Youth Worker

ABOUT RED HOOK INITIATIVE (RHI )

Red Hook Initiative (RHI) is a community-based nonprofit working to improve the lives of the more than 6500 residents of Red Hook Houses Brooklyn's largest public housing complex. RHI believes that the social change to overcome systemic inequities begins with empowered youth and that change in communities should come from partnership with community adults we nurture young people in Red Hook to be inspired resilient and healthy and to envision themselves as co-creators of their lives community and society.

Youth development community building and community hiring are at the core of RHIs approach to strengthen Red Hooks future. Our model gives young people and residents the tools resources and opportunities they need to interrupt the systems and barriers that perpetuate historic inequities for the community. Residents lead the way toward a more equitable hopeful future. Over our 20-year history RHIs model and dedicated team have been nationally recognized for its innovative place-based approach to social change.

RHI creates a culture of excellence with our ten core values as the foundation : community leadership mutual respect welcoming space strengths-based perspective trust high expectations encouragement inspiration holistic approach and adaptability.

The Youth Worker will assist in providing programs and services to young people in RHIs Youth Development & Socio-Emotional Learning Department. This Youth Worker position will facilitate workshops based on the needs of the program as a floater. This person is also responsible for planning and executing learning excursions for school-aged participants (Middle school & High school). The Youth Worker is passionate about engaging youth and continuing to learn about youth development.

The ideal candidate is willing to commit to at least one full year working weekday afternoons.

• Lead and assist with youth groups (middle and high school) that promote team building social-emotional learning leadership and structured enrichment activities.
• Facilitate programs by leading at least two middle school groups and one high school group per program cycle (three cycles per year).
• Support trips and events including after school holiday camp and summer Freedom Schools programming; ensure active engagement and safe supervision of youth at all times.
• Plan and accompany field trips with educational recreational service or creative purposes incorporating input from youth families and staff.
• Co-create curriculum and activities in collaboration with the Program Manager and team.
• Assist in youth recruitment and retention efforts engaging young people from Red Hook in RHI programs and services.
• Partner with external facilitators by helping coordinate sessions and maintaining youth participation.
• Maintain accurate program records including daily attendance weekly logs and documentation for compliance.
• Communicate regularly with supervisors participating in weekly supervision sessions with the Manager of Youth Development.
• Attend required team and organizational meetings contributing to a culture of collaboration.
• Participate in ongoing training to strengthen facilitation skills and meet requirements of RHIs School-Aged Child Care (SACC) license.

May be assigned other duties and responsibilities as determined by the Manager of Youth Development.

• Experience working with and relating to young people ages 11 to 18.
• Ability to design and facilitate engaging activities.
• Experience with Zoom Google Hangouts or other virtual platforms.
• Willingness to collaborate on projects and work with a team.
• Must be enthusiastic about continuous training in youth development facilitation behavior management etc.
• Must be enthusiastic about community-based work.
• Knowledge of the principles and practices of child and youth development and the ability to use this knowledge to achieve the goals of the program.
• Ability to comply with applicable safety and emergency requirements.
• Ability to promote an inclusive welcoming and respectful environment that embraces diversity.
• Ability to foster academic and non-academic skills and broaden participant horizons.
• Ability to effectively implement curricula and program activities.
• Ability to promote responsible and healthy decision-making among all participants.
• Ability to develop leadership team-building and self-advocacy skills among participants.
• Ability to behave professionally

• High School Diploma or equivalent required; college student (or graduate) preferred
• Social-emotional learning experience
• Red Hook resident or former resident preferred.
• Bilingual (English / Spanish / Mandarin) preferred.

• The RHI work environment is characteristic of a typical indoor office / program environment and the noise level is generally quiet to moderate.
• While performing administrative duties the employee will operate a…