Friends of the Children

Basic Function:

A Friend works intensively with eight (8) children as a positive adult role model to develop a caring, trusting and sustained relationship with each child. For each child, a Friend will set positive expectations; nurture and promote their strengths, talents and abilities; help assure physical and emotional well-being; teach life and academic skills; provide enrichment activities; and model responsible behavior. A Friend also works closely with each child's parent/guardian to empower them to advocate for themselves and their children; to connect the family to community resources; and to further build their positive parenting skills. A Friend will fully document activities and participate in an ongoing evaluation process. Friends will work primarily one­ on-one with their children. A Friend must also know, understand, honor and support the organization's mission, vision, values, principles and policies, and be able to clearly articulate the organization's function.

Core Job Accountabilities:

•           Develop and sustain a long-term, caring, trusting and accepting relationship with each child;

• Nurture positive relationships with families, teachers and others involved in each child's life;
• Actively participate in staff training and education to learn the how and why of our program model;
• Develop, maintain and follow multiple individualized goals for each child;
• Teach life skills and healthy habits to contribute both to basic development and learning, and to contribute to building positive self-esteem;
• Develop a talent/skill/area of interest with each child to help develop positive self-esteem and experience growing confidence;
• Provide enrichment resources and activities which include opportunities for cultural awareness, diversity and community service;
• Contribute to children acquiring behavioral management skills, tolerance, respect for others, courtesies and compassion;
• Participate in the programming and resources available through the organization, effectively utilizing program resources to meet the needs of each child and their family;
• Complete, distribute and collect time summaries, activity journals, short term plans, expense reports and evaluation materials accurately and in a timely manner;
• Fulfill other responsibilities as required.
• Ability to relate to children and to develop and sustain trusting, supportive relationships with them;
• Exhibit strong interpersonal skills;
• Ability to manage several concurrent issues and solve problems effectively exercising appropriate discretion and judgment;
• Ability to set goals and develop plans to meet those goals to ensure the development of each child;
• Ability to handle high mobility and driving demands safely and with good judgment;
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; organizational and time management skills;
• Basic computer and keyboarding skills, proficiency with e-mail systems, familiarity with MS Outlook;
• Ability to exercise good judgment independently, in various situations and environments, and under varying levels of stress;
• Personal vehicle to transport children as required for mentoring activities;
• At least two years' experience working/volunteering with children. Experience working with children in under-resourced communities preferred.

•           Actively participate in team meetings and staff functions;

•          Spend time with children, one-on-one and in the classroom;

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

•           Reinforce basic academic skills and learning;

•           Model and promote good problem solving and decision making skills;

•           Maintain spending within budgetary guidelines;

•           Provide information and support development team and related activities as needed;

Essential Skills & Abilities:

•           Ability to cultivate trusting relationships with children, parents, teachers and community members;

•           Demonstrate ability to work with children in varied capacities and settings to help them learn and grow;

•           Ability to maintain confidentiality and communicate appropriately within the workplace;

•           Ability to use creativity and initiative in planning activities to continually develop children;

•           Ability to work independently in diverse environments with limited supervision;

•           Ability to work as a team player;

•           Ability to complete administrative tasks accurately and on time;

•          Sense of humor.

Additional Job Requirements:

•           Maintain current driver's license, good driving record, and vehicle insurance;

•           Associate degree required, Bachelor's degree preferred;

Working Hours:

This is a full-time position. Due to the nature of a Friend's role, the work hours are non-traditional, and include late afternoon, evening, and weekend work. We recognize that each Friend's daily work schedule will vary due to the uniqueness of the role and the needs of the individual children being served. Each Friend is expected to exercise appropriate discretion in this regard. The Program requires that you see each of your assigned children both in and outside of school on both weekday and weekends, for an average of four hours each week, although how you accomplish that is at your discretion within established Program guidelines. Our Program team alternates between two schedules throughout the year.

School Year Schedule: Tuesday – Saturday 11AM-7PM

Summer Schedule: Monday – Friday 9AM-5PM

Position Details:

• Salary: $53,000
• Competitive benefits are available, including health insurance (medical/dental/vision), life insurance, 3 weeks of paid vacation, and 2 weeks of paid sick time per year. We also offer a 401K Program with employer matching up to 4% after the initial 90 days of employment
• Professional Level: Professional Position
• Location: Chicago