Position Title: Program Manager, Youth Programs



Commonwealth Corporation

Youth Pathways-Justice-Based Initiatives

|Position Title: |Program Manager of Youth Employment and Career Development |

|Reports to: |Associate Director of YouthWorks |

|Classification: |Level 3 Professional |

|Starting Salary |$55,000.00 |

Who We Are: Commonwealth Corporation is a quasi-public workforce development agency that strengthens the skills of Massachusetts youth and adults by investing in innovative partnerships with industry, education and workforce organizations.  Our primary goals are:

• To build regional industry training partnerships that prepare youth and unemployed workers for jobs in demand that lead to higher rates of employment;

• To upgrade the skills of workers to meet specific employer skill demands leading to more productive and competitive businesses, job growth, retention, upgrades and wage gains; and

• To increase the share of youth engaged in education and employment pathways preparing them for post-secondary education and careers. 

Commonwealth Corporation works with hundreds of Massachusetts companies, thousands of new and experienced workers, and thousands of youth and young adults each year. 

Program: Commonwealth Corporation has a strong history of designing, implementing, and managing a range of programming and initiatives that address the needs of youth and young adults who are among our more vulnerable populations. Using evidence-based practices and regional sector partnerships to address social and workforce issues, CommCorp manages grant funds, designs and supports implementation of programming for the state’s large-scale subsidized career development and youth employment initiative, YouthWorks, serving approximately 5000 young people each year. CommCorp has created a well-recognized, evidence-based career exploration and work readiness curriculum and initiative called Signal Success that is being implemented in YouthWorks, federally-funded WIOA programs, school districts, the state’s Safe and Successful Youth Initiative and industry-based programs. Beyond these implementations, CommCorp is engaged in ongoing work to support other career development efforts and Signal Success expansion in other communities and states across the US.

Equal Employment Opportunity: Commonwealth Corporation is committed to building a culturally diverse workforce. We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Position Description

Key Responsibilities

Reporting to the Associate Director of YouthWorks, the Program Manager of Youth Employment and Career Development supports ongoing implementation of youth employment and career readiness initiatives through program-related technical assistance to a statewide networks of program partners. and individual organizational partnerships. These partners include public school teachers and counselors, workforce development managers and practitioners, and youth workers involved in youth employment programs. A signification portion of the work involves supporting program partners in YouthWorks, the statewide subsidized youth employment program that CommCorp administers on behalf of the Executive Office of Workforce and Labor Development (EOWLD). This position is ideal for an individual with a clear understanding of youth career or workforce development programming who also has a strong capacity for designing and delivering training. This is a full-time position that is currently 100% remote. Once safety allows the position will consist of a mix of remote work and occasional travel to program partner sites. Candidates must live within one hour driving distance from Springfield, MA because they will support a group of partners largely clustered in Western Massachusetts or be willing to travel occasionally to the Western MA region.

The key responsibilities of the Program Manager are outlined below:

1. Provide leadership and support ongoing partnerships with grantees, foundation-funded partnerships and fee for service partners by executing deliverables in a timely fashion, communicating regularly with appropriate program contacts to support program execution, and lifting up larger program concerns that threaten the success of the partnership/ program

2. Assists with various phases of procurement from proposal review to contract development to review of final reporting. Provides guidance to grantees about program design improvements, requests to modify contracts and general grantee policies and practices; identifies and coordinates the deployment of resources to meet technical assistance needs.

3. Help plan and deliver professional development and technical assistance in a variety of forms including from multi-day in-person trainings to webinars and written informational resources.

4. Build the capacity of program staff to effectively integrate and in some cases implement key programmatic components including but not limited to work-based learning, project and service-based learning, occupational skills training and partnership development with key community, education and employer stakeholders.

5. Research and design curricular tools and resources for supporting effective and engaging delivery of career and work readiness content to teens and young adults. Sample topics include soft skills (i.e., communication, collaboration, initiative, etc.), career awareness and exploration, and job search and acquisition skills.

6. Review and revise curricula content and validate quality through working with participant data, program providers, and subject matter experts.

7. Develop, design and implement assessment and evaluation procedures in collaboration with CommCorp staff to ensure participant learning and program goals are met.

8. Support program implementation by conducting partner needs assessments and developing customized programming for a variety of education/ workforce development partners.

9. Assist in expansion and promotion of Signal Success by developing and delivering conference presentations, meeting with potential partners to educate them on advantages of CommCorp’s offerings and services.

10. Additional projects as needed: these may include leading workshops and classes for youth, documenting models of effective practice in youth employment and training; developing profiles of local programs and youth participants; managing promotional aspects such as developing marketing collateral and tracking new partner leads.

11. Contribute to other Youth Pathways team projects or other organizational departments when needed

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Familiarity with youth workforce development programming and interest in non-profit or public program management

• Prior experience developing and delivering training to youth/young adults and or staff working with youth/young adults

• Demonstrated effectiveness with a wide range of group presentation and facilitation skills

• Ability to use data to drive programmatic decisions including instructional design

• Knowledge of and applied experience with best practices in service or project-based learning

• Excellent writing skills that include the ability to develop curriculum, at a workshop and activity level

• Strong communication skills and commitment to developing collegial and professional relationships with various stakeholder groups

• Comfort working with CRMs and databases.

• Proficient in Microsoft Office suite of applications. Experience or willingness to learn advanced Excel skills and desktop and web publishing software (specifically InDesign and WordPress).

• Ability to effectively structure and implement own work

• Commitment to equity and diversity

• Ability to function in a statewide project that once safe again, may require frequent travel and meetings within the state; must have access to a car. Occasional out of state travel required.

Minimum qualifications

B.A. degree required. Minimum seven years of professional experience with at least four years of experience with youth development or youth career pathway work. Experience working with diverse populations, and/or with students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds preferred. Previous successful experience in training and/or supporting professionals on topics related to instruction, youth programming or workforce development is desirable. Candidates must have a valid driver’s license and access to a car. The final candidate must be willing to submit to and pass a comprehensive background check.

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