Program and Partnerships Manager

About Our Organization: At Youth Guidance, we believe that no matter what challenges a young person faces, they are more likely to succeed when they have caring adults in their lives. Our highly-trained staff guides kids to overcome the life and academic challenges facing Chicago’s youth. We meet kids where they are — physically and emotionally — to help them focus on their education, make positive choices, and remain on the right path toward life success.

Position Summary: The Program and Partnerships Manager of Community Connections is responsible for overseeing case management, crisis support, and resource provision for Youth Guidance students and families. The manager works with the Director of Counseling to set the strategic vision for Community Connections and supervises a team of resource specialists who provide case management, resource provision, crisis interventions, and short-term clinical support.  They are responsible for overseeing the planning, development, coordination, implementation, and evaluation of all program activities, staff, and outcomes within the Community Connections program. They will also take the lead in establishing partnerships with other community-based organizations, including organizations that provide support to youth and families affected by gender-based violence.

Essential Duties/Responsibilities:

Administrative leadership and professionalism:

• Collaborates with the Director of Counseling, Youth Guidance staff, school administrators, and other personnel to ensure continuity of support and program implementation.
• Maintains focus on the achievement of key program outcomes including goals for connecting students and families to resources, as well as performance, retention, and satisfaction ensuring program initiatives are on track for desired metrics.
• Builds and maintains ongoing partnerships with community resource and support partners and maintains a centralized internal database of quality partnerships.
• Actively engages in organization-wide strategic planning efforts to increase program capacity and deepen the quality and impact of clinical and case management services at Youth Guidance.
• Assumes assigned responsibilities that support the overall function of the organization. These responsibilities may include such activities as public relations, community advocacy, public speaking, etc.
• Maintains accurate records and prepares needed reports.

Budgeting and Fundraising:

• Collaborates with the Director of Counseling and Finance Department to plan and manage regional program budget, monitor spending to ensure expenditures are aligned with budget scope, and address issues that impact program goals.

• Assists the Director of Clinical Counseling in developing, negotiating, and managing contracts to meet all terms and deliverables.

• Reviews grant proposals, manages grant/contract deliverables for active awards, and meets reporting deadlines.

Client/Stakeholder Management:

• Serves as primary liaison and communicates with school personnel, social service agencies, community groups, and public officials regarding program goals and objectives.

• Understands the political landscape and manages relationships between government agencies, public partners, Youth Guidance departments/programs, and outside vendors to ensure clear communication.

• Seeks and leads opportunities for Youth Guidance to be a regional and national expert in the field of school-based clinical and counseling support for youth.

Supervisory:

• Supervises evaluates and develops resource specialists effectively.
• Recommends new hires, promotions, disciplinary actions, terminations, and overall performance management of counselors and case managers.
• Supports builds and shares best practices for positive student outcomes.
• Provides specific guidance in the areas of professional responsibilities, prioritization, and time and resource allocation.
• Designs and integrates professional development opportunities for program staff, working closely with direct reports and other managers to develop professional development plans.
• Identifies and implements strategies to ensure staff reaches program goals and objectives through the interpretation, study of data, use of management plans and other mechanisms.
• Provides training and technical assistance to program and school staff, as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education/Experience/Training

• Master’s degree in social work, counseling, or related human services field from an accredited college or university

• Current Illinois licensure (LCSW, LCPC, LSW, LPC) strongly preferred

• Five years of work experience as a counselor, social worker, case manager, or similar role providing services in a school or community-based setting

• Experience in program management and administration including experience managing budgets and contracts

• Two years experience providing clinical or case management supervision

• Experience working with youth and families affected by domestic violence/gender-based violence

• Demonstrated knowledge of case management provision, including resource identification, partnership building, and culturally responsive service provision

• Experience creating and providing clinical training to address specific counselor training needs and ensure competent service provision

Skills/Abilities

• Demonstrates knowledge of social/emotional and crisis interventions for youth.

• Makes independent decisions and exercises sound judgment.

• Leads a team with a vision incorporating the goals of the organization and the program objectives.

• Manages, understands, and analyzes data.

• Demonstrates cultural competency, including understanding the effects of institutional racism and systemic oppression on marginalized populations, and recognition of personal biases.

• Demonstrates commitment to continuous growth, including the ability to receive and integrate constructive feedback from leadership, peers, and supervisees.

• Engages in continuous improvement of service quality in alignment with the organization's mission.

• Demonstrates flexibility and adaptability, including willingness to handle difficult situations and unforeseen tasks in a timely manner.

• Creates systems and policies to ensure that staff from a variety of backgrounds are provided opportunities to develop and thrive.

• Maintains a client-centered, solution-focused perspective.

• Demonstrates passion and dedication to the agency’s mission.

Our Leadership Core Competencies:

• Continuous improvement-minded:  Takes initiative to identify and execute strategies and processes to continuously improve one’s leadership to strengthen the organization’s overall impact.

• Develops and motivates others: Motivates others and supports their development through strong coaching and mentoring. Effectively stewards self and others through both small and large-scale change.

• External representation and relationship building: Represents the organization among external stakeholders, and builds strong, trusting relationships with stakeholders

• Leads with vision: Has an inspiring vision for the future of the organization, beyond the status quo, and communicates it effectively; leads with courage and willingness to take risks in service of impact

• Manages with data: Understands data; analyzes data and identifies insights and implications

• Strategic thinking and resource management Considers the future of the organization proactively and responsively; weighs diverse inputs to inform strategies; identifies innovative opportunities when relevant; makes and communicates decisions that effectively balance tradeoffs between financial sustainability and impact

• Team**-building:** Builds strong relationships with teams and colleagues; fosters effective teams and collaborative interactions

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

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is to stand for sustained periods of time, frequently talk, hear, use hands and fingers to feel, handle and operate objects or controls, and occasionally stand, bend, stoop, kneel, and crouch
• The employee is to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures, transcribing, and viewing a computer terminal.
• The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounter while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• This job operates in a professional office environment and working with the public, COVID-19 vaccination is required.
• This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets, and fax machines
• Occasional local travel

DEI Statement

At Youth Guidance, we understand that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) are fundamental to realizing our vision of bright and successful futures for all young people. We celebrate the diversity of youth and recognize them as empowered leaders, problem-solvers, and experts of their own experiences. At the same time, we acknowledge that many systems and institutions meant to support youth are inequitable and unjust.

As such, we are committed to advancing DE&I through our words and our actions, both internally and externally, by:

• Strengthening cultural competence as well as policies, practices, and organizational structures that foster belonging and leverage the unique backgrounds and talents of staff;
• Offering youth-centered programs that are accessible and responsive to people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, abilities, sexual identity, gender identity, expression, language, and cultural and religious beliefs and practices;
• Influencing systems that youth, their families, and communities are impacted by, such as schools, organizational networks, governmental bodies, researchers, and the funding community, to apply approaches that embrace DEI in addressing the needs and supporting the aspirations of young people.

Youth Guidance is an equal-opportunity employer and proudly values diversity. Youth Guidance does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law and is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity along all of these lines. People of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

EOE/M/F/D/V/SO