Student Persistence and Engagement Manager

YouthBuild Philly • Philadelphia, PA

2h • $75,000 - $85,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Student Persistence & Engagement Manager serves as YouthBuild Philadelphia's lead persistence strategist, ensuring young people remain connected, engaged, and progressing toward graduation despite significant barriers. As part of YouthBuild's embedded student support model, this position is assigned to a designated vocational pathway to provide consistent relationship-building, mentoring, persistence support, and early identification of students requiring additional intervention. This role leads the school's Tier III engagement and re-engagement efforts by partnering with Student Advisors, Social Workers, and school leaders to proactively identify, intervene with, and reconnect students experiencing chronic absenteeism, disengagement, or other obstacles to success. Through relationship-building, restorative practices, home visits, justice system navigation, and coordinated outreach, the Manager strengthens student persistence while supporting successful transitions back into the school community. In addition, this role cultivates community referral partnerships that expand access to YouthBuild for over-aged, under-credited, and disconnected young adults while collaborating with School Operations and Enrollment to strengthen referral pathways. Working collaboratively across departments, the Manager helps ensure every young person has a clear pathway from recruitment and enrollment to sustained engagement, persistence, graduation, and postsecondary success. Success in this role is measured by students who reconnect, persist, and graduate after experiencing significant barriers to engagement.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree preferred in Social Work, Education, Human Services, Criminal Justice, Psychology, or a related field.
• 7 - 10+ years of experience working with opportunity youth, disconnected youth, or justice-involved populations.
• Demonstrated experience and impact supporting youth impacted by community violence and strong knowledge of Philadelphia's gun violence prevention initiatives, violence intervention programs, and community resources.
• Experience implementing violence intervention, restorative intervention, and trauma-informed engagement strategies with youth exposed to community violence.
• Experience and confidence conducting home visits and community outreach.
• Demonstrates success working with justice-involved or chronically disengaged youth.
• Extensive knowledge of local services, supports and community resources available to Philadelphia Youth.
• Ability to operate in a fast-paced, highly flexible work—often highly intense—work environment.
• Strong commitment to helping young adults succeed in reorienting their lives, nurturing their leadership skills, and enabling them to make a difference in their community.
• Experience in student recruitment, case management, youth development, workforce development, or alternative education preferred.
• Knowledge of restorative practices strongly preferred.
• Experience conducting home visits and community outreach.
• Strong understanding of trauma-informed practices.
• Familiarity with community resources and youth-serving organizations.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• Strong organizational and documentation skills.
• Valid driver's license and reliable transportation for community outreach and home visits.

Nice To Haves

• Invested in our core values - Respect, Excellence and Perseverance.
• Equity-focused and believe that all students can achieve.
• Passionate about community service and civic engagement.
• Excited to mentor students and support them throughout their time at YouthBuild and beyond.
• Collaborative and dedicated to personal and professional development.

Responsibilities

• Lead Tier III persistence interventions for students experiencing chronic absenteeism, disengagement, or other barriers to persistence.
• Develop and coordinate individualized re-engagement plans in partnership with Student Advisors, Social Workers, School Culture, families, and other stakeholders.
• Conduct strategic home visits, family conferences, and community-based outreach to reconnect students and remove barriers to engagement.
• Monitor intervention progress, evaluate outcomes, and transition students back to ongoing Student Advisor case management once engagement has stabilized.
• Present Tier III cases through the Student Intervention Team (SIT), coordinating cross-functional intervention strategies and maintaining appropriate documentation.
• Maintain documentation of Tier III interventions and referrals in accordance with school policies.
• Identify trends in student disengagement and recommend strategies that strengthen schoolwide persistence, engagement, and re-engagement efforts.
• Coach staff on evidence-based engagement strategies and contribute to the continuous improvement of YouthBuild's persistence framework.
• Lead Tier III restorative interventions for students whose behavioral or attendance concerns require escalation beyond routine restorative practices.
• Facilitate restorative re-entry planning following suspension, justice involvement, absence, or repeated unsuccessful interventions.
• Serve as the primary liaison with probation officers, diversion programs, courts, and community partners to support students' continued educational participation.
• Serve as YouthBuild's point person for students navigating the juvenile or adult justice system, including monitoring probation requirements, court dates, hearings, release timelines, and case outcomes.
• Coordinate and attend probation meetings, court hearings, and other justice-related proceedings, as appropriate, to advocate for students and support educational continuity.
• Prepare, solicit, and coordinate letters of support, progress updates, and other school documentation for judicial or probationary proceedings when appropriate.
• Communicate justice involvement, legal developments, and potential impacts on student success with school leadership while maintaining appropriate confidentiality and compliance with applicable laws.
• Maintain a visible and consistent presence within an assigned vocational pathway through classroom visits, worksite engagement, and participation in program activities to build trust, strengthen student relationships, and proactively identify emerging needs.
• Partner with Student Advisors, instructors, and Workforce Development staff to identify emerging concerns and provide proactive mentoring, engagement coaching, and persistence support.
• Reinforce attendance, professional behaviors, and workforce readiness through individualized coaching and consistent relationship-building.
• Identify students demonstrating behavioral health, substance use, or other clinical concerns and coordinate referrals to the Social Work team while maintaining communication regarding student progress.
• Cultivate strategic referral partnerships with schools, juvenile justice agencies, community organizations, shelters, workforce providers, and other organizations serving opportunity youth.
• Collaborate with School Operations and Enrollment to strengthen referral pathways for over-aged, under-credited, and disconnected young adults.
• Partner with the School Operations and Enrollment team to ensure referred students experience a seamless transition from referral through enrollment and successful engagement.
• Represent YouthBuild within the community to expand referral networks and increase awareness among organizations serving young people seeking a second chance.
• Monitor referral trends and recommend strategies that strengthen access to YouthBuild.
• Analyze Tier III persistence, referral, and engagement data to identify trends and recommend improvements that strengthen student outcomes.

Benefits

• Generous time off
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Flexible spending accounts
• 401(k) savings plan with an employer match
• Employer paid parental leave, life insurance, short-term disability and long-term disability
• Educational assistance and professional development opportunities to enhance skills and career growth
• Supportive and collaborative work environment
• Strong community support and involvement

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level