JOB TITLE: MNPS Rites of Passage Mentor Corps Fellow
Program Enhancements Manager
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: No
FLSA STATUS: Part-time, non-exempt
SALARY: $13.50/hour (20 hours/week)
LOCATION: Metro Nashville/Davidson County
About Us
For over 50 years Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee has served young people in the Middle TN region. Our work supports our belief that every child has the ability to succeed and thrive in life. Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (Bigs) and youth (Littles). Through our commitment to quality and innovation and the passion we have for our work, we develop and sustain positive, life-changing relationships that have a direct and lasting impact on the lives of our youth and the adults who mentor them.
Our Mission is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. As noted by our Vision, we are driven by a future in which all youth achieve their full potential.
WE ARE AN AGENCY THAT CELEBRATES DIFFERENCES
We show each other dignity through our partnerships, decisions, and language. We intentionally engage, represent, and partner with our diverse communities. We demonstrate our values by learning together with staff, board, volunteers, youth, families, and investors to think and act with sensitivity and intentionality. Driven by the voice of our stakeholders, our agency develops responsive and respectful programming and builds strategic and thoughtful alliances.
We want people of all backgrounds to see themselves represented and included in our work, so we actively seek to diversify our team and bring more voices to the table. We know that teams perform at their highest when they feel supported and that they belong. Each of our team members brings unique perspectives and skills, and we are committed to building a culture where voices are heard, differences are celebrated, and everyone has the opportunity to do meaningful work. At Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle TN, you will be inspired by talented, passionate colleagues who will motivate you to do and be your best. We are bigger and better together!
About the Role
Day to day
As a youth serving agency, we work at the request of the young people enrolled in our programs to find them the mentors that they want and need – mentors that can ignite their potential and have lived experience that youth can identify with. In order to meet the needs of our clients – the youth we serve, we have launched a new initiative: The MentorCorps Fellowship. The MentorCorps Fellowship is a paid fellowship that seeks to expand the impact of mentorship by matching highly-sought-after mentors with multiple youth and embedding these mentors with partner organizations to support mentoring initiatives.
To this end, we are excited to partner with Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) to support mentoring in schools through the TN Safe Schools Mentoring initiative. This MNPS Rites of Passage MentorCorps Fellow will promote the success of youth in Metro Nashville Public Schools through a combination of one-to-one and group mentoring. Through meaningful, engaging, and culturally competent interactions, a MentorCorps Fellow will:
- Build healthy relationships with youth in 1:1 matches to promote positive development,
- Facilitate trauma-informed groups of “tier two” students following the Rites of Passage curriculum.
Key Responsibilities
- Serve as a 1:1 mentor to up to 10 youth (“Littles”)
- Facilitate up to 4 weekly groups of identified students in the Rites of Passage program in MNPS schools.
- Utilizing both 1:1 and group mentoring, support youth’s attendance, academic performance, and behavior in school.
- Engage with each Little in a 1:1 match weekly in person or via virtual mentoring platforms.
- Find ways to cultivate and amplify youth voice within your group and mentoring.
- Facilitate safe, entertaining, and engaging groups following the Rites of Passage curriculum.
- Engage in professional development according to development needs identified by BBBSMT staff, MNPS Staff, and self-evaluation.
- Participate in monthly mentoring with BBBSMT staff
- Send weekly report to MNPS staff containing details of each weeks’ group facilitation
- Participate in check-ins with MNPS Staff quarterly
- Be a supportive, positive role model.
- Exhibit open and affirming behavior and active listening.
- Apply best practices for child safety, interaction, and engagement with Littles
- Acknowledge Littles strengths, talents, and gifts and encourage them to find ways to use them.
- Display enthusiasm, patience, and understanding of Littles
- Participate in monthly match support with BBBS staff and accept coaching, feedback and training as needed
About You
This job may be for you…
- Candidate with experience working with male youth of color
- Previous experience mentoring in some capacity, e.g. school setting, neighborhood, sports team, younger family member
- Willingness to provide emotional, social, and practical support within limits
- Experience working with male youths who may have behavior challenges inside and/or outside of school
- Cultural competence
- Are familiar with principals of trauma-informed care and strengths-based youth work
- Comfortable with or experience with facilitating or speaking in front of groups
- Must be able to collaborate with building administration and teachers
- Knowledge of one’s boundaries and ability to set limits with others
- Completed background check and training (criminal background will be assessed on a case-by-case bases. Criminal record will not automatically disqualify applicants)
- Ambitious and goal driven
- A commitment to the BBBS mission and core values
- A commitment to creating a supportive environment, promoting a positive identity, and supporting academic performance for identified youth.
- Commitment to serve through the end of one year upon hire
- Ability to allocate 20 hours per week to program requirements
Qualifications
- Men who are familiar with working with male youth of color are encouraged to apply
- Completed background check and training provided by both BBBSMT and MNPS (criminal background will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Criminal record will not automatically disqualify applicants.)
- Ambitious and goal driven
- Commitment to serve for 12 months after date of hire
- Ability to allocate 20 hours to program requirements
- Availability during school hours
Additional Information
- Professional training & development programs
- Flexible work schedule with a hybrid (remote work/in-office work) work environment
- Professional resume, LinkedIn profile and headshot
Americans with Disabilities Act: Employee must be able to perform all essential job functions, with or without reasonable accommodation.
Job Responsibilities: The above statements reflect the general duties, responsibilities, and competencies necessary to perform the job’s essential duties and responsibilities. They should not be regarded as a detailed description of all the work requirements of the position. BBBSMT may change the specific job duties with or without prior notice based on the organization’s needs.
If this sounds like the position and organization for you, please submit a cover letter and resume to careers@mentorakid.org with “Your Name – Mentor Corps Fellow: RoP” in the subject line. Please include in the email your response to the following question: Why is mentoring important?
No phone calls please. Applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.
Big Brothers Big sisters of Middle Tennessee celebrates diversity and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.