Full Time Bilingual Program Specialist (Spanish)

Description

Full Time Bilingual Program Specialist (Spanish)

Job Title: Full Time Program Specialist

Department: Programs

Reports To: Director of Programs

Last Updated: 3/14/2022

Status & Salary Range: Full Time $32,000-$38,000

ABOUT THE AGENCY:

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Blue Ridge strives to value every youth in our community, seeing differences as strengths that make everyone unique. We seek to defend the potential of all youth.

The presence of a caring, consistent adult can make a significant difference in the trajectory of a child’s life. We provide children with trained mentors who are professionally supported by BBBS staff through the lifecycle of the match.

SUMMARY OF ROLE:

This position is responsible for facilitating youth enrollments, providing ongoing match support and the coaching of volunteer mentors, parents, and children. Our goal is to create and sustain healthy mentoring relationships that result in positive youth development. He/she will interview and enroll match participants, assist with creating new matches, provide match support and will collaborate with other program staff to improve agency programming.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES include but are not limited to:

• Provide a high level of customer service to volunteers and families during the enrollment process, from inquiry to matching.
• Facilitate regular parent orientations and trainings in Spanish and update the content of the training as necessary.
• Conduct parent and youth interviews (some will be in Spanish).
• Develop a youth assessment for each applicant, assessing the applicant’s appropriateness for the program.
• Work with other staff members to carefully match volunteers, review potential matches with all parties and facilitate match introduction meetings.
• Ensure that potential problems and barriers to success are identified and addressed. Promptly inform supervisor regarding concerns about any factors that may negatively impact the match.
• Provide support to matches on your caseload.
• Effectively utilize online database system (Matchforce) for recording and reviewing all child/mentor match details.
• Assist in the organization and staffing of BBBS program match activities and other agency events.

Team Concept:

Staff are expected to work together cooperatively and collaboratively to achieve the mission of the organization.  All BBBS staff must recognize and promote the strengths of our Littles (mentees) and work collaboratively to serve as a support system, helping them to meet their individualized goals. Staff must be committed to good stewardship of resources, excellent program outcomes, and the effective utilization of volunteers throughout our agency.   Staff are expected to communicate effectively with each other through face-to-face meetings, email updates, and other methods to keep each other abreast of information that needs to be shared.  Staff are expected to be supportive of each other’s roles and responsibilities within the agency.

Other Expectations:

The person in this position must be able to maintain confidentiality regarding volunteers and children applying and enrolled in the program and protect this information from review from anyone not authorized.  The person in this position will also assist with volunteer recruitment and community outreach.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES

• Ability to effectively collaborate with other staff.
• Ability to use time effectively, focus on details, collect meaningful data, and draw solid conclusions.
• Ability to work independently.
• Willing to work flexible hours including evenings and weekends when necessary.
• Fluent in Spanish and English.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Staff members must have a high school diploma/GED equivalent and meet one of the following criteria:

1. A documented bachelor’s degree, from an accredited college or university, in a field that is determined by the agency to be appropriate for the position(s), or candidates shall be within six months of degree completion.
2. A documented associate degree or two years of higher education experience, from an accredited college or university in a field that is determined by the agency to be appropriate for the position(s) and two years of relevant work experience in related fields, such as social work, counseling, social services, child development, or other related fields as defined by the agency; or
3. Four years of relevant work experience in related fields, such as social work, counseling, social services, child development, or other related fields as defined by the agency.

• Previous experience with youth service organizations and with socio-economically diverse populations is preferred.
• Oral and written communication skills reflect solid customer service.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office including Word, Outlook and Excel.
• Must have a valid U.S. Driver’s License, access to a reliable vehicle and auto insurance, and the ability and willingness to travel.
• Ability to successfully pass a background check, including a clean driving record, and other pre-employment screening.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS include but are not limited to:

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.

• Able to hear and speak to customers in person and by phone.
• Able to see and read on computer screen and paper.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment is characteristic of a standard office environment. Our office is located on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. We have a small, friendly staff and our agency values work/life balance. Staff members have flexible schedules, as long as they are able to accommodate the volunteers and families they work with. Meetings will sometimes take place in the homes of families.  NOTE: Staff members work from home part of the time.  

Please send resume and cover letter to mjackson@blueridgebigs.org