School Aged and Summer Youth Programs Director

At Neighborhood Centers, we are dedicated to empowering individuals living in low-income neighborhoods by providing them with quality education and inclusive programs that celebrate diversity, build strong families, and foster a sense of community. We firmly believe that every child deserves a safe place to go, which is why we offer licensed after-school and summer programs at select schools and our Neighborhood Centers. By collaborating with community partners, we provide a wide range of enriching programs and activities, spanning STEM, arts, sports, and leadership. As the full-time SASY Program Director, you will play a pivotal role in bringing our vision to life. With your leadership, we can ensure that our school age youth programs meet the highest standards of quality, inspire continuous learning amongst our team members, and provide young people with a solid foundation for lifelong success. Together, we can create a brighter future for all members of our community.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Responsible for all aspects of program development, quality, and safety.
• Maintains required enrollment numbers.
• Administers the program in accordance with Iowa DHHS guidelines.
• The SASY Program Director will manage the daily operations of all afterschool sites during the school year and the day camp programs during the summer.
• Establishes relationships with individual children and families and being responsive to their needs.
• Ensure all children receive enriching educational programming with a focus on physical and psychological safety.
• Provides assistance to staff in developing the curriculum that is fortified with meaningful experiences while meeting the needs and interests of the group and individual child.
• Interviews, hires, and provides appropriate orientation and training for program staff
• Develops and sustains strong, working relationships with services providers, community partners and funding partners
• Links programs with age
• appropriate and culturally relevant resources and partners
• Directs and coordinates activities of program personnel to ensure programming progresses on schedule and within prescribed budget
• Analyzes procedures, techniques, partnerships and resources to improve quality of programs and services
• Maintains appropriate paperwork as defined by the Neighborhood Centers administrative policy
• Compiles and reports appropriate data and evaluation (i.e. statistics, quarterly report forms and intakes) for funders, program partners, Neighborhood Centers Leadership Team, and Board of Directors
• Conducts, directs or coordinates ongoing staff professional development
• Assists in the hiring and training of Neighborhood Centers personnel
• Assigns schedules, workload, and related duties, and coordinates activities of staff in providing programs and activities
• Confers with program personnel weekly/bi-weekly to provide technical advice, clear and appropriate direction, and regular feedback
• Reviews and evaluates performance of staff members on a regular basis
• Sets expectations and monitors delegated activities

QUALIFICATIONS

Our ideal candidate will maintain high expectations while also ensuring a fun, and positive environment daily! To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The qualifications listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, Child Development, Recreation, Human Services, or Social Work and/or equivalent number of years of experience in Project Development and Management. Master’s degree preferred.
• Experience in non-profit agency and working with families from diverse backgrounds.
• Minimum of 2 years’ experience working primarily within a licensed childcare center or school environment.
• Strong leadership, organizational, and administrative skills.
• Must have a solid grasp of budget development, income production, and expense control.
• Must be able to effectively communicate with children and parents and committed to working within a diverse population.
• Strong interpersonal skills, ability to prioritize work, excellent organizational skills, and initiative to improve processes
• Strong project management skills
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex, multidisciplinary efforts
• Working knowledge of human resource management
• Maintain CPR and First Aid certification
• Maintain Child Abuse Reporters certification
• Receive clearance from Iowa Department of Human Services on Child Abuse and Criminal Records check and FBI fingerprint check
• Maintain a valid driver's license
• Maintain current physical

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

Directly supervises Neighborhood Centers school age youth programs and Site Managers for up to 7 sites (schools and Neighborhood Center locations) with up to 45 program staff on any given day. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws, including labor and employment law. Responsibilities include assisting in training employees, planning, assigning, and directing work, appraising performance; addressing interpersonal strengths and barriers, empowering staff to grow in the agency and in skills, offering feedback and criticism, addressing complaints, and resolving problems using a restorative approach.

LANGUAGE ABILITY

Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.

COGNITIVE DEMANDS

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

COMPUTER SKILLS

To perform this job successfully, an individual should have a working knowledge of Contact Management systems; Human Resource systems; Internet software; Microsoft Office Project Management software; Spreadsheet software and Word Processing software.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Able to sit (and sit on the floor) or stand for extended periods.
• Work involves walking and running, talking and hearing to exchange information, and using hands to handle, feel or operate objects and reaching with hands and arms.
• Vision abilities required by this job include close vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
• Capable of pushing, pulling, lifting, and/or carrying up to 50 pounds.