Youth Worker Specialist - FT

Future Chefs (futurechefs.net) prepares Boston high school students to leave high school ready for quality employment and post-secondary education. With a focus on positive youth development, Future Chefs provides paid culinary training and project-based learning to prepare teens with the hard skills they will need to enter the culinary industry and most importantly the essential skills needed to advance in any field.

Future Chefs’ model is based on the belief that every student is unique and flourishes in respectful, safe, stimulating settings that provide opportunities for growth, and relationships with caring, supportive adults who honor students’ lived experiences. Future Chefs occupies 5770 square feet of meeting, kitchen and office space on the first floor of The Clarion in Roxbury and is programming our space to build community-based collaborations that directly and indirectly support our mission. Future Chefs is a fiscally sponsored organization of TSNE (tsne.org).

The Youth Work (YW) Specialist is a key member of the program team at Future Chefs. The program serves high school aged participants in an after-school and out-of-school setting in Roxbury. In addition to leading and facilitating group activities within a positive youth development framework at Future Chefs, the YW Specialist provides coaching and planning support for young people throughout all phases of their Future Chefs’ engagement. In partnership with culinary instructors and student, support staff, the YW Specialist creates a youth centered environment in which students are learning and practicing essential employment and life skills and creating a tailored post-secondary plan that includes access to FC coaching and support after high school. The program team centers participants' social-emotional health and well-being. All work at Future Chefs is performed within an intersectional racial justice framework to ensure that our practice and program advance the goals of diversity, equity and inclusion and that our space is welcoming to all.

You Are

An experienced, enthusiastic youth worker, with a deep commitment to helping historically marginalized young people explore their identities and worldview, develop essential skills needed to succeed in any work environment and prepare for success in whatever career path they choose. You build unity, are candid, encouraging and positive in advocating for the needs of young people. You are able to engage colleagues in creating opportunities for young people to lead authentically at Future Chefs. You are committed to helping your colleagues and employers live up to their values and you work to build a healthy and thriving organization that respects everyone’s work as part of the mission. You like people and create a safe and effective learning environment that is welcoming to all. You like food and understand the power of modeling healthy behavior.

Essential Functions

The Youth Work Specialist will provide engaging group activities in service of the program goals and individual and group coaching and planning.  Your focus will include leadership development, positive, effective youth/adult relationships and post-secondary planning. You will be an essential member of the Program Team.

Direct Service (80% of time)

• Deliver and assess activities in service of a project-based youth development curriculum.
• Deliver essential skills training and workshops, in partnership with Culinary Instructors.
• Work with the program managers to ensure Positive Youth Development practices are being implemented.
• Oversee the recruitment and onboarding process of all youth participants.
• Work in partnership with Culinary Instructors to ensure essential skills are emphasized.
• Lead daily opening and closing activities.
• Work with program staff to deliver Summer Jobs Program. Duties include overseeing youth employee recruitment and onboarding, customizing summer schedules for individual youth and planning orientation and closing activities.
• Implement student assessments and enter case notes as directed.

• Other work as assigned in support of org goals (20% of time)

We will consider exceptional candidates who demonstrate a strong combination of the specific qualifications and skills described below.

• Minimum of 3-years’ experience in a Positive Youth Development environment
• Ability to establish appropriate mentoring/coaching relationship with high school students
• Comfortable with public speaking and group facilitation
• Ability to warmly engage with all stakeholders; community partners, parents, and board members
• Ability to inspire young people to get excited about exploring new experiences and expanding their comfort zones
• Excellent communication and organizational skills
• Experience and/or strong interest in working with diverse teen population and young adults from low-income communities
• Capacity to think and act intentionally and strategically to develop young people and help make positive shifts in attitudes and behavior
• Commitment to addressing issues related to social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion
• The desire to be part of a diverse learning community
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a productive team
• Flexibility and a positive, can-do attitude
• Respect for the dignity of all work and willingness to consider multiple points of views
• Operates with personal and professional integrity to be a positive role model for young people
• Willingness to interact with different stakeholders to advance program goals

Special Job Requirements

• Ability to work flexible full-time schedule that includes some early evenings and weekend hours, during the school year and mandatory 7-week summer program participation
• Background check required

Physical Demands/Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those for this position. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. Work is performed in an office environment and in close proximity to other workers.

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is required to:

• Handle, or feel objects, tools or controls;
• Reach; traverse; sit (usually for longer periods of time); occasionally ascend/descend; and position self (to) move;
• Occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds;
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate;
• Job is not subject to significant occupational or environmental hazards;
• Likelihood of personal injury would be relatively slight;
• Environmental and work hazards are not present to a measurable degree.

Compensation and Benefits

Location: Work will be primarily performed onsite in Roxbury, MA.

Schedule: Regular Full-time; 37.5 hours per week

Compensation: The hourly range for this position is $25.64 - $30.76 and is commensurate with experience.

Benefits: This position is eligible for a full benefits package including:

• Generous Paid-Time-Off (PTO): twelve paid holidays, three weeks of vacation, one week of personal holiday, and ability to accrue up to 487.5 hours of health leave time for benefited staff;
• 80% Employer-paid, offering some $0 deductible Health Insurance through Harvard Pilgrim along with several low-deductible plans;
• Low-cost Guardian Dental and Vision;
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) for Health and Dependent Care;
• Employer-paid Life, Long- and Short-Term Disability Insurance;
• Employer-paid Pension through TIAA;
• ...and more!

TSNE/FC strives to achieve excellence through a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment that embraces all of our individual and collective differences. Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Middle Eastern and North African, Bilingual and/or Bicultural candidates, and LGBTQ2SIA+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We value and honor the unique talents, learning styles, and lived experiences of each individual that enrich and strengthen our workplace culture, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer.

All employment conditions are based on an individual’s performance and job qualifications. TSNE/FC prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, creed, color, religion, native language, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, parental status, pregnancy, race-based hairstyles, or any other protected characteristic stated by federal and state law. Regardless of any class’ protection under the law or lack thereof, TSNE/FC celebrates diversity and values the strengths that come with having a diverse team of employees. It is represented in our workplace culture, and it is who we are.

TSNE/FC's EEO statement extends to volunteers, interns, contractors, vendors, and clients.