The Homeless Children’s Playtime Project (HCPP) seeks a proven youth development leader looking to make a difference by taking our preteen and teen programs to the next level! We need a strong, diverse, energetic, skilled and youth-focused professional to join our team as a Teen & Preteen Program Manager. This is an amazing opportunity for a youth development leader, preferably with an education/teaching or social work background, with experience managing a program, supervising and training volunteers, nurturing community partnerships, and working directly with teenagers and families experiencing homelessness in Washington​,​ DC.

HCPP is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing trauma-informed and educational programs, as well as advocating for children and teens living in emergency and transitional housing programs in DC. Playtime’s mission is to provide learning through play, a therapeutic environment and access to community resources to youth who are experiencing homelessness. We are seeking to hire a fulltime Program Manager to further develop our Teen & Preteen programs at DC General. Previous leadership experience working with teens in a direct​-​service setting, ideally a tutoring program, is expected.​

Responsibilities include:

Overseeing three evening programs from 6:00-8:45 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays with the rest of the time spent in our office planning or having community meetings,

Planning and implementing engaging, evidenced-based reading and math activities nightly​ informed by monthly assessments,

​Carefully tracking and managing participant records and outcomes such as registration, attendance, grades at school, participant identified goals and school engagement,

Collecting data through pre- and post-surveys and academic assessments and analyzing and reporting the results,

​Helping to ensure​ that preteens and teen’s ​educational, social and emotional ​needs are met​ by working with parents and staff to issue referrals to high-quality-service providers,

Building relationships with teachers and school staff for participants with high-level educational needs, helping to ensure school engagement and academic success,

Providing leadership among volunteers including strong supervision, as well as facilitating ongoing trainings to bolster their​ skills,​

Maintaining the program’s norms and expectations, including strong behavior management with a focus on positive discipline and natural consequences appropriate for teens,

Successful applicants will possess a range of attributes, including:

Demonstrated ability to successfully engage preteens and teenagers in group learning opportunities (two separate groups),
Experience successfully engaging African American teenagers living in high-poverty environments,
Knowledge of therapeutic techniques used to build rapport, identify and respond to crises, conduct basic assessments of needs, and build respectful relationships with families,
Strong, positive leader with a presence that people respond to,
Highly skilled advocate with experience plugging high-need teens into the critical services and supports they need to thrive,
Experience leading a team (in this case, of volunteers), including facilitation skills and the ability to provide skills coaching and give and receive constructive feedback,
Commitment to teamwork, motivating people to meet the mission, and collaboration with diverse groups of people,
Mature professional with flexibility, excellent problem-solving, verbal and written communication and time management skills,
Strong record-keeping skills and ability to track outcomes,
A Bachelor’s degree with at least five years working in youth development is expected, Master’s degree preferred but not required.

This position will spend time in the field building partnerships with schools and social service agencies and doing planning in Playtime Project’s office during normal business hours including collaborating with colleagues; occasional weekend field trips or out-of-hours trainings may be scheduled as well. You will work closely with our MSW social work intern and be supervised by our Deputy Director.

How to apply

Please send a cover letter and resume to to hiring@playtimeproject.org with TEEN PROGRAM in the subject header. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with those received earliest receiving priority consideration. No phone calls please. We only have the capacity to get back to those candiates who are the most qualified. Thank you for your interest in contributing to our work!