WOW Curriculum Specialist

***Please note that this is an internal (current YG employees only) onsite position, local travel in the Chicago area is required***

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 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. Founded in 1924 today Youth Guidance is a leading provider of outcomes-driven programs serving more than 11,000 youth while touching the lives of more than 17,000 youth, parents, teachers, and community members.

Position Summary: WOW Curriculum Specialists are responsible for providing ongoing support and consultation to WOW Counselors regarding fidelity to the WOW Program Model. The WOW Curriculum Specialist should be flexible in their clinical expertise and collaborative skills to empower and motivate WOW Clinicians to be successful in implementing at their site.

Essential Duties/Responsibilities:

• Provides WOW Counselor on-going coaching, both on-site and off-site, via the 6 Step WOW Coaching Model and 6 Areas of Conceptual Feedback

• Provides training in the WOW Curriculum, Theories, and Philosophies, as well as during the Winter and Summer Training Institutes

• Collaborates with WOW Counselors and WOW Regional Manager to recruit and build relationships with students, school administration, and community partners

• Collaborates with WOW Supervisor to identify, manage, and retain talented program team members and to ensure continuity of support to the WOW clinician

• Prepare timely reports on the status of WOW clinicians (including assessment process, clinician checkpoints, training knowledge, etc.)

• Supports builds, and shares best practices in clinical interventions for positive student outcomes

• Provides ongoing WOW curriculum development and revision when required; Assures that agency core values are interwoven into program design

• Participates in ongoing professional development, as needed, to stay current with ongoing program area trends

• Documents work completed in the documentation system

• Participates in WOW and Youth Guidance Committees

• Performs other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications

Education/Experience/Training

• Master’s Degree in social work, counseling, human services or a related to area from an accredited university program or any combination of education and relevant training and/or experience.

• Three years of work experience in education, human service, or social service field. Experience in administration and program development is preferred. Work experience must demonstrate program competence and expertise

• Two years working as WOW Counselor required or 3 or more years of coaching and training experience

• Must demonstrate knowledge of advanced therapeutic concepts

• Maintains professional licensure or obtain licensure within 5 years

Skills/Abilities

• Demonstrated ability to be solutions-focused

• Strong interpersonal skills that excel in cultural sensitivity and respect for differences

• Proven ability to be a self-starter, energetic, innovative

• Must be able to self-reflect and show development in action

• Time management and prioritization skills

• Be able to motivate and encourage others

• Be able to give feedback in a safe, empowering manner

• Demonstrated passion and dedication to the agency’s mission and the continuous improvement of service quality

• Must be able to collaborate in team settings and work independently

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office Products (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Core Competencies:

• Communication: Uses effective written and oral communication with internal staff, teams, and community served; demonstrates empathy and listening
• Client orientation: Recognizes needs of diverse stakeholders and approaches relationships with a service orientation, to ultimately maximize the impact
• Equity mindset: Understands and is committed to goals of equity, consistently brings an equity mindset to the organization’s work and workplace
• Growth mindset: Views growth as important for personal and professional development; seeks out opportunities to expand skills, even if the change is required, demonstrates curiosity and eagerness to learn
• Ownership and quality of work: Effectively manages own work, and the work of the team to ensure delivery of high-quality work
• Supervisory skills: Effectively manages and develops others
• Mission drive: Demonstrates commitment to the missing of the organization as a whole and alignment with organization values

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here represent 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 encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• The duties performed are primarily in a school setting and working with the public, COVID-19 vaccination is required

• Frequent travel - must be willing and able to travel nationally/internationally on a monthly basis for up to one week stays

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 and 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