Technology Community Engagement Manager
Job Description
Organization Profile:
Founded in 1999, BUILD’s mission is to use entrepreneurship to ignite the potential of youth in under-resourced communities and equip them for high school, college and career success. BUILD’s unique program offers students a four-year entrepreneurship experience designed to develop 21st Century Skills and motivate student engagement in school. Starting in 9th grade, BUILD students work with their peers and community mentors to develop business ideas, pitch to funders and launch real businesses. As students journey through high school and continue to grow their businesses, BUILD helps them explore college and career options, and assists students with the college application process. Entrepreneurship is the hook – college, career, and life success are the goals.
BUILD currently serves approximately 2,000 high school students annually at programs located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington DC, New York City and Boston.
Our Culture:
BUILD believes in the potential of every student and is dedicated to breaking down the educational, economic and social barriers that stand in the way of their long-term success. The remarkable young men and women whom we serve are at the center of everything we do. We are intentional about our culture so that we can best support them. Our culture thrives by embracing diversity, equity and inclusion, including cross-cultural understanding. We work in a collaborative environment where flexibility, creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit are encouraged and celebrated. Kindness, empathy and respect are at the forefront of the way we treat each other, our students, our teachers and our supporters.
Position Summary:
Reporting to the New York City Program Director, the Community Engagement Manager (CEM) sets NYC’s strategy and implementation best practices for our mentor program and ensures excellence in execution. Mentoring students and providing them with access to social capital is at the core of our program and theory of change. The CEM therefore plays an important role in building a critically needed diverse, inclusive, healthy and high performing volunteer workforce of caring adults in service to our students.
The CEM is responsible for volunteer mentor recruitment, training, stewardship and retention. They develop and implement research-based training, tools, and interventions for mentors used by the NYC region and shared with other regions as best practices. The CEM will closely collaborate with regional and national program and development teams to ensure that BUILD NYC is meeting its mentor and partnership goals.
The CEM should care deeply about the students we serve and be able to speak compellingly with broad external audiences, including business and community leaders, about the value of mentorship to students, mentors, and organizations/companies. The ideal candidate has experience in DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) work and in non-profit and youth development. This position requires the ability and desire to operate in a high-energy, entrepreneurial environment where innovation, collaboration and creativity are valued and expected.
Position Responsibilities:
Volunteer Recruitment, Retention & Training
- Utilizing a youth development lens, develop the strategy for and oversee the organizational mentor life cycle including recruitment, training, safety protocols, placement, performance, support, and engagement; share best practices with national cohort of community engagement colleagues
- Recruit volunteers, garner support and build awareness for the BUILD program at information sessions, fairs and other community events; delegate attendance to other regional staff as needed
- Build a diverse, equitable and inclusive mentor community that supports our students in their BUILD journey from 9th-grade through post-secondary
- Manage volunteer applications via BUILD’s Salesforce platform and a robust screening process; support placement of volunteers and transition of relationships to program staff
- Develop the training and tools needed for BUILD mentors to successfully support our students; implement support practices to provide mentors with feedback and opportunities for them to develop their skills in service to our students
- Collaborate with Program staff to design and execute region-wide orientations, trainings, appreciation events, and evaluation systems to ensure accountability and a high-quality volunteer experience
- Ensure accurate volunteer data entry and tracking in Salesforce database; utilize data to articulate volunteer impacts, and refine recruitment and engagement strategies
- Lead the vision and implementation for creating a robust mentor base through scalable systems; present the BUILD mentor opportunity at corporate, funder and community based organizations
Internship Development
- Conduct and maintain a community resource review to identify and grow student internship and community engagement prospects
- Coordinate with community organizations, public agencies, the Local Advisory Board and others to develop an internship/community engagement pipeline
- Partner with the Director of Strategic Partnerships to identify and connect students with robust experiential learning opportunities
Skills and Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree required, or transferable life experience; 5+ years professional experience
- Direct experience working in organizations serving young people with similar BUILD student backgrounds
- 5+ years’ professional experience in successfully developing and implementing adult volunteer programs serving high school students of BUILD students’ background, or transferrable experience
- Ability to effectively communicate to and gain buy-in from a broad and diverse set of external constituents, including corporate employees and executives and community-based organization leaders
- Familiarity with Salesforce or other CRM databases a plus
Successful candidates will demonstrate the following competencies through a combination of previous education/work experiences:
BUILD’s Core Values:
- Keep Students at the Center – As BUILDers, we hold an unwavering passionate commitment and belief in the power and potential of youth. Our organization exists to serve students. We seize each opportunity to contribute to the foundation of knowledge, skills, and networks from which students can build extraordinary lives. Our operating principles and decisions focus on what is in the best interest of our students.
- Bring the Spark – As BUILDers, we excel in the entrepreneurial Spark Skills that we teach our students – Communication, Collaboration, Problem Solving, Innovation, Grit and Self-Management. We communicate through transparent and honest dialogue. We cherish teamwork, tenacity, and thinking outside the box. We demonstrate a relentless pursuit of excellence and approach work with a positive can do attitude. When we bring the spark we achieve great things together, and we model the way for our students.
- Bridge Communities – As BUILDers, we develop and foster relationships in service of creating access and opportunities for our students, staff, and stakeholders. We value all who come to the table as partners to maximize our collective impact. By connecting the communities in which we work, we build empathy, equity, and social capital.
- Promote Diversity and Social Action – As BUILDers, we understand that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion matters, but what matters even more is Action. We strive to create equity of voice, access, influence and power across lines of difference – both in and beyond BUILD, specifically for groups that have been historically denied social and economic justice. If we are not part of the solution, then we are part of the problem. We welcome, celebrate, and embrace the unique expressions and contributions of us all – our backgrounds, race, ethnicity, gender, language, sexual orientation, and social class.
Role Specific Competencies:
- Customer Service Orientation—anticipate and respond promptly and professionally to requests and needs from all key stakeholders and set clear expectations while taking other perspectives into account.
- Leadership: Influence, inspire, guide, and direct a project or group of people towards a defined vision or goal.
- Project Management—identifies and thinks through all necessary steps of a project, sets appropriate deadlines, moves seamlessly between prioritized tasks, identifies required participants and holds self and others accountable to outcomes and deadlines
- Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis—reviews quantitative and/or qualitative data sets in order to recognize patterns, identifies additional information or data needed, and draws conclusions
- Strategic Thinking—takes into account and analyzes various points of view and data to form a perspective appropriate to a particular context; includes identifying or anticipating problems and implementing solutions
Position Details:
- Status: Full Time/Exempt
- Location: New York, NYC
- Travel: Ability to travel in NYC area; periodic travel to other locations in the country for all organizational retreats
- Evening and weekend hours periodically required
Compensation:
This position is budgeted for $62-65K. BUILD offers a competitive compensation & benefits package for eligible employees. This includes medical, dental & vision coverage, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, and a 403(b) plan with employer match. In addition, BUILD employees are eligible for generous paid vacation, sick time, 11 paid holidays per year, a flexible work environment, and performance bonuses.
