Job description
About Youth UpRising
Youth UpRising (YU) exists to build healthy, economically robust communities in East Oakland and the surrounding county by harnessing the leadership of young people, improving the systems that most impact their lives and advancing community development.
Since opening in 2005, YU has gone from eight to nearly eighty staff, emerging as East Oakland’s leading community transformation engine, praised as a national model by Attorney General Eric Holder in 2010. Housed in what was once an abandoned supermarket, YU is now a 25,000 square-foot state-of-the-art community transformation center annually serving about 3000 unduplicated Alameda County youth, ages 13-24. With a campus that includes an onsite health clinic, an internet café and a multimedia center, YU offers core programming in four areas: Education and education, health and wellness, civic engagement, and art and expression. YU also operates a social enterprise hub that creates jobs and provides industry-specific training in high-growth sectors that facilitate a young person’s transition into the workforce and nurture Education opportunity.
While YU’s mission is to cultivate community transformation, East Oakland is at the epicenter of the violence and poverty shaping the poor outcomes and disparaging perceptions plaguing Oakland and Alameda County. Yet Youth UpRising’s work is grounded in the belief that by providing comprehensive services and supports for the community’s most at-risk young people and engaging them as partners in improving the community, we can create healthy eco-systems that can change the place without displacing the people.
For more information about Youth UpRising go to: www.youthuprising.org
The Opportunity
Youth UpRising offers the successful YU Work Manager an opportunity to join a dynamic organization with a compelling mission and a successful track record of attracting, engaging and serving a high-risk population in strategies for personal, professional and community transformation.
In joining YU’s staff, the YU Work Manager will become part of a high-performing, warm, diverse team that includes people indigenous to the community, those who are deeply committed to social change, and youth within our target population who help to keep the organization attuned to the current realities of youth culture.
The new YU Work Manager will be positioned for significant success and ongoing professional growth, as YU develops the programs and practices that position us to become a national leader in urban community transformation.
YU Work Manager – Position Summary
Youth UpRising (YU) seeks a responsible, high-energy YU Work Manager to develop leadership and job skills in youth ages 18-24 by engaging them as productive members of on- and/or off-campus work trainees.
The successful candidate will have experience and skills in people and project management and will participate in the expansion of YU’s work experience program.
The YU Work Manager reports to the Social Enterprises Director and is responsible for the leadership and oversight of the YU Work department, site supervisor and YU Work trainees. Collaborating with the Case Manager(s) and Career Counselor(s) to facilitate job training and leadership development of trainees. This position requires someone whose passion for Youth UpRising’s vision is matched with hands-on practical leadership and the ability to motivate others to ensure the effective and successful functioning of the team as a whole.
Primary Responsibilities
Team Management
• Provide job-based supervision for trainee teams.
• Cultivate leadership development among trainee staff, including identifying and mentoring trainee leaders.
• Coordinate training times for trainee staff; facilitate trainings as needed; model desired behaviors.
• Coordinate schedules for both on- and off-campus trainees.
• Oversee and ensure accountability and timeliness of timesheets for all YU staff.
• Ensure performance of all trainee-based work projects to completion according to the agreed upon schedule.
• Promote YU Works Department and cultivate new opportunities for contracts
• Manage department vehicle fleet and ensure necessary equipment is available and in working order. Utilize inventory sheets. Coordinate with Facilities Manager for repairs. Provide input in the ordering process.
• Work with customers, contract documents and Administrative Assistant, to be familiar with all pertinent contract requirements and issues under their charge.
• Supervise and Support Site Supervisors, Lead Trainees, and Trainees, as necessary to accomplish contract work in a professional and high-quality manner.
• Provide instruction and training as necessary and whenever possible to help develop and maintain a work environment that fosters growth and development.
• Complete contracted work in the event of shortfall in quantity or quality of work by other subordinates.
• Maintain accurate, timely records — prepare extra-work estimates (billable) and documents for Administrative Manager review.
• Transport and/or arrange for transport of personnel, tools and equipment to job sites, as necessary to accomplish contract work.
• Maintain vehicle, tools and equipment inventories appropriately to meet operational needs.
• Attend staff meetings and training seminars, as directed.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Collaborate with Case Manager(s) to cultivate effective youth leadership development plans for trainee members. Facilitate strong internal communications between the trainee-based work teams and the Career and Education Department.
Other duties as needed and assigned.
Qualification and Competency Requirements
Positional Competencies — required for our Trainee-based Workforce Manager
• EDUCATION EXPERIENCE A High School Diploma or the equivalent.
• PEOPLE MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE including training, development and supervision of a team.
• PROJECT MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE from conception to realization, with strong administrative and organizational skills.
• IMPECCABLE WORK ETHIC including deeply engrained habits of modeling desired job-readiness and performance behaviors.
• AVAILABILITY for occasional evening and weekend work.
• TRADES EXPERIENCE is a plus.
• YOUTH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT and/or COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION EXPERIENCE is a plus.
• BILINGUAL is a plus.
• US MILITARY VETERAN is a plus.
WORK EXPERIENCE
• At least 1 year of successful experience performing landscape maintenance and grounds keeping tasks including planting, turf maintenance, mowing, equipment operation and maintenance, with at least 2 years experience supervising the work of others.
• Demonstrated working knowledge of applied horticulture; tools, materials and practices of landscape maintenance; and of pesticide use and safety.
• Proven successful supervisory experience and proficiency, including excellent communication skills; demonstrated leadership and organizational abilities including effectively utilizing subordinates and work crews to accomplish objectives.
• Resourcefulness, flexibility and the ability to work independently to complete contract work in a professional and high quality manner.
• The ability as a representative of YU to project a consistent, positive, professional and competent image in all dealings with customers and the public.
• Experience in record keeping and reporting including timesheets, charge and receipt records, disciplinary warnings and supporting documents.
• Patience and sensitivity towards employees with special needs.
• This position requires the employee to be able to travel efficiently throughout their designated operational area and must meet these travel requirements by driving. A proof of a valid and current driver license, current auto insurance, and an acceptable Motor Vehicle Report is required.
Managerial Competencies — required at YU for those who manage others
• LEADERSHIP – Visionary • Articulates goals and objectives and their value • Acts as a positive catalyst for change • Models desired behaviors • Able to inspire and organize others • Builds on strengths and facilitates growth in areas of weakness • Seeks input, assesses risks and makes decisions • Problem-solving approach to challenges •
• PATIENCE – Able to maintain composure and endure under difficult circumstances • Compassionate, especially regarding long-term challenges • Able to withhold judgment/conclusion and take time to inquire into the causes of a situation • Able to manage expectations and measure success over the long-haul
• INSIGHT/DISCERNMENT – Able to acutely observe and insightfully perceive a situation and/or character • Emotionally intelligent and able to reflect on feelings, motives and needs • Demonstrates good instincts regarding long-term impact and implications •
• PROFESSIONALISM – Adheres to the highest ethical and organizational standards • Best-practice approach to work • Dependability, rooted in a reliable continuity of presence, principles and actions • Continuously seeks excellence in what we do and how we do it •
• SENSE OF HUMOR – Able to be real • Able to see the lighter side of difficult situations • Ready to laugh •
• MOTIVATIONAL POWER – Able to articulate goals, build excitement and motivate others to do their best • Able to move people beyond their comfort zone and inspire them to take strategic risks • Elicits other people’s realization of their maximum potential • Motivates people to be phenomenal team members • Instills a sense of ownership and investment in the larger vision • Delegates and builds the leadership of others • Inspires others to go ‘over and above’ and feel good about it •
Core Competencies – required of all staff for successful performance at YU.
• HIGH PERFORMANCE – Strong work ethic • Results oriented • High energy • High integrity • Reliability • Committed to Excellence • Takes initiative and gets things done • Demonstrated success in an entrepreneurial setting, with the ability to think strategically while executing tactically within a resource-constrained environment.
• ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS – Detail oriented • Tracks results • Demonstrates good work habits • Effectively uses their and other people’s time • Comes to tasks/meetings well prepared • Has basic computer skills • Develops efficient systems, processes and tools •
• FLEXIBILITY – Adapts to new information or circumstances • Willing to wear many ‘hats’ to get the job done • Creative in troubleshooting and finding solutions • Able to flourish in a fluid environment •
• POSITIVE ATTITUDE – Able to maintain composure, hope and a sense of humor amid challenges • Able to remain positive and see solutions among difficult issues • Stamina • Able to manage and diffuse stress •
• SOCIAL SKILLS – Able to work with a variety of people • Able to communicate with respect and clarity • Open to different viewpoints • Able to disagree without animosity • Self-aware • Compassionate • Collaborative • Able to give and receive candid feedback • A role model •
• CRITICAL THINKING – Thinks interdependently, framing the goals of one department/project within the entire vision • Sees current issues and challenges within a broad framework • Makes decisions that have the greatest long and short term positive impact • Thinks ‘outside the box’ — beyond given paradigms • Able to access resources (money, people) to advance solutions • Able to reflect on and improve both content and delivery • Open to developing awareness of the structural factors (socioeconomic context) impacting our communities
How to apply
Email resume and cover letter to talent@youthupising.org Include “YU Work Department Manager – [Your Name] and [Branch of Service] ie. USA, USN, USAF or USMC (if military veteran)” in the subject line.