efforts, providing guidance and supervision for staff, budget oversight, project timelines, and anticipated outcomes
Effectively plans workload of subordinate individuals and programs; budgets, deploys, and organizes resources
Recruit participants, perform outreach to school and community
Develop curriculum and conduct workshops/seminars on college and career planning, financial literacy and personal development
Coordinate tutorial services available at the target school and community, observe effectiveness, make referrals as appropriate
Plan and supervise group activities and college visits, assist program activities and field trips
Engage personally with students, prepare and execute intervention plan for poor academic performance, initiate discipline if needed, involve parents, make referrals to outside resources
Maintain Blumen database on participants, and program schedule; prepare and record weekly evaluations, observing student privacy
Make regular reports to Director, assist in preparation of Program’s Annual Performance Report
Other duties as required and may be subject to change
As service providers to the underprivileged and vulnerable in our community, all employees are considered Mandated Reporters, and must report any instance of physical or sexual abuse to proper authorities.