Mentoring Specialist – Los Angeles CA

Position Title: Mentoring Specialist

Department: Youth Mentoring

Status: Full-time (38-hour work week), Non-Exempt Professional, Union Employee, Classification 6A

Agency Location: Based in Los Angeles

Working Location: Based in Los Angeles – Hybrid position (Mon-Thurs. in office required)

Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles (JBBBSLA) has been a leading provider of mentoring services, teen empowerment programs, college support, and year-round camp experiences at Camp Bob Waldorf for over 100 years. We are committed to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion to reflect the community we serve.

Job Summary

This role combines the enrollment, matching and match support functions. The Mentoring Specialist will process enrollments for families and volunteers and maintain a match caseload. Through regular communication with all constituents, the Mentoring Specialist will ensure child safety, foster positive, satisfying and impactful relationships, and cultivate a strong sense of affiliation with the agency. All processes and communication are documented professionally and executed with outstanding customer service.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

Distribution of responsibilities may vary depending upon the department’s needs.

  • Enrollment & Matching
    • Conduct interviews with children, parents/guardians and volunteer prospects, evaluating for eligibility, suitability, coachability, and readiness to partner effectively.
    • Coordinate background/screening elements for volunteers
    • Utilize database dashboards/workflows to advance and document participants’ progress, keeping enrollment processing time to a minimum.
    • Prepare comprehensive written assessments and recommendations
    • Provide external referrals and resources as needed.
    • Provide thorough, accurate and professional documentation
    • Propose safe and appropriate match relationships based on pools of volunteers and children.
    • Conduct Match Introduction Meetings for pending matches.

 

  • Match Support
    • Conduct Match Support contacts with volunteers, children and parents/guardians to determine health and progression of the match relationship and to provide support/intervention as needed
    • Address potential problems and barriers promptly toward resolution whenever possible.
    • Document comprehensive written summaries of all contacts.
    • Promote agency engagement at various levels for all constituents when appropriate.
    • Administer surveys and facilitate development of match goals for each match.
    • Coach matches as needed to help avoid unnecessary or premature closures
    • Encourage healthy closure processes for all involved to mitigate any negative impact on child
    • Assess reasons for match closure and evaluate reenrollment/re-engagement potential.

 

  • Miscellaneous
    • Provide support to Events & Activities, such as allocating in-kind donations based on identified criteria, serving as point-person for Small Group Outings (SGOs), and developing digital event invitations and registration materials.
    • Additional Duties as assigned.

 

  • Skills and Qualifications
    • Bachelor’s degree (preference for fields related to social work, psychology, human development, communications).
    • 1-2 years of experience working with children and families in social services with a working understanding of child development and family dynamics.
    • Strong organizational and multitasking skills.
    • High-level customer service and relationship management experience (work with volunteers a plus)
    • Ability to synthesize conversations and data, generate professional assessments of individuals, and document all with accuracy, nuance and insight.
    • Strong collaboration skills and teamwork.
    • Outstanding listening and communication skills (written and verbal)
    • Reliable transportation and valid driver’s license.
    • Proficiency in Microsoft Office; Salesforce experience is a plus.
    • Knowledge of the Jewish community is a plus.

 

Must be able to work some evening/weekend hours and have some flexibility with schedule. Position will involve occasional travel to facilitate enrollment, matching and/or match support process, and to participate in off-site match events.

Benefits Package: Competitive salary range ($25-$28/hour) commensurate with experience. Generous paid vacation and sick leave plus four additional personal days, paid federal and all no-work Jewish holidays (avg. 13-19 total paid holidays per year). Employer-paid benefits include 5% 403b retirement plan (after one year), paid vision and dental insurance, paid life insurance (after one year), paid long-term disability insurance (after 60 days) and paid Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Other benefits include a generous portion of employee’s medical premium paid, voluntary 403b retirement plan, voluntary Flexible Spending Account (FSA), pet insurance discounts, and opportunities for learning and professional development. We close early on Fridays in observance of Shabbat creating a 38-hour work week. Perhaps most importantly, you’ll get to work with a fantastic team of people who truly care about the work that we do.

We recognize that the diversity of the community we serve must be reflected in every aspect of our organization for JBBBSLA and Camp Bob Waldorf to have the greatest impact. Our commitment to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion is vital to our mission and is essential for our success.

TO APPLY: please send resume and cover letter to mkoehler@jbbbsla.org and enter Mentoring Specialist in the SUBJECT line. No phone calls, please.