Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, (GSCNWI) is an organization that focuses on helping girls build courage, confidence, and character. We pride ourselves on collaboration, communication, and teamwork. If you are looking for an organization with a mission that impacts the hearts and minds of girls in a meaningful way, then look no further. We’re committed to being an equitable, trauma-informed, community-based organization serving the needs and interests of girls and their families in the 245 communities we cover. We are the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. 

Looking to work with a mission driven organization? Looking for a role that challenges you? Want your work to add value? Then the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana is the organization for you. The Youth Development Specialist role is a position that moves our mission forward and helps change lives. 

The Role - Youth Development Specialist

The Youth Development Specialist will oversee and lead troop sessions with girls in grades K-12 during virtual, day, and after school programming. The Youth Development Specialist will visit program sites in Chicago.

This is an hourly, full-time role that is benefits and overtime eligible. Travel for this role is required.

Required Hours

• Monday through Friday (30-37.5 hours per week)
• Ability to work flexible hours including evenings, weekends, and occasional overnights

What you will be doing:

• Provide a safe and fun environment for programming at all times
• Deliver programing ​in relation to STEAM, Financial Literacy, and Life Skills in an engaging, consistent, and structured manner
• Use trauma lens and SEL tools to assess girls’ behavior and program environment effectively and appropriately to support girls' emotional needs
• Work collaboratively with program volunteers while maintaining primary responsibility for program effectiveness
• Attend community events, trainings, and meetings
• Maintains records for each site (attendance, troop and girl information via Dashboard), and following Girl Scouts procedures
• Cultivate community collaborations in identified areas and build relationships with school/park personnel in support of/ in conjunction with their manager
• Adheres to the policies and procedures and models behaviors consistent with the expectations of GSGCNWI 
• Support team effort to ensure achievement of GSGCNWI membership goals
• Ability to work a flexible time schedule including occasional nights and weekends
• Complete short pieces of writing describing the effect of the program on participants
• Perform other duties as required or assigned

What you will bring along:

• Bilingual in Spanish, preferred
• High School diploma or equivalent degree required; experience in education, psychology, youth development, or program delivery preferred
• Proficient in Microsoft Office
• Minimum 1-3 years’ experience and a demonstrated track record in program facilitation for young people, operational procedures, and program’s compliance with grant requirements
• 1-3 years of youth development experience in out-of-school or classroom settings
• Highly organized and demonstrated hands on experience with proven ability to multitask and meet deadlines
• Demonstrated excellence in oral and written communication skills
• A valid driver's license and reliable transportation

The skills you will use:

• Adaptable
• Accountable
• Organized
• Caring
• A strong multi-tasker
• Sensitive to the various types of needs of individuals and communities
• Be interested in ongoing professional learning and growth
• Comfortable with public speaking - more specifically, presenting to girls and their families
• Creative & imaginative
• Must be a self-starter
• Must be culturally competent
• Must be process oriented

What we will support you with:

• Trainings - you will be trained on our equipment, systems, and processes to ensure you succeed in the role.
• Understanding GSGCNWI - we have council meetings to keep each other updated and connect with fellow staff along with offering volunteering opportunities.
• Benefits - we offer health, dental, vision, and supplementary insurances to take care of your overall well being.
• Time off - vacation, sick, personal, holiday, and mental wellness paid time off is available for employees to take care of themselves and show our appreciation.
• A casual work environment - with a casual dress code and the option to work remotely, if applicable.

GSGCNWI embraces the unique perspectives that you obtain in terms of education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.