Professional Mentor; Friend - Los Angeles

Professional Mentor (Friend) – Los Angeles

Location:

Los Angeles, CA

Salary: $49,000 – $50,000 Annually

A Friend works intensively with eight children and their families as a positive adult role model to develop a caring, trusting and sustained relationship with the whole family. A Friend will set positive expectations; nurture and promote strengths, talents and abilities; help assure physical and emotional well‑being; teach life and academic skills; provide enrichment activities; and model responsible behavior. A Friend will fully document activities and participate in an ongoing evaluation process.

Friends will work primarily one‑on‑one with their children, and link and support families to resources as appropriate. A Friend must also understand and support the organization’s mission, vision, values, principles and policies, and articulate the organization’s function clearly.

• Develop and sustain a long term, caring, trusting and accepting relationship with each child and their families;
• Spend time with children, one‑on‑one and in the classroom;
• Develop, maintain and follow a Roadmap or Transition Plan for each child;
• Set realistic expectations and goals based on each child’s strengths, talents, abilities and needs;
• Teach life skills and healthy habits to contribute to basic development and learning, and to build positive self‑esteem;
• Develop a talent/skill/area of interest with each child to help build confidence;
• Provide enrichment resources and activities which include opportunities for cultural awareness, diversity and community service;
• Help children acquire behavioral management skills, tolerance, respect for others, courtesies and compassion;
• Develop positive relationships with families, teachers and others involved in each child’s life;
• Work closely with teachers to support each child’s academic journey;
• Reinforce basic academic skills and learning;
• Model and promote good problem‑solving and decision‑making skills;
• Participate in the programming and resources available through the organization, using program resources effectively to meet each child’s needs;
• Maintain spending within budgetary guidelines;
• Complete and distribute enrollment forms, activity journals, monthly and quarterly reports, expense reports and evaluation materials accurately and timely;
• Attend and actively participate in team meetings, trainings, and staff functions;
• Provide information and support to the development team and related activities as needed;
• Develop positive relationships with caregivers and engage them in their child’s development;
• Link children and families to resources, as appropriate;
• Work closely with your supervisor and program team to assess parents’ needs, develop family goals, and link families and children to community resources as appropriate;
• Support caregivers in the home with positive role modeling, creating structure and discipline for their children;
• Fulfill other responsibilities as required.

• Ability to relate to children and develop and sustain trusting, supportive relationships;
• Strong interpersonal skills;
• Demonstrated ability to work with children in varied capacities and settings to help them learn and grow;
• Ability to cultivate trusting relationships with children, caregivers, teachers and community members;
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and communicate appropriately within the workplace;
• Ability to use creativity and initiative in planning activities to continually develop children;
• Ability to work independently in diverse environments with limited supervision;
• Ability to work as a team player;
• Ability to set goals and develop plans to meet those goals, ensuring the development of each child;
• Ability to complete administrative tasks accurately and on time;
• Ability to handle high mobility and driving demands safely and with good judgment;
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; organizational and time‑management skills;
• Basic computer and keyboarding skills, proficiency with e‑mail systems, familiarity with MS Outlook, and ETO (or other database applications);
• Ability to exercise good judgment independently, in various situations and…