Professional Mentor

JOB POSTING: Professional Mentor (Friend)
STATUS: Exempt, Full time
REPORTS TO: Program Director
SALARY: $55,000-58,000 per year
BENEFITS: Comprehensive package includes employer-paid medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance benefits; paid vacation and sick leave; retirement plan with employer match.
LOCATION: Friends of the Children has chapters in Dallas, Austin, and Houston. This posting is for the DALLAS chapter. Candidate must reside in or be willing to relocate to the Dallas area.
Friends of the Children - Dallas is the newest chapter of a 30+ year-old national professional mentoring organization that impacts 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.
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 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:

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 their strengths, 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 an ongoing evaluation process. Friends will work primarily one-on-one with the children they serve. 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 Responsibilities:

• Spend time with children one-on-one in the community and in their school.
• Develop and sustain a long-term, caring, protective, and loving relationship with each child.
• 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.
• Deepen connections for youth through incorporating specifical cultural knowledge in programming.
• Provide enrichment resources and activities that include opportunities for cultural identity development.
• Develop positive relationships with families, teachers and others involved in each child's life.
• Reinforce basic academic skills.
• Participate in the programming and resources available through the organization, effectively utilizing program resources to meet the needs of each child.
• Maintain spending within budgetary guidelines.
• Complete, distribute and collect time summaries, activity journals, short term plans, expense reports and evaluation materials accurately and in a timely manner.
• Attend and actively participate in team meetings and staff functions.
• Provide information and support to development and executive teams on related activities as needed.
• Fulfill other responsibilities as required.

Additional Job Requirements:

• Transport children in personal vehicle as required for mentoring activities within a 30-mile radius of the Friends Dallas office. This can sometimes result in 90 miles per day. (Mileage will be reimbursed at the standard IRS rate).
• Maintain a current driver's license, good driving record, and ensure that your vehicle insurance is current.
• Maintain First Aid/CPR certification.

Essential Skills and Abilities:

• Spanish language proficiency is preferred.
• Willingness to commit to the role for a minimum of three years.
• Ability to cultivate trusting relationships with children, parents/caregivers, teachers, community members and other supportive adults in a youth's environment.
• Strong cross-generational interpersonal skills.
• Ability to demonstrate compassion, patience, and cultural competency for families/youth who have experienced trauma.
• Demonstrated ability to work with children in varied capacities and settings to help them learn and grow.
• Ability to set goals and develop plans to meet those goals to ensure the development of each child.
• Ability to use creativity and initiative in planning activities to support child development.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and communicate appropriately within the workplace.
• Ability to work independently in diverse environments with limited supervision.
• Ability to work as a team player.
• Ability to manage several concurrent issues and solve problems effectively exercising appropriate discretion and judgment.
• Ability to exercise good judgment independently, in various situations and environments, and under varying levels of stress.
• Ability to handle high mobility and driving demands safely and with good judgment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; organizational and time management skills.
• Ability to complete administrative tasks accurately and on time.
• Basic computer and keyboarding skills, proficiency with e-mail and database systems. Familiarity with MS Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint preferred.

Required Education and Experience:

• Associate degree required; Bachelor's degree preferred.
• 3+ years of experience working/volunteering with children.
• Experience mentoring children who are facing systemic barriers.

Working Hours:

This is a full-time, exempt position. Due to the nature of a Friend's role, the work hours are somewhat non-traditional and include late afternoon and evening 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. During the school year, the general workweek is Tuesday through Saturday, with Sunday and Monday as days off. During the summer, and for spring and winter breaks, many Friends work a standard Monday through Friday workweek. The program requires that you see each of your assigned children, both in and outside of school, for an average of four hours each week, although how you accomplish that is at your discretion within established Program guidelines.

The statements above are intended to describe the general nature and level of work to be performed by individuals assigned to this position. They are not intended as a comprehensive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified.
Friends of the Children is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to addressing discriminatory practices. The equal employment opportunity policy of Friends of the Children provides fair and equal opportunities for all employees and job applicants. Friends of the Children hires and promotes individuals solely on the basis of their qualifications for the job to be filled.
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