Friendly Towns Field Associate (Seasonal)

Since its founding in 1877, The Fresh Air Fund, a not-for-profit youth development organization, has provided free life-changing summer outdoor experiences to more than 1.8 million children from New York City’s underserved communities. Youth also participate in year-round leadership, career exploration, and educational programs. For more information, visit www.Freshair.org.

Friendly Towns

The Friendly Towns Program is a signature area for The Fund from the organization’s historical roots. Today, Fresh Air youth are recruited from communities across New York City and welcomed into the homes of volunteer host families across the East Coast for a one-week visit. The Friendly Towns Program is supported by a network of volunteers who serve as key ambassadors and program partners in suburban and rural communities, as well as a team of professionals in the NYC’s FAF office, and works collaboratively with the various portfolios in the organization. For Summer 2024, the program will run from June 27, 2024, through August 28, 2024. New participants from ages 8-14 and returning participants (to the same host families) from ages 15-18 are eligible.

The Fresh Air Fund (The Fund) seeks a Field Associate to join the Friendly TownsTeam.

In preparation for Summer 2024, the Friendly Towns Team is hiring three part-time staff members who will support the program by interviewing and conducting home visits for potential host families (in areas not covered by trained volunteers) and transition to check-in on youth during their Friendly Towns experiences in the summer, as well as complete other program tasks as needed. Potential host family interviews and home inspections are a crucial safety measure for this program and the Friendly Towns Team is excited to pilot staff check-ins as an additional level of safety.

Position Summary

The Fresh Air Fund is seeking a detail-oriented, organized, and proactive individual with excellent communication and sound judgement to serve as a Field Associate for the Friendly Towns Department. The Field Associate will serve as an integral member of the Friendly Towns Team, interviewing and conducting required home visits of both new and returning host families participating in the Summer 2024 Friendly Towns program, inputting data into FreshForce (The Fund’s CRM database), conducting summer visits to youth and host families in Friendly Towns, assisting with local outreach and recruitment opportunities, and supporting NY office staff.

This position is designed for an individual with experience in youth development programs, home interviews and inspections or similar safety measures, a host family and/or volunteer program equivalent, or a child-focused environment.

This is a part-time (approximately 20 hours/week), seasonal 6-month administrative and travel position based in the field in states along the East Coast, from March 2024 – August 2024. All travel costs will be covered by The Fund; overnight travel will be required.

This position reports to the Director of Friendly Towns.

Responsibilities

• Conduct interviews and home inspections;
• Coordinate travel in an effective and efficient manner;
• Support geographically in Friendly Towns without trained volunteers;
• Support in summer program cycle process. The process includes recruiting Host Families, interviewing and re-interviewing potential Host Families, and checking references for potential host families, among other tasks;
• Conduct check-ins during summer visits in Friendly Towns;
• Develop action plans for managing challenges and work to encourage and support more successful experiences;
• Focus on providing high-quality outdoor experiences while mitigating risk and elevating safety and program quality;and
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field or equivalent combination of education, experience, and/or training in the field of youth development, education, social work, not-for-profit operations, community development, and/or customer service
• Experience working with youth required;
• Enthusiasm for the mission of serving children in New York City’s underserved communities;
• Ability to travel in designated/assigned Friendly Towns throughout the spring and summer with some evening and weekend flexibility required;
• Comfort traveling to suburban and rural areas independently;
• Experience using Microsoft Office Suite, Teams, teleconferencing, smartphones;
• Experience with customer relationship management (CRM) software (such as Salesforce) a plus;
• Ability to primarily work independently;
• Strong analytical, verbal, written, organizational, and communication skills;
• Ability to effectively multi-task;
• Ability to work successfully with a broad range of personality types;
• Ability to conduct challenging conversations and make informed and safe decisions;
• Highly developed organizational skills and attention to detail;
• Experience working with volunteers and/or history of volunteer service;
• High degree of professionalism and ability to safeguard private information;
• Driver’s License required; and
• Interest in joining a youth development organization and supporting its mission and vision with a focus on the experiences of the children that participate in the program as the primary priority.

The Fresh Air Fund requires all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or to apply for reasonable accommodation.

Salary & Benefits

The salary for this role is $25/hour in the field and has a flexible schedule. Technology needs are supported, and a work-issued Chromebook is provided. This role does NOTinclude any health insurance, paid vacation time, paid holidays, disability insurance, life insurance, or retirement plan.

Application Instructions

To apply, please submit a Friendly Towns Field Associate application and cover letter. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered. We are hiring on a rolling basis and encourage interested applicants to apply as early as possible. No calls or recruiters, please.

The Fresh Air Fund is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to inclusive hiring, and dedicated to diversity in its work and on its staff. We strongly encourage candidates of all identities, experiences, orientations, and communities to apply.