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Youth Development Specialist Job Opportunity

Agassiz Village is looking to add a Youth Development specialist to our team! If you or someone you know is interested in the position, please reach out to Lisa Carter, Executive Director to learn more and apply.

Phone: 781-860-0200 x1006


Youth Development Specialist


What You Will Do:


The Youth Development Specialist is responsible for implementing and delivering quality youth programs that meets the needs of the low-income youth Agassiz Village serves. The Specialist will train our summer staff to provide our social and emotional curriculum in an overnight summer camp setting. In addition, the Specialist will help develop, implement and grow our new year-round youth empowerment program for teens.


The Specialist resides at camp June through August. The Specialist embraces the camp’s culture and traditions and ensures a multi-cultural experience, where campers meet and interact with people from diverse backgrounds. The Specialist supports camp enrollment and parent registration, curriculum development, staff training and supervision, and camper safety. The Youth Development Specialist reports to the Camp Director.


As part of Agassiz Village’s Strategic Plan, our goal is to build off our 85-year history and success with campers and expand our current summer program as well as develop a year-round program that provides social and emotional skills and leadership development opportunities for youth from Maine to Massachusetts. This role will emphasize building a culture of innovation and program quality, deep collaborations with community partners, expansion of programs within our service area, and increasing student enrollment in existing programs.


Agassiz Village, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was established in 1935 as a 300+ acre camp on the beautiful Thompson Lake in Maine. Our mission is to prepare kids for life’s journey by providing an enriching and educational opportunity for economically disadvantaged and under-resourced children from Greater Boston to Maine. Agassiz Village offers nearly 500 boys and girls ages 8 – 17 years old the opportunity to experience sleep-away camp in the natural beauty of the Poland, Maine with the goal of increasing their sense of well-being, social skills, and awareness of personal potential. We offer children a fun, safe overnight summer camp experience that allows them to develop and practice leadership and life skills--a transformative experience that impacts their futures in education, family, career, and community. Agassiz Village has literally transformed the lives of tens of thousands of children whose families could never have afforded to send them to camp. In addition, to our summer program Agassiz Village is expanding to offer a year-round program for teens. This position will be responsible for implementing this new program and is based in Norwood, MA.


What You Will Love:

  • Being a part of a committed, dedicated and fun team with a mission to prepare kids for life’s journey.

  • Managing a youth development program for a residential summer camp that has been in operation for 85 years serving children in and around Boston, MA and now Maine.

  • Offering a youth development program based in social and emotional learning and leadership development that transforms youth and gives them the social emotional tools needed to be successful in school and beyond.

  • Working with a summer staff that provides enriching sleep-away camp experiences to nearly 500 children each summer.

  • Partnering with the Executive Director, Camp Director and program consultants to develop an engaging and empowering year-round youth development and leadership program.

  • Designing and facilitating monthly workshops/discussions for youth in a variety of settings on social and emotional skills, leadership, and career and college readiness.

  • Building relationships with families, children, donors, partners and other stakeholders to ensure camp’s success.

  • Using our new outcomes measurement tool, Hello Insight, to identify, collect and interpret data so that it enables informed decision making and ensures the achievement of key performance indicators.

  • Establish a new program and expand current programming in accordance with strategic and operational plans.

  • Understand and stay current with best, evidence-based practices in youth development and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).

  • Monitor program registration goals to understand trends and identify means for development. Optimizes program capacity and enrollment goals.

  • Assist in the marketing and distribution of program information. Plans community engagement strategy.

  • Act as an advocate for kids in all areas including youth development, safety, child abuse prevention, etc. Teach Child Abuse Prevention Training, and other required trainings, annually and assist with training summer staff.

What We Are Looking For:

  • A commitment to Agassiz’s mission, vision and values.

  • A minimum of 2 years of experience in youth development, SEL, and program implementation.

  • Must have experience working with urban youth and families. Must be familiar with best practices in child development and astute at implementing SEL and recreational education curriculum.

  • Strong leadership, organizational and communication skills

  • Demonstrated timely problem-solving skills and flexibility

  • Familiarity and experience with American Camp Association (ACA) accreditation standards strongly preferred

  • Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to manage competing priorities

  • Able to exercise sound judgment

  • Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Social Work, Humans Services, Public Administration, Education or related field.

  • Experience working with youth and their families.

COMPENSATION + BENEFITS:

Agassiz Village offers its staff a robust compensation and benefits package including high-quality health, and dental benefits, a 401K plan, and unlimited vacation.


TO LEARN MORE + APPLY:

Please apply for this position by emailing your cover letter and resume to Lisa Carter, Executive Director, lcarter@agassizvillage.org

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