Program Manager Fargo-Moorhead

Friends of the Children is a nonprofit that is impacting generational change by empowering youth through relationships with professional mentors. We do this by providing children facing the most obstacles with a long-term, salaried, professional mentor, who we call a "Friend," from kindergarten through high school graduation, 12+ years - no matter what. We are currently seeking an extraordinary professional to embark on a new career journey as a Program Manager at our Fargo-Moorhead chapter.

The Program Manager will be a highly motivated, enthusiastic individual with a talent for facilitating effective communication within this supervisory role, and provide support in hiring, onboarding and training new friends. They will engage and empower Friends to reach their individual goals for their families and will be tasked to support the establishment and expansion of our innovative, evidence-based model in the Fargo-Moorhead community.

This position will work as a member of the leadership team, specifically overseeing the various components of our youth program within our organization. Some of the role's responsibility will be to provide supervisory support and identify best practices using data analysis to a team of Friends working with youth from kindergarten to 5th grade. The ideal candidate will have a smart head for data, and be an innovative leader deeply connected to the communities we serve. They will be proactive, results-driven, and will work closely with the Program Director (PD) to help guide Friends Fargo-Moorhead's implementation, assessment, and evaluation of our two-generation model of support. The right candidate will be fiercely committed to equity and will ensure that every aspect of the organization's mission is executed with full engagement of communities impacted by our work.

At Friends of the Children, we put children first and use our values to change the way the world treats and views youth facing great barriers. As a Program Manager you will nurture long-term relationships from a foundation of love, acceptance, and culturally informed practice. Do you want to help four of our youth discover their limitless potential, by fostering their internal resiliency? Are you ready to help build relationships within the communities of our youth and families to strengthen social networks and provide bridges to new opportunities? If so, the impactful role of a Program Manager might be for you.

Curious to learn more? See the position details below.

Job Description:

The Program Manager is responsible for supervising, guiding, and supporting the Friends. The Program Manager is a role model and mentor for Friends, acts as a team facilitator and organizational motivator, and facilitates effective communication in all directions. The Program Manager is responsible for supporting the hiring, onboarding, training and supervision of Friends. A Program Manager must know, understand, honor, and support the organization's mission, vision, values and principles, be able to clearly articulate the organization's function, and must have a demonstrated desire to participate in the management of the organization.

You will serve as a mentor for our Childhood program (Kindergarten to 5th Grade) as a positive adult role model to four elementary children and develop loving, caring, and sustained relationships with each child. For each child, you will set positive expectations; nurture and promote each child's strength, talents, and abilities; help ensure physical and emotional well-being; teach life and academic skills; provide enrichment activities; and model responsible behavior. You will fully document activities and participate in the ongoing evaluation process. You will work primarily one-on-one with the children you serve, while also building trusting supportive relationships with parents/caregivers.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

• Develop and sustain honest and trusting relationships with colleagues and inspire and motivate team members. Serve as a role model both for effective Friend / youth relationships and as a professional. Act as a resource for Friends by providing support, guidance, direction, and resourceful solutions to concerns and challenges. Build positive relationships with both the children and caregivers in our program.

• Ensure compliance with and accountability to the organization's policies, procedures, and practices as outlined in the Employee Manual and Friends' Handbook. Contribute to the development of any of these as required. Demonstrate support of organizational decisions in a constructive and effective manner.

• Responsible for managing the performance of Friends on team, including completing and conducting annual and semi-annual performance appraisals. Hold Friends accountable for work performance: adequacy of time spent with children, quality, intentionality and diversity of activities with children, and administrative responsibilities. Have continuing performance discussions to provide feedback and to ensure that goals and objectives are being fulfilled. Provide continuous constructive feedback and coaching as necessary, and work with HR and the Program Leadership Team (PLT) to resolve issues as needed. Manage any required performance improvement activities.

• Interact with each child on your team at least twice a year by going out with the child and their respective Friend, or by observing Friends with their youth during activities or outings. Provide constructive feedback to the Friend on an ongoing basis. Spend time weekly both inside the classroom and in the community with each child on your roster.

• Lead and facilitate effective Team Meetings ensuring focus on child and Friend successes, setbacks, issues, concerns, and ideas. Create a safe and comfortable team environment so Friends feel supported and open to discuss child and work issues. Also, must ensure focus on the communication of organizational information or issues to team, and to solicit feedback from team.

• Actively participate on the PLT and provide insight, input and solutions to programmatic and organizational issues and challenges.

• Communicate effectively and appropriately in all directions regarding organizational issues, concerns, policies and procedures. Raise and resolve issues appropriately. Advocate for Friends, representing the best interests of your team and youth, doing so in an appropriate and timely manner. Understand, implement and support organizational policies and procedures.

• Solicit and obtain feedback from a minimum of two parents of children on your team per month. Document and maintain all feedback and include in Quarterly report.

• Partner with parents/caregivers to provide concrete and social emotional supports for the family.

• Set realistic expectations and goals based on each child's strengths, talents, abilities, and needs.

• Teach life skills and help develop a talent/skill/area of interest with each child

• Provide enrichment resources and activities that include opportunities for cultural identity development

• Reinforce basic academic skills

• Maintain a 40-hour work schedule that includes afternoons, some evenings, and occasional weekends (normal working days are Monday to Friday)

• Maintain spending within budgetary guidelines

• Attend and actively participate in team meeting and staff functions

• Maintain First Aid/CPR certification

• Fulfill other responsibilities as requested

Additional Responsibilities:

• Work with Program Leadership Team to define and coordinate monthly Friends trainings. Carry out all associated responsibilities as assigned.

• Assist with research, develop and implementation of best practice programming to serve current and future needs of the organization as required

• Participate in recruiting, hiring and training of Friends, including interview candidates, attend career fairs, organize and/or present training sessions, attend educational seminars

• Effectively cultivate and nurture external relationships: develop trusting, supportive relationships with families and caregivers of the children on your team and build relationships with our partner schools to allow for effective program implementation and sustainability

• Understand and support the organization's mission, vision, values, and principles; be able to clearly articulate the organization's function

• Create systems for developing community for Friends and Youth throughout the organization

• Create quality of service plan, including contacting caregivers regularly

• Other projects or tasks as considered necessary

Essential Skills and Abilities:

• Minimum five years of experience working or volunteering with children

• Willingness to commit for a minimum of three years

• Strong interpersonal skills, including the demonstrated ability to resolve conflict, and help others do the same

• Strong written and verbal communication skills; organizational and time management, delegation and follow-up skills

• Effective, appropriate and professional supervisory and leadership skills and behaviors

• Demonstrated ability to influence the behavior of others to achieve necessary results

• In depth understanding of the role of a Friend, as well as of the issues faced by our program youth

• Ability to relate to peers, subordinates, and other members of the management team, and to develop and sustain trusting, supportive relationships with them

• Ability to use creativity and initiative in guiding others to plan activities that continually develop children

• Ability to work as a team player, as well as the ability to lead a team

• Ability to manage several concurrent issues and solve problems effectively exercising appropriate discretion and judgment, and ability to manage others in doing the same

• Demonstrated ability to exercise excellent judgement related to maintaining confidentiality and communicating appropriately within the workplace, and to hold others accountable for the same

• Ability to assist others in setting goals and developing plans to meet those goals to ensure the development of each child

• Ability to hold others accountable in all aspects of required performance, including completing administrative tasks accurately and on time

• Ability to cultivate relationships with children, families, school personnel, organizational supporters and community partners

• Ability to exercise good judgement independently, in various situations and environments, and under varying levels of stress, and to develop others to do the same

• Connection/Experience with Indigenous culture and lifeways

• Deepen cultural connections for youth through incorporating Indigenous knowledge in programming Understand and model the Indigenous concept of "being a good relative"

• Experience working with children in rural, frontier or tribal communities

• Advocate to secure additional resources, opportunities, and services for youth as appropriate

• Basic knowledge of Indigenous historical trauma and trauma/healing informed practices

• Assist with systems navigation in schools to secure conditions for optimal academic success

• Demonstrated ability to work with children in varied capacities and settings

• Ability to work respectfully with sovereign tribal nations, tribal departments, and tribal communities

• A sense of humor is a plus

SALARY

$47,500+ DOE

BENEFITS

• 21 days paid time off

• 14 paid holidays - to include your birthday

• Health, dental, and vision insurance

• Short-term disability, long-term disability, and life insurance

Required Education, Experience and Abilities:

• Minimum of bachelor's degree strongly preferred

• Five years of experience working/volunteering with children

• Previous supervisory experience desirable

Location: Fargo-Moorhead

All Friends of the Children employees are mandatory reporters and are committed to child safety.

Friends of the Children is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to addressing discriminatory practices, and to working toward racial equity. The equal employment opportunity policy of Friends of the Children provides fair and equal opportunities for all employees and job applicants regardless of race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, marital status, familial status, disability, or genetic information, in compliance with applicable federal, state and local law. Friends of the Children hires and promotes individuals solely on the basis of their qualifications for the job to be filled.

Friends of the Children is growing rapidly as communities across the country are experiencing the power of how "One" changes a child's story: One Friend. One Child. 12+ years. No matter what. #ThePowerOfOne

To learn more about Friends of the Children Fargo-Moorhead, go to https://friendsfargomoorhead.org/.