Friends of the Children

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, paid, 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 Friend at our Chicago location.   

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 Friend you will nurture long-term relationships from a foundation of love, acceptance, and practices. Do you want to help urban, rural, and Indigenous 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 Friend might be for you. 

Basic Function / Position Objective: 

We are currently seeking a mentor for our Childhood program (kindergarten to 5th Grade) to serve as a positive adult role model to eight elementary children and develop loving, caring, and sustained relationships with each child.  For each child, a Friend 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. A Friend will fully document activities and participate in the ongoing evaluation process. Friends will work primarily one-on-one with the children they serve, while also building trusting supportive relationships with parents/caregivers. A Friend must know, understand, honor, and support the organization’s mission, vision, values, and principles, and be able to clearly articulate the organization’s function. 

Essential Functions and Responsibilities: 

• Develop and sustain a long-term, caring, protective, and loving relationship with each child.   

• Spend time with children, one-on-one. 

• 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 identity development. 

• Develop positive relationships with families, teachers, and others involved in each child’s life. 

• Reinforce basic academic skills. 

• Maintain a 40-hour work schedule that includes afternoons, evenings, and weekends (normal working days are Tuesday through Saturday with Sundays and Mondays off). 

• Maintain spending within budgetary guidelines. 

• Complete, distribute, and collect time summaries, activity journals, short-term plans, expense reports, and evaluations materials accurately and in a timely manner. 

• Attend and actively participate in team meeting and staff functions. 

• Maintain First Aid/CPR certification. 

• Transport children in personal vehicle as required for mentoring activities. 

• Provide information and support to the development and executive team on related activities. 

• Fulfill other responsibilities as requested. 

The ideal candidate will have the following Education, Experience, and Abilities: 

•  Associate degree, Bachelor's degree preferred;  Alternatively, at least seven years’ progressive experience working with children and families will be considered in lieu of a college degree 

• Willingness to commit for a minimum of three years. 

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

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

• Strong interpersonal skills 

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

• Ability to develop trusting relationships with children, families, teachers, and others involved in each child’s life 

• Ability to work independently and as a team player 

• Ability to manage several concurrent issues and solve problems effectively 

• Strong written and verbal communications skills 

• Strong organizational and time management skills 

• A sense of humor is a plus 

Salary Range: $57,717 Annually    

Benefits: 

• 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

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

Reports To: 

• Program Manager 

Location: 

Chicago, IL