Children's Funding Coordinator

POSITION SUMMARY:

Under the direction of the Youth Success Summit (YSS) Executive Director, this role will advance sustainable and equitable funding for children and youth in Akron by aligning people, data, and resources around shared community priorities. Children and youth programs from early childhood to afterschool and summer programming to workforce development are underfunded and uneven across neighborhoods. The Coordinator will use research, relationship-building, and project management skills to support Youth Success Summit, Summit Education Initiative, the City of Akron, and community partners in helping Greater Akron answer three key questions:

1. How much are we investing in our priorities for children and youth?
2. What is the true cost of those priorities?
3. How do we close the gap between current investment and actual need?

OUR COLLABORATION & CULTURE:
This position supports the collaborative work of the Akron Area YMCA and the Youth Success Summit (YSS), leading nonprofits committed to strengthening the foundations of our community.

The YMCA’s mission and core values are brought to life by our culture.  We are welcoming: we are open to all. We are a place where you can belong. We are genuine: we value you and embrace your individuality. We are hopeful: we believe in you and your potential. We are nurturing: we support you in your journey to develop your full potential. We are determined: we are on a relentless quest to make our community stronger beginning with you.

YSS’s core values are that youth are seen, heard, valued and empowered in leadership and governance, we will identify and eliminate inequities through intentional design, families are viewed as essential to youth development and learning, we will create environments where network members feel a sense of belonging to thrive personally, professionally, and in collaboration with others.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS - COACHING:

1. Maintain efficient communication between Youth Success Summit, Summit Education Initiative, City of Akron, school districts, community partners and advocacy organizations
2. Guided by Youth Success Summit’s established strategic plan, facilitate meetings and decision-making with community partners and local budget holders to make progress towards their strategic public finance goals
3. Build and maintain relationships with national, state, and local partners to stay up-to-date on strategic public finance best practices and lessons learned from across the country
4. Position Youth Success Summit as a leader in strategic public finance for children and youth by joining a growing national network of strategic public finance experts who are building local capacity and expertise within their states and communities
5. Lead the completion and maintenance of a fiscal map, which will track, map, and analyze public and private funding in children and youth programs and services in Akron
6. Estimate true costs of designing and implementing early childhood and youth programming, with willingness to learn methods such as cost modeling and/or cost estimation
7. Identify new and emerging funding sources in collaboration with local and national experts to help fill the gap between current investments in children and youth and the actual cost of achieving state/community goals
8. Facilitate coalitions to secure new and emerging funding sources.
9. Develop and execute Youth Success Summit and Summit Education Initiative's capacity-building plan for growing local expertise in strategic finance planning
10. Serve as a valued member of the YSS team, participate in professional practices that support a cohesive team and meet shared goals for the organization.
11. Other duties as assigned.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS | ABUSE PREVENTION:

Upholding the YMCA’s commitment to the safety and well-being of youth in our programs is a core responsibility of all staff regardless of position.

1. Attend required abuse risk management training.
2. Adhere to policies related to boundaries with consumers.
3. Adhere to procedures related to managing and supervising high-risk activities.
4. Report suspicious or inappropriate behaviors and policy violations.
5. Follow mandated abuse reporting requirements.

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES:

• Communication & Influence:  Writes clearly and concisely, using correct grammar, vocabulary, and appropriate tone for the message or audience.  Adopts a personal style or approach to influence others.  Navigates complex political and social circles with ease.  Effectively reads and interprets culture, decisions, networks, and politics to get things done.
• Fiscal Management: Uses data to analyze financial trends and forecast future financial progress. Manages budgeting processes to ensure resources are devoted to priorities and strategic objectives. Develops fiscal plans to maximize impact and provide long term stability. 
• Project Management: Organizes resources and deliverables to best meet intended goals and outcomes. Practices processes and procedures for strong project management.  Measures progress against goals and makes improvements as needed.
• Engaging Community: Ensures programs and services meet community needs. Builds bridges within the community. Partners with the board and community to meet community needs effectively.
• Collaboration: Identifies and builds relationships with internal and external stakeholders to support programs or projects.  Builds effective teams by fostering common vision and plans. Executes strategic alliances.  Creates effective and sustainable collaborations.

WORKPLACE & TRAVEL

This position requires in-person office time as well as regular independent travel to and between locations throughout Greater Akron.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in youth and family programming or public policy
• Deep knowledge of Akron’s child and youth serving landscape or demonstrated ability to build strong local relationships.
• Must have reliable transportation and be able to regularly visit locations away from the primary work location.
• Maintain a valid Ohio’s driver’s license and motor vehicle insurance.
• BCI/FBI background check results prior to first day of work; results must be compliant with ODJFS Prohibitive Convictions per 5101:2-12 and 5101:2-13 of the Ohio Administrative Code
• Experience navigating public systems & finance/budgets.
• Ability to translate complex fiscal information into clear, actionable insights.
• Demonstrated experience effectively coordinating cross-sector collaboration across government, nonprofits, philanthropy, and community members
• Fluent in collecting, tracking, and organizing information using Microsoft Word, Excel, Google Sheets, Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent tools.
• Experience in Cleaning and summarizing data; tagging, coding, organizing, and visualizing data; Survey design and other techniques for gathering stakeholder input; Researching budgetary documents and related policy resources
• Preferred: Bachelors or higher degree

WORK ENVIRONMENT & PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use a computer for extended periods of time and be able to communicate using a computer and phone/smart device.
• Frequently required to sit and reach, and must be able to move around the work environment.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. 
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
• Position may require bending, leaning, kneeling, and walking.
• Ability to speak concisely and effectively communicate.