ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW:
The Vera Court Neighborhood Center is a neighborhood center on the north side of Madison, and is part of Vera Court Neighborhood Center, Inc. Our mission is to journey with our neighbors—uplifting youth, supporting families, and creating spaces of belonging where communities grow stronger together. Our youth programs focus on social emotional learning (SEL), belonging and leadership. We host elementary, middle and high school programs which run in the afterschool setting as well as 8-week long summer camps.
JOB DESCRIPTION
The SEL Program Manager is a key member of the center leadership and administrative team. This role oversees youth programs grounded in social emotional learning, ensuring they meet program goals, outcomes, and objectives. The SEL Program Manager supports youth program staff through direct supervision, ongoing personal and professional development, while also stepping in to assist with day‑to‑day programming as needed. This position is ideal for an individual seeking a leadership role in nonprofit program management with a strong focus on SEL practices. The SEL Program Manager will provide the following functions:
PROGRAM DIRECTION:
- Responsible for guiding youth programming, reaching program goals and objectives.
- Assist Program Coordinators with implementation of age appropriate curriculum and daily activities throughout the school year and summer camp.
- Assist program staff with behavior management by offering guidance, support, intervention and problem-solving techniques.
- Develop a program evaluation framework to assess the strengths of the program and to identify areas of improvement.
- Monitor program activities on a daily basis and conduct regular formal and informal evaluations for program strengths and areas for improvement.
- Attend at least one evening program each week to offer support and guidance to evening programming.
- Facilitate weekly meetings with program coordinators and co-facilitate a bi-weekly staff meeting for all center program staff.
- Observe staff, programs and participants daily.
- Work with the Center Director to ensure SEL programs are operating within their approved program budgets.
- Weekly communication with parents/guardians of center program participants.
- Responsible for the annual inspections and program reviews from the City of Madison, United Way and Second Harvest.
- Connect with community members and stakeholders to gain continued support for programs and to solicit feedback to improve programs.
- Cultivate existing relationships with community groups, social service agencies, schools and local nonprofits with the goal of ensuring sufficient resources and access to services.
- Collaborate with the fund development team to ensure grants align with program goals and outcomes.
- Act as center liaison for field placement students.
SUPERVISION:
- Supervise program coordinators by providing them direction, input and feedback through weekly one-on-one meetings.
- Responsible for orientation of new youth program coordinators.
- Establish and implement a performance management process for program staff. Conduct annual reviews. Implement performance improvement plans (PIP) if necessary.
- Responsible for staff, intern and volunteer background checks.
STRATEGIC PLANNING:
- Participate in discussions with the directors and administrative staff regarding administrative structure, program staff responsibilities, and program development for the agency.
- Work with directors and administrative staff on different aspects of strategic planning. This includes producing agency and program data needed for reporting, grant writing or strategic planning.
- Initiate goals for programs according to the strategic objectives of the organization.
- Develop new initiatives to support the strategic direction of the organization.
ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES:
- Work with program managers and coordinators to complete quarterly reports for the City of Madison, ensuring that all program goals and objectives are met.
- Work with Program Coordinators, Center Director and administrative staff to complete semi-annual reports for United Way and ensure that program goals and objectives are met.
- Ensure center employees and participants follow center policies.
- Attend weekly full-time staff meetings and plan, organize and run weekly program staff meetings
- Attend weekly one-on-one with the Vera Court Center Director
- Work in partnership with full-time staff to run the day-to-day operations of the center.
- Collaborate with the Development Director to finalize funder’s reports, grants, grant reports, etc.
- MOST Information System administration and oversight.
- DESSA administration and oversight.
- Work with program coordinators to develop program staff schedules that fit within program budgets.
- Maintain well-organized files.
- Ensure data is frequently updated in data tracking systems.
ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Attend MOST coalition meetings.
- Serve as the point person for MOST Information System (MIS).
- Serve as the site administrator for the DESSA system.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- At least 2 years of experience in a leadership/supervisory role
- At least 3 years of experience in youth programming, preferably in an after school program setting
- At least 2 years of experience in instructing youth in social emotional learning skills
- Experience building youth programming through a positive youth development lens
- Experience building and maintaining program partnerships
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Passion for community support and relationship building
- Demonstrated knowledge of coordinating and facilitating youth programming (elementary, middle, high school)
- Demonstrated knowledge of culturally competent and anti-racist practices
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Experience working in a nonprofit organization, preferably in a neighborhood center setting
- Bachelor’s degree in a related field (or the equivalent in education and experience)
- Demonstrated knowledge of effective out-of-school practices
- Bilingual, preferably Spanish-speaking
- Experience leading program evaluations
HOURS
This is a full‑time position, scheduled Monday through Friday. Core hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and Wednesdays from 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Additional evening and weekend hours may be required based on project programming needs or special events.
SALARY AND BENEFITS
The salary range is $60,000 - $62,000 and includes a generous benefits package including: paid holidays, paid vacation, sick leave, health insurance (85% employer paid), dental insurance, 403(b) retirement plan with up to 5% employer match, professional development stipend, and more.
If interested, please apply via Indeed or send your resume to our Center Director, Erika Esparza at [email protected].
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $60,000.00 - $62,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Professional development assistance
- Retirement plan
Experience:
- Supervising: 2 years (Required)
- youth program: 3 years (Required)
Ability to Commute:
- Madison, WI 53704 (Required)
Work Location: In person
