Youth Development Specialist

The Youth Development (YD) Specialist will plan, arrange, and organize programs.  Facilitates group work and YD services.  Collaborates and partners with the community to coordinate the organization’s effort to fulfill the Queen’s mission to care for and ensure the wellbeing of the most vulnerable Native Hawaiian children and their families.  

Essential Job Functions 

Youth Development 

• Can successfully provide opportunities for youth leadership, voice, and empowerment by facilitating the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and actions needed for youth to influence, motivate, inform, and inspire desired actions and reactions by others. 
• Consistently provides multiple opportunities for child/youth-initiated and child/youth-directed process and content choices. Intentionally provides leadership opportunities for all children and youth, including encouraging participants to take responsibility for content and process of their group work.  
• Involves children and youth in developing organization/program policy, including program budgeting, financial strategies, and organizational priorities. Supports the implementation of meaningful curricular activities that are informed by youth culture, youth voice, and the cultural beliefs and practices of participants. 
• Understands the change process and develops practices to support professional growth. Uses knowledge of best/promising practices to shape practices and policies that positively influence the profession. 
• Models positive group management practices and actions to ensure program participant safety by developing healthy relationships and appropriate physical and emotional boundaries with children and youth.  
• Understands and interrupts overt and internalized adultism in the context of cultural practices.  
• Advocates for the importance of children and youth representing their thoughts, feelings, and ideas through creative outlets. Uses child/youth-centered procedures for solving conflicts.  
• Continually seeks additional knowledge and new approaches in Youth Development. 

Program Administration 

• Researches, develops, plans, and implements age-appropriateoutcome-based programs for children and youth based on a Positive Youth Development framework. 
• Creates a safe environment that facilitates learning and is encouraging and engaging for children and youth. 
• Provides mentorship and support to assist participants in addressing presenting issues and motivate youth in their decision-making process. Provides youth and family services to support needs as required. 
• Documents progress on learning plans and completes evaluations. 
• Collaborates with teammates to identify problems affecting Hawaiian children and families, building on their strengths. Helps build the capacities of families, groups and communities. 

• Collaborates with Social Services Lead and YD Leads to ensure both are represented in learning spaces.  

 Community Engagement 

• Collaborates with beneficiaries and communities to strengthen their abilities to become healthy, strong and contributing members. Monitors, evaluates and makes recommendations to modify programs to ensure target YD goals are met. 
• Engages in community outreach to build and maintain relationships with a diverse array of organizations and individuals to further goals of Lili'uokalani Trust (LT). 

Other Responsibilities 

• Contributes to LT’s success by accepting new assignments, helping team members, being open and flexible to learning new skills, and strives to improve team and organization results. 
• Understands, complies and supports LT’s policies, procedures, and mission. 

Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree in education, human/social services, or other relevant field. Or have at least 6 years of relevant experience. 
• At least 2 years' experience in planning and implementing youth programs. Knowledge of youth development and the ability to work with the most vulnerable population.  

Licenses or Certifications  

• Valid driver license, clean traffic abstract, and access to a privately owned automobile with valid no-fault insurance. 
• Required to have a TB clearance.  
• First Aid and CPR/AED Certification, preferred. 

Job Competencies 

• Collaboration: Ability to interact effectively with youth, community partners, and multi-disciplinary teams.  Knowledge of community resources and services. 
• Communication: Clearly conveys and receives information and ideas to individuals or groups that engages the listener and invites response and feedback. Demonstrates good written, oral, and listening skills. 
• Cultural Competence: Respects and relates well to people from varied backgrounds and is sensitive to group differences.  Experience working with at-risk youth. 

Apply Now at : https://onipaa.org/job-openings