With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and opportunities in more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia is the sixth largest city in the United States and one of the largest employers in Southeastern Pennsylvania. As an employer, the City of Philadelphia operates through the guiding principles of service, integrity, respect, accountability, collaboration, diversity and inclusion. Through these principles, we strive to effectively deliver services, to resolve the challenges facing our city, and to make Philadelphia a place where all of our residents have the opportunity to reach their potential. 

AGENCY DESCRIPTION

This position will sit within the Managing Director’s Office (MDO) which provides oversight of the City’s major operating departments. The MDO provides support, assistance, and coordination to build sustainable infrastructure within and across departments, ensuring the efficient delivery of quality services to the public.

The Citywide Out-of-School Time (OST) Initiative is developing a shared, coordinated and inclusive OST system that reaches ambitious goals on behalf of Philadelphia’s young people. This is a new phase of work that builds upon current and past investments in Philadelphia’s OST community. The guiding documents for this Initiative can be found here: http://ost.phila.gov/about/model-mission

The Reading Coach Site Coordinators are new positions that are grant-funded and will be key players in launching an early literacy intervention pilot in the out-of-school time space. Each Coordinator will be focused on managing a specific set of sites. Each of the three site coordinators will report to the Program Manager and will work to build productive volunteer-student reading sessions.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Site Coordinators will be responsible for coordinating and implementing a new volunteer-based literacy program that will pair volunteers and K-3 students for one-on-one reading sessions multiple times a week. The Site Coordinator will be responsible for managing the volunteers as well as the student-volunteer sessions at their site and ensuring that the program is implemented with fidelity. The Site Coordinators will report to the Program Manager.

This is a full-time temporary grant-funded position for 2.5 years.

SALARY - $30,000-$36,000

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

The duties of the Site Coordinator include:

• Work well with children to create a supportive and creative environment
• Work with site staff and community volunteers to schedule reading pairs
• Create a welcoming, organized, and comfortable reading space
• Contact returning and potential volunteer readers to invite them to participate in the program
• Ensure volunteer readers are trained, understand their role, and have a meaningful experience
• Provide oversight during all reading sessions to help children and volunteer readers select books, answer questions, observe and offer reading tips, and ensure safety and security procedures are followed
• Recruit new volunteers to join the program throughout the year to help ensure every selected child has a volunteer reader
• Maintain the book inventory at the site
• Recruit new volunteers to join the program throughout the year to help ensure every selected child has a volunteer reader
• Collect program data (students, volunteers, books) and submit monthly reports
• Establish regular and effective communication between site staff and OST program staff
• Actively participate in site visits and program assessments
• Create an equitable, inclusive reading environment for students and volunteers, and promptly address equity related concerns
• Ensure adherence to risk management policies at site, including program safety policies, background checks, site-specific emergency protocols, etc. 
• Contribute to a database of student stories and quotes about the program
• Other relevant duties as assigned

COMPETENCIES, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Proficiency in spoken Spanish is REQUIRED
  
• Advocate of children’s literacy and dedication to serving the community
• Experience in community partnership building
• Has flexibility and adaptability in work style and work schedule, including some night and weekend time
• Ability to collect required data and submit reports each month
• Personable communication and good customer service skills
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Ability to train volunteer Readers, with support as needed
• Positive and open-minded personality
• Ability to work independently, while maintaining communication with area office
• Understanding of the importance of adhering to the literacy model, guidelines and expectations
• Comfort navigating the City of Philadelphia as this position requires regular travel to attend trainings, meetings, community events, etc.
  

Please include a resume and cover letter with your application.

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age,disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to pchr@ phila.gov. For more information, go to: Human Relations Website at: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations

The successful candidate must reside in the City of Philadelphia or establish primary residence in the City of Philadelphia within 6 months of employment.