Education and Career Development Manager
ROCK Community Center for Youth and ChildrenDescription
Department: JEWEL Human Services
Reports To: Director of Programming
Direct Reports: None
Position Type:
Regular Full-Time
FLSA Status: Exempt
Date: August 2026
OUR MISSION
The ROCK Community Center for Youth & Children (RCCYC) champions the development of healthy, whole, and resilient youth and children in Arlington Woods and beyond. The Center provides safe, accessible, high-quality, holistic programs and support services for K–12 youth and their families, spanning education, recreation, leadership, and enrichment.
YOUR ROLE IN OUR MISSION
The Education & Career Development Manager ensures the quality and daily implementation of RCCYC's education, academic enrichment, financial literacy, college readiness, career exploration, and workforce-development programming. This role translates RCCYC's program strategy into structured, age-appropriate learning experiences for K–12 youth. The Manager ensures that academic-support time extends beyond homework completion by providing meaningful alternatives such as tutoring, literacy, STEM, financial education, career exposure, and project-based learning. The Education & Career Development Manager reports to the Director of Programming and implements the program plans, outcomes, and priorities established for this portfolio. The Manager provides program data, resource needs, partnership recommendations, and continuous-improvement recommendations to the Director of Programming.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
Education & Academic Development
Develop and implement structured academic-enrichment activities for K–12 youth.
? Coordinate homework assistance, tutoring, literacy, reading, STEM, academic skill-building, and project-based learning.
? Ensure youth who do not have homework have access to purposeful academic or developmental enrichment.
? Develop age-appropriate activity resources and academic-enrichment options.
? Support youth in developing appropriate educational goals and positive learning habits.
? Identify opportunities to strengthen academic engagement and achievement. Career Development & Financial Literacy
? Develop age-appropriate career-awareness and career-readiness programming.
? Coordinate college exposure, career speakers, workplace visits, mentoring, career fairs, and workforce-development opportunities.
? Provide older youth with exposure to college, employment, entrepreneurship, skilled trades, and other postsecondary pathways. ? Coordinate résumé development, interviewing, workplace-readiness, and professional-skills activities where age appropriate.
? Develop or coordinate financial-literacy programming addressing saving, budgeting, banking, credit, entrepreneurship, and responsible financial decision-making. Program Implementation & Supervision
? Implement education and career-development programming in alignment with the annual and seasonal program calendar established by the Director of Programming.
? Develop weekly and monthly activity plans for assigned programming.
? Provide day-to-day direction to assigned Youth Development Specialists, Tutors/Mentors, Program Instructors, and Interns.
? Ensure assigned staff understand program objectives, activity plans, youth-development expectations, and intended outcomes. ? Maintain appropriate youth-to-staff ratios within assigned programming.
? Identify staff-development needs and communicate recommendations to the Director of Programming.
? Provide coaching and feedback related to program delivery and escalate formal performance concerns through established supervisory procedures.
Program Evaluation & Improvement
? Track attendance and participation within education and career-development activities.
? Collect program data required for RCCYC evaluation and applicable grant reporting.
? Monitor progress toward identified education, financial-literacy, and career-development outcomes.
? Gather youth and participant feedback.
? Use program data and observations to recommend improvements to the Director of Programming.
? Provide timely and accurate program information for monthly, quarterly, and funder reporting. The Director of Programming retains responsibility for RCCYC-wide evaluation systems and reporting to the Center Director and funders.
Budget & Resource Stewardship
? Develop recommendations for curriculum, instructional materials, tutoring resources, program supplies, vendors, and educational experiences.
? Monitor assigned program expenditures against approved allocations provided by the Director of Programming.
? Submit program/vendor requests according to established RCCYC procedures.
? Maintain accurate records of program resources and expenditures as required.
? Identify anticipated resource needs sufficiently in advance to support program planning.
? Operate within approved program budgets and spending authority.
Youth Development & Safety
? Ensure assigned staff implement RCCYC youth-protection, inclusion, and behavior-management policies.
? Promote a safe, supportive, culturally responsive, and academically engaging environment.
? Ensure incidents are documented and escalated according to established procedures.
? Maintain appropriate supervision and youth-to-staff ratios.
? Support restorative and developmental approaches to youth behavior.
Family, School & Community Engagement
? Build relationships with schools, colleges, workforce-development organizations, financial institutions, employers, tutors, and educational partners.
? Identify partnership opportunities that strengthen educational and career-development programming.
? Support communication with parents/guardians regarding relevant academic and developmental opportunities.
? Coordinate approved educational vendors, speakers, tutors, and community partners.
? Communicate partnership opportunities and recommendations to the Director of Programming.
Requirements
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
? Assigned Youth Development Specialists
? Tutors/Mentors
? Program Instructors
? Interns and volunteers assigned to Education & Career Development, as designated
Required
? Bachelor's degree in education, youth development, social work, workforce development, nonprofit management, or related field.
? 2+ years of experience in education, youth development, after-school programming, college/career readiness, or related programming. ? Demonstrated experience planning and facilitating structured programming for children or youth.
? Strong organizational, communication, and program-planning skills.
? Ability to coach and provide direction to frontline staff.
? Ability to collect and use program data to improve services.
? Ability to work effectively with K–12 youth and families from diverse backgrounds.