Job Description

ABOUT MARYLAND MENTOR

As an affiliate of MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership, Maryland MENTOR’s mission is to increase the quality and quantity of mentoring relationships and to close the mentoring gap. We work to achieve this through providing a variety of supports and resources to the hundreds of unique mentoring programs and organizations across the state. We are a non-partisan organization that galvanizes the Maryland mentoring movement. We serve as community-based experts and work to create statewide infrastructure to expand quality relationships for young people, accomplished through our unique role as a unified clearinghouse for training, research, public awareness, mentor recruitment, and advocacy. Maryland MENTOR provides the critical link between MENTOR’s national efforts and local organizations and programs that foster and support quality mentoring relationships across the state.

POSITION SUMMARY

This position is primarily responsible for managing and coordinating Maryland MENTOR’s suite of services to the mentoring field, including training, technical assistance, and referrals. This includes consulting with prospective mentoring program clients to assess their current needs, then to offer solutions and services to meet those needs and enable those agencies to improve their capacity and sustainability over time. Program Support & Outreach Manager has valuable specialized skills that will support the program development team in executing specific key projects that support the organization’s efforts to support mentoring programs throughout the state. This position will drive Maryland MENTOR’s vision to close the mentoring gap for the over 250,000 children who need, want and deserve a mentor throughout the state.

· RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT. Develop, manage, and sustain relationships with current and potential program clients, working closely with Director.

o Based on strategic plan for outreach, provide information and cultivate prospective clients through consulting, training and other services, guided by national best practice standards. Assist in the development of new and emerging mentoring programs or support existing client and partner agencies in strengthening their programs.

o Promote and support the completion of quality mentoring self-assessment tools with client and partner agencies.

o Plan and facilitate periodic meetings or trainings to increase awareness of the benefits of mentoring and reach interested parties to share evidence-based practices and resources at the local and state level

o Create and negotiate partner contracts and coordinate activities including identifying goals and timelines.

o Ensure that all contractual or grant requirements are met and adhered to. Gather data from agencies that demonstrates increased impact and sustainability.

o In close collaboration with the Executive Director, identify potential partners and explore partnerships that will increase resources for Maryland MENTOR and mentoring programs in the community while furthering the expansion of mentoring services provided.

o Support the development and implementation of a community outreach strategy that increases our presence throughout the region.

· TRAINING COORDINATION. Provide oversight of Maryland MENTOR’s training schedule, including contracted and grant funded efforts.

o Coordinate and oversee training calendar for affiliate, ensuring all client deliverables are met with an eye to balancing the load between contract trainers.

o Provide excellent customer service when interfacing with clients for scheduling. Market additional Mentoring Center services/courses.

o Work closely with Director to ensure training quality and quantity standards are met and are aligned.

o May design and/or deliver courses/activities to mentees/mentors as needed, based on best practices in the mentoring field. (Includes some evenings and weekends)

· CAPACITY BUILDING. Through community outreach and partnership development, engage mentoring programs that will receive program support and consultation through the National Mentoring Resource Center. This retention strategy will help support increasing program capacity and strengthen program practices.

o Personally manage a portfolio of 20-35 established mentoring programs.

o Through live webinars, specialized enrichment trainings, and collaborative meetings provide consistent engagement and resources to all mentoring programs in Maryland.

All other duties as assigned.

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required
• Minimum of 5-7 years of experience in program development, consulting and/or training
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and work on multiple projects simultaneously
• Able to multi-task in a changing work environment
• Excellent organization and analytical skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to handle delicate and confidential information
• Able to establish and maintain collaborative relationships with the program coordinators, school administrators, non-profit leaders, mentors and program development team.
• Motivated to help the organization serve more children
• Passion for supporting disadvantaged youth and youth programming, preferably in the field of mentoring
• Must be willing to work 40 hours / week or more as needed including daytime, with some evening and weekends
• Must be willing and comfortable working with diverse populations and in diverse areas of the state
• Must have road-worthy transportation, valid driver’s license and insurance to meet job responsibilities
• Must be willing to periodically travel throughout the state (which could occasionally result in an overnight stay) to fulfill remote contract services
• Must have intermediate skills in Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook / email. Experience with a Customer Relations Management tracking system like Salesforce and GoToMeeting / virtual meeting tools a plus

POSITION PERFORMANCE MEASURES

• Achieving annual full delivery of services contracted by clients or grantors
• Gaining new business to meet strategic plan and targeted budget income fees
• Ensuring client meetings and trainings meet goals for quality and frequency
• Achieving and tracking client operational improvements due to consulting and technical assistance services provided
• Completing projects within deadlines

POSITION COMPETENCIES

• ATTENTION TO DETAIL – Able to review data/documents for accuracy and consistency; take action to prevent mistakes; follow procedures closely; keep records accurate and up to date; test services/applications rigorously when needed.
• CREATIVITY & INNOVATION – Able to generate creative ideas to solve problems and improve work methods; apply novel approaches to situations; independently apply professional expertise in ways that are unique or innovative; collaborate with team members to brainstorm creative approaches; rethink situations to create new opportunities or overcome obstacles.
• CUSTOMER FOCUS – Able to build strong working relationships with internal and/or external customers; identify unexpressed customer needs and potential products/services to meet those needs; independently anticipate and meet customer needs; prioritize work in alignment with the needs of the customer; use customer knowledge and feedback to improve own work results.
• · INFLUENCING – Able to persuade and enlist others’ support in accomplishing objectives; effectively “sell” own ideas/work to others; use data or logic to influence others; develop effective working relationships with others who can help promote acceptance of own ideas; use different influence approaches as appropriate.
• OPEN COMMUNICATION – Able to practice active and attentive listening skills to verify understanding; adapt communication content and delivery to audience; proactively inform others about developments relevant to the team; openly express opinion, even when different from that of others; respond to differences of opinion constructively.
• RELATIONSHIP BUILDING – Able to deal effectively with people in order to get work accomplished; adjust own interpersonal approach to fit the interpersonal style/needs of others; recognize the impact of one’s behavior on others; utilize technical and business contacts to meet job responsibilities; network to reach specific influential people.
• VALUING DIVERSITY – Able to seek out and work effectively with others who have diverse perspectives, talents, backgrounds, and/or styles; contribute to a team climate in which differences are valued and supported; challenge any stereotyping or offensive comments; see and respond to feedback from others about his/her own behavior that might be perceived as biased.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate is professional and resourceful. They must feel comfortable navigating the public, private and nonprofit sector, understanding the needs of key leaders and the communities they serve. Needs to be an effective communicator that clearly articulates the mission and impact of the organization both verbally and in writing. They are willing to conduct both the administrative and strategic tasks that are involved in establishing successful partnerships and community relationships. They are able to work independently when needed and collaboratively as part of an integrated, cross-functional team providing training and consulting throughout the state. The candidate must have the ability to manage multiple projects with both internal and external stakeholders and meet all deadlines. This candidate needs to possess excellent relationship management and problem-solving skills and is a highly skilled communicator. The candidate needs to demonstrate a positive attitude and foster an encouraging environment amongst colleagues and external partners and should be comfortable in managing online information systems, conducting live webinars and in-person training.

Company Description

Maryland MENTOR is the statewide affiliate of MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership in Maryland. Our shared mission is to increase both the quality and quantity of mentoring relationships. This is accomplished through support to on-the-ground mentoring programs to improve their quality, effectiveness and scale, while coalescing stakeholders to expand engagement and investment locally. Maryland MENTOR serves as the catalyst and leader for quality mentoring in Baltimore and in Maryland and are uniquely positioned to work with local organizations to increase their capacity, effectiveness and provide relevant and customized evidence-based training, technical assistance and support. We are intent on making progress towards closing the mentoring gap and ensuring that all mentoring relationships in Baltimore and throughout Maryland are safe and effective. The need for our work is clear. Mentoring, at its core, guarantees to young people that there is someone who cares about them, assures them they are not alone in dealing with day-to-day challenges, and makes them feel like they matter. Research of programs with strong youth outcomes has shown that the consistent use of quality standards and training for youth workers are key to delivering the high quality programs that all youth need and deserve.