At Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts (BBBSEM) we believe that every child deserves to have a mentor in their corner and 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. To accomplish this, we partner with schools, workplaces, and volunteers all over Eastern Massachusetts to bring our program and services closest to youth who need them.
As a Big Futures Mentor, you will play a unique role in shaping the growth of our Big Futures Mentoring program model as we expand the number of youths 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 youths 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.
Key Responsibilities
- Facilitate high-impact relationships between ~ 100 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.
- 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
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelors degree with 6+ months of relevant work experience, Associate's degree or two years of higher education experience with 2+ years of relevant work experience, or High School diploma/GED with 4+ years of relevant 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 any weeknight
- Familiarity with Microsoft Office and Google programs (Excel, PowerPoint, Google Slides, Google Calendar, etc.)
- Ability to communicate with professionalism, assertiveness, and empathy to large groups and individuals verbally and in writing
Desired Qualifications
- 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
- Excellent strategic problem-solving ability with a positive, “can do” attitude
- Excellent computer skills with knowledge of video conferencing tools (Zoom, etc.) and fundraising software a plus
$46,000 - $48,000 a year 