Umoja Program Lead

Job Title:UMOJA Program Lead
Supervisor:UMOJA Program Director
Primary Department: UMO – UMOJA
Pay Band: $47,000 to $50,000
FLSA Status: Exempt
Revision: March 2024
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Position Summary

This role will be the creative agent of the UMOJA team, working to serve Black youth who are currently in foster, adoptive, or kinship care. This role requires skill in the areas of group facilitation, communication, curriculum design and implementation. This role requires understanding of programming and will help maintain grant deliverables. This role is great for a creative person who has experience in youth work, foster care, or child welfare.

Our Agency

At EVOLVE Family Services, we fight to build a world where everyone has nurturing, permanent, and supportive familial relationships. We accomplish this by connecting youth with adults, by giving adults the tools to succeed, and by giving youth a voice in a system that has been developed from a place of oppression. We serve youth and families across Minnesota and western Wisconsin, often within and alongside the child welfare system. We serve all, regardless of race, religion, age, economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or marital status. EVOLVE is an antiracist, anti-oppressive agency, and expects our workforce to hold one another accountable for continued growth. Please our standards of antiracism and anti-oppression (https://evolveservices.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Standards-of-Antiracism-and-Anti-Oppression-at-EVOLVE-8.2020.pdf). BIPOC and diverse candidates are encouraged to apply.

Core Competencies

Innovation: Embraces new approaches and discovers ideas to create better processes, experiences, or functionality. Involves clients, peers, and the community in the development of new ideas. Conceives, develops, and delivers new and creative products, services, methods or models.

Collaboration: Builds rapport and relates well with others. Nurtures relationships with others. Serves as an agency and community leader; uses influence to move projects and initiatives forward. Works cohesively with people from across diverse backgrounds and working styles.

Change Capacity: Leads self through change by navigating ambiguity appropriately and adapting well to new situations, obstacles, and opportunities. Demonstrates an openness to change, models adaptability, and seeks opportunities to engage with and contribute to the change process.

Problem Solving: Finds solutions to difficult or complex issues. Considers different aspects to challenges, explores alternatives and selects strong solutions to problems. Seeks to understand the symptoms or antecedents to the problems and solves for those underlying causes.

Essential Functions
1. Assist with and plan aspects of Black heritage camp program (a large-scale event for 100-300 people).
2. Support UMOJA director in management of an approximately $483,000 annual operating budget.
3. Group facilitation of youth programming, agency-wide trainings, and volunteer training.
4. Recruitment and training of teachers, facilitators, and volunteers (including documentation and compliance).
5. Maintain consistent communication with UMOJA families and independent contractors for programming.
6. Create and maintain relationships with Black communities; build rapport for continued relationships.
7. Create and establish youth and child-centered classroom curriculum for UMOJA camp and programs held throughout the year.
8. Work successfully with UMOJA team to design and lead Afrocentric educational programming for children and youths.
9. Assist in ensuring that grant deliverables are met on a quarterly basis.
10. Every 6 months, set 2 personal goals for growth in Diversity Equity Inclusion work, and share progress.
11. Participate in monthly discussions or learnings about Diversity Equity Inclusion topics at team meetings.

These are intended to describe the general nature and level of work for this role. It is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required for this job. Additional functions within the same scope are expected.

Licensure / Credentials

This person must be able to pass a background check and FBI clearance check.
This position requires a driver’s license and reliable transportation. Comfort with driving moving trucks a plus.

Work Environment

This hybrid role is for a Minnesota or Wisconsin based employee who can be in-office 2 times a week in Oak Park Heights, MN. The in-office requirement is increased leading up to the black heritage camp held twice annually. The EVOLVE workspace is a shared office space in close proximity to other department peers. The EVOLVE office is a pet-friendly workplace. All employees are provided with a laptop to work from home, provided the employee maintains high-speed internet and cell phone service. Your home workspace must be conducive to performing your role. Whether at home, or at the office, this role requires sitting for extended periods of time at a desk, while utilizing a computer to complete work. The hours of this role typically fall between 8:30a-4:30p with afterhours and weekends required for programming needs.

The Next Step
Go to www.evolveservices.org/employment/ to learn more about our cause, our culture, and to apply.