Program Coordinator: Youth Mental Health Campaign

Opportunity: The Young Women's Project (YWP) is a dynamic, brave organization that develops leaders, takes on institutions, and builds youth power in DC. We are looking for an experienced program coordinator with a flexible skill set to help us develop our youth-led mental health peer education and advocacy work. Ideal candidates will be at home training youth leaders or developing program logic models. Demonstrated commitment to mental health and wellness is a must. Experience with counseling, social work and other wellness practice will be helpful. We are a small, ambitious organization with a big agenda and limited resources—expect to learn a lot and wear a lot of hats and to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of youth.

YWP Mission: The Young Women's Project (YWP) builds the leadership and power of young people so that they can transform DC institutions to expand rights and opportunities for DC youth. YWP programs engage youth on three levels – as organizers (educating, engaging, mobilizing their peers, working as teams to make decisions), as advocates (presenting testimony to city Council, advocating with Agency leaders, developing and passing policies) and as system rebuilders (developing programs, creating new peer-led systems, integrating youth into decision making). Our work engages under-resourced BIPOC youth ages 14-21 from all DC Wards and most public high schools. The vast majority of your youth identify as women, 20% identify as LGBTQ. Last year, we hired and trained 242 young people from 25 DC public and charter schools. All YWP youth staff work 5-6 hours a week, develop a portfolio of products, build cross-neighborhood friendships, earn $10-17/hr and receive more than 150 hours of training. Founded in 1994 as a Collective, YWP has a staff of 6 adults and 150 youth and a budget of $650,000. We are value-driven, anti-racist, feminist, grounded in youth development and partnership, and work every day to dismantle oppression and rebuild institutions.

YWP Program: YWP's work is organized into two program areas, driven by long-term-system-change-focused goals. The Youth Health Educator Program (YHEP) develops youth as sexual health advocates and educators who work to expand reproductive rights, reduce unintended pregnancy, distribute condoms, and connect youth to sexual health services. Recent projects include the 2023 Sexual Education Centers that provide sexual health information, resources, and services, conducting a Youth Sexual Health Survey taken by 650 youth across 24 DC High Schools  (Results are here) and  presenting 22 testimonies to DC Council. The Youth Justice Campaign (YJC) develops youth as advocates and organizers to advance a bold agenda and leverage their power through collective action. In response to the youth mental health crisis and the need for school based services, YJC youth started the  Mental Health Campaign, aims to strengthen school-based mental health programming, connect youth to services, reduce stigma, expand access to mental health education, and advocate for stronger school based programming and funding. Since 2019, YJC Youth Advocates conducted 3 Annual Youth Mental Health Surveys with more than 2,000 students,  presented 72 Performance Oversight and Budget Testimonies  on a range of health, employment and education issues to DC Council, helped create the School-Based Behavioral Health Student Peer Educator Pilot (P2P Pilot) that codifies the essential role of peer educators into law, and created the Student On-line Support (SOS) Virtual Wellness Centers in 16 schools (and in Spanish). 

Position Summary: The Coordinator will work as part of a 4 person Mental Health Campaign team (and 80 part time youth staff) including YWP ED and 1 YJC Training Associate to implement the Mental Health Campaign in 22 schools. The position has three main responsibilities: 1) Prepare for and deliver weekly trainings and working sessions for 2-3 youth staff teams on a range of mental health issues and skills including peer counseling, motivational interviewing, solution focused support, and navigating the mental health system; 2) Manage youth-led mental wellness projects at 6-8 schools, working with youth members of youth teams. Projects are likely to include: peer wellness trainings, peer support groups, peer advocate programs, and virtual education and service links (see SOS VWC as an example); 3) Contribute to YWP’s work with DC Agency and DC Council leaders to integrate youth into school-based health decision making and delivery systems. This is a full time position that (like all YWP positions) requires youth partnership and engagement. Therefore, the Coordinator must be available to train 3 nights a week from 3:30-6:45 to work with youth. YWP is currently operating on a hybrid schedule with one day of in-person office time and 4-12 hours of in-person youth training time (depending on the position). YWP’s core operating hours are 10-645 (M-TH) and 10-3 on Friday.  Youth trainings are conducted in person at libraries and the YWP office located at Dupont Circle.  

Salary & Benefits: $50-65,000 commensurate with experience. YWP offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits package for full-time employees, including health, dental, vision, and disability insurance coverage; a 401K plan; and generous Federal holidays and vacation and sick leave. This position is considered an exempt employee.

Priority Responsibilities include the following:

• Prepare for and deliver weekly trainings and working sessions for 3 youth staff teams on a range of mental health issues and skills including peer counseling, motivational interviewing, solution focused support, and navigating the mental health system; Prepare training materials, contribute to lesson plan development, collect evaluation and attendance data, Oversee, track, and manage all aspects of youth work; provide individual support and referrals to youth staff as needed.
• Manage youth-led mental wellness projects at 6-8 schools, working with youth members of youth teams. Projects are likely to include: peer wellness trainings, peer support groups, peer advocate programs, and virtual education and service links (see SOS VWC as an example), and other projects. As part of this work, collaborate with school counselors and clinicians to expand outreach and improve services and integrate youth into decision making.
• Policy, Advocacy, & Campaign Development: Contribute to YWP’s work with DC Agency and DC Council leaders to integrate youth into school-based health decision making and delivery systems: 1) Conduct policy research including primary data collection, collection state models, and policy analysis; 2) Develop materials for use in education, outreach, and advocacy including reports, briefing papers, and testimony; 3) Work with youth staff to tell stories through written and visual means, testimony development, and meetings hearings, and other events.
• Communications & Social Media: Work with ED and Program Coordinator to expand youth leader and organizational visibility through the following: 1) Contribute to communications planning, strategy, and calendar development; 2) Train youth staff in social media; develop LPs and other training material to support this work; 3) Track youth social media posts and track, update and analyze social media statistics; 4) Write, proofread, format, and publish content on our website and blogs; and 5) Contribute to quarterly e-newsletters, announcements and other email messages sent to our electronic mailing lists.

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in education, social work, youth, development, public health, or related fields is required; Masters degree is helpful
• 2 years of experience as a teacher, facilitator and trainer; skilled in popular education and experiential learning
• 3 years of experience working with youth, women, and with communities of color;
  • 2 years of experience with project coordination and implementation;
• Demonstrated knowledge of and experience in mental health and wellness, school safety, sexual health, and comprehensive sexual health education;
  • Demonstrated experience with assessment and program evaluation and data management systems
• Deep, demonstrated commitment to building youth power and working with youth as partners to improve youth serving institutions; understanding of youth development framework
  • Extraordinary problem solving and critical thinking skills, and written and verbal communication skills;
  • Highly organized with a demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage complex projects
  • Backbone.