Seasonal Program Specialist - SSW

Summary of Position:

The Seasonal Program Specialist (South/Southwest) is primarily responsible for facilitating and managing the day-to-day logistics of programs and through regular site visits, program observations, and providing actionable recommendations to enhance program quality, safety, compliance, instruction, attendance, enrollment, and retention, as well as addressing other critical areas. The Seasonal Program Specialist will also support planning and execution of special program activations and recruitment events.

• Flexible work hours required consistent with out of school time programming which are between 11:30am-7:30pm for the fall program session.
• Must be available on some Saturdays as needed during program sessions (As special projects/events require).

• Period Range:
  September 2026 – December 2026

• Constant communication with Senior Program Director, Program Manager/Manager of Program Initiatives, Employee Instructors, Program Assistant, Program Specialist, and Program Providers.
• Provide direction to community and campus liaisons and ensure compliance with program requirements.

• Manage and provide coaching to a diverse program portfolio, which includes various types of specialized content area programming.
• Track and analyze program data to identify trends, address challenges, identify program supports needed, and implement strategies that maximize participation and retention in programs.
• Assist in the recruitment process of program staff, including recruitment events, identify new program providers, and ensure compliance with portfolio benchmarks.
• Assess program quality and compliance and provide program budget and portfolio reports and recommendations to Senior Program Director and Program Manager, South/Southwest Branch.
• Conduct regular program site visits for each program and make recommendations for Youth Program Quality Assessments.
• Manage ASM instructors from recruitment to providing ongoing coaching, ensuring they have the resources and training necessary to deliver high-quality programming.

• Act as the primary contact for instructors, community liaisons, and facilities staff, for programs.
• Review and submit timesheet approvals for all employee instructors and community/campus liaisons.
• Assist in developing and implementing effective teen recruitment and retention strategies for branch programs.
• Plan, schedule, organize, and conduct all assigned meetings with partners, instructors, community, and campus liaisons each session.
• Organize and coordinate specialized activities and high-profile teen activation events.
• Submit incident reports and follow up on next steps, including conducting thorough follow-up on incident reports, and addressing concerns raised by instructors, community-based organizations, schools, and sites with support from Program Manager.

• Coordinate community outreach efforts, including attending events and meetings (e.g., aldermanic meetings, police district beat meetings, library meetings) to promote programs and recruit participants, securing locations for programs.
• Gather feedback from community members, schools and partners to create new programs; continuously improve existing programs and address the needs of the communities served. Other duties as assigned.

• Strong interpersonal skills:
  Proficient in fostering positive and effective relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Exceptional organizational and problem-solving abilities:
  Proficient in efficiently organizing tasks and adept at resolving challenges.
• Expertise in developing and nurturing collaborative partnerships:
  Skilled at cultivating and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and empower teams to achieve objectives.
• Exceptional organizational and problem-solving abilities:
  Proficient in efficiently organizing tasks and adept at resolving challenges.
• Effective communication skills:
  Articulate in conveying information verbally and in writing.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office with the ability to…