Make a difference in the lives of young people – and make a living!

Candidate Profile and Core Values

Spark seeks Program Fellows for our regional teams in San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia.

Successful candidates will demonstrate exceptional relationship building, communication, and project management skills, fluency in innovative thinking, and a make-it-work mentality. Candidates will also embody Spark’s Core Values: being a student and a mentor, working with passion and compassion, committing to collaboration and diversity, aiming high and true, and trusting/respecting each relationship.

Position Overview

Reporting to a member of the regional program staff, the Program Fellow (PF) will support implementation of Spark’s career exploration and self-discovery program that helps middle school students understand, experience and pursue what’s possible.
The Program Fellow is responsible for leading outreach, enrollment, and support for students, family communications, and program logistics. Other key responsibilities include supporting programmatic operations including student transportation, execution of opening and culminating events, facilitating High School Pathways workshops for 8th graders, and coordinating evaluation efforts. The role requires
regular onsite visits at schools and workplaces, and collaboration with other Spark staff.

Qualifications

• Expected and recent college or university graduates are welcome to apply
• Have previous experience motivating and working with students (middle
  school aged preferred) and facilitating workshops or teaching
• Be hard-working, accountable, and able to work autonomously
• Be organized, prepared, and detailed oriented
• Be comfortable with student behavior management
• Be comfortable communicating with multiple stakeholders
• Be flexible and able to adapt to changes quickly
• Strong oral and written communication, relationship building and people skills;
• Legally eligible to work in the United States; no sponsorship provided.
• In addition, to be successful as a member of the Spark team in this role, you will:
  • Be an independent, results-focused, highly-organized self-starter;
  • Have a strong desire to impact an up-and-coming nonprofit organization;
  • Thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment, operating with a results-orientation and exceptional attention to detail;
  • Have a proactive personality; no work is ‘beneath’ you and you are eager to serve others, rolling up your sleeves when necessary;
  • Demonstrate mature judgment, with a high level of personal and professional integrity and trustworthiness;
  • Have a sense of humor, even under stress;
  • Be comfortable giving and receiving honest, constructive feedback;
  • Value relationships and accountability, empowering others to achieve superior results.

Core Responsibilities

Program Logistics, Student/Family Engagement, and Evaluation

• Build Relationships
  • Regularly, formally and informally, connect with students to support their ongoing success and navigate challenges and concerns
  • Conduct student interviews to create meaningful mentor matches
  • Communicate directly with mentors and families regarding student attendance and behavior in real time.
  • Engage student’s families to support their consistent participation in Spark programming

• Ensure consistent support of student safety. Communicate any concerns to
  supervisors and/or local leadership.

• Lead student travel on private busses to and from the school and company sites.
• Manage and support program quality through formal observations, surveys, and other tools.
• Coordinate and attend Spark events, including student and family information sessions and orientations, Match Days, and Share Your Spark.
• Facilitate High School Pathways workshops for 8 th graders at partner
  schools.
• Assist in inputting, tracking and analyzing attendance and impact data to ensure delivery of a high-quality, high-impact program.
• Share stories, videos, and pictures of students and mentors with the Spark team for development purposes.

• Liaison with school partners to support student engagement and program implementation.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary: Fellowship salaries vary by regional cost of living and are as follows for 2019-2020:

  • Bay Area: $33,000 for a 10-month Fellowship; $3,300 monthly salary
  • Chicago: $25,000 for a 10-month Fellowship; $2,500 monthly salary
  • Philadelphia: $23,000 for a 10-month Fellowship; $2,300 monthly salary
• Health Benefits: Full health coverage is provided, including medical, dental and vision no more 30 days after an employee’s first day. Spark covers up to 100 percent of monthly premiums, and a portion of the monthly premiums for dependents. Employee-funded flexible spending accounts for health and dependent care are offered. A life insurance policy providing $50,000 of coverage is also included.
• Learning Benefits: Spark highly values staff’s personal learning pursuits. Priority is placed on opportunities to pursue your choice of professional training opportunities, including workshops, conferences, and more.
• Retirement Benefits: Spark offers a 401K plan for employees to make retirement planning investments. Spark has the option to make discretionary matches to retirement contributions.
• Paid Time Off: Spark has a unique flexible time-off policy, which empowers staff to collaboratively determine and schedule time off as needed. Spark staff may take time off based on the status of their work- related goals and results within the organization. This policy is part of Spark’s focus on a balanced and healthy life for staff.
• Non-Monetary Compensation: The opportunity to be an integral member of an energetic, innovative, hard-working and rapidly growing team, within an organization that has the potential to significantly change the trajectory of middle-school education nationwide.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis with a targeted start date of August 15, 2020.

Spark is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applications from all individuals regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation, and evaluate all candidates based on merit; we strongly encourage and seek qualified applications from underrepresented groups.