Nature Children's Programs Manager

Program Manager

Common Ground is a center for environmental learning in New Haven, Connecticut. Farm meets forest meets city on Common Ground's 20 acre campus at the base of West Rock Ridge. The site abuts the 1800 acre West Rock State Park, sharing hiking trails, wildlife, and diverse natural habitats with the surrounding forests. Common Ground's urban farm produces sustainably grown food for programs and our community and is home to our friendly farm animals.

Common Ground's Charter High School uses the site as an organizing principle of its curriculum which is guided by an ecological framework highlighting the connection and interdependence of all living and non-living things. Each year, more than 10,000 community members participate in festivals, field trips, after-school programs, and other educational opportunities on site.

This position works weekdays through 6 PM and also works most holidays (with compensatory PTO for holiday work). After school programs, summer camp, and school vacation day programs are core responsibilities of this job. The workload may vary seasonally, with some seasons of up to 50 hours per week and other seasons with a lighter schedule - the work is intended to average no more than 40 hours per week over the year.

This position is part of the leadership team for Children's Programs and is often the primary supervisor for children and staff at times when other program leaders are not on campus and assumes Director on Duty responsibilities at those times.

School Year:
From September through mid-June this position is primarily dedicated to teaching in and supporting our programs for children, with management responsibilities for specific programs as assigned.

Summer:
This position works in summer camp, typically in an administrative role as a licensed camp director or assistant director.

Program Management Responsibilities:

• After School Program (30%):
  Manage day to day program needs including communication with bus routes, attendance, activity planning, materials prep, first aid, safety decisions, caring for emotional and medical needs of children, supervision of staff, and parent communications.
• Vacation Day Programs (10%):
  Manage all aspects of vacation day programs including activity planning, materials prep, first aid, safety decisions, caring for emotional and medical needs of children, supervision of staff, planning and facilitating the flow of activities and transitions, and parent communications.
• Summer Camp (20%):
  Work in a leadership role to support camp operations, including admin work, staff training and supervision, and direct camper and parent facing responsibilities.

Program Management responsibilities for assigned programs:

• Calendaring, communications, and supplies management
• Manage budgets, reports, and deliverables for programs and any relevant grants
• Use Active Network to manage enrollments, payment, and account notes
• Checking email and voicemail and responding to messages during working hours is a daily requirement of this role, including responding to time sensitive parent or staff needs outside of regular hours when necessary.
• Be the primary responder to child conflict, parent concerns, and other sensitive situations.
• Staff supervision:
  Participate in staff supervision as it relates to the programs managed by this position, including hiring, scheduling, time card administration, adherence to the terms of the union contract, and providing ongoing performance feedback to staff. Plan and lead staff meetings and trainings as relevant to program management assignments.

Teaching Responsibilities (20%):
On average, this position will teach four farm and nature based outdoor education field trips per week and will teach or support in other programs as needed. Teaching skills and responsibilities include:

• Planning and leading nature based lessons and activities for groups of children
• Meeting social and emotional needs of children, including behavior management and modifying plans and schedules to meet the needs of individual children.
• Use excellent communication skills, including speaking with children and adults as well as written communications including emails to parents and teachers.

Campus Care Schedule and Responsibilities (20%):
On average, this position has 10 hours per week that are flexibly used for program admin time and campus care. Campus care responsibilities include:

• Maintenance of program teaching and play areas (may include mowing, weed whacking, firewood management, management of program supplies, children's garden care, small repairs, and other needs as they arise)
• Animal Care as needed, which may include a regular weekly task list. This will routinely include PM animal chores at the end of after school program and summer camp days.
• The physical labor and handy-person type responsibilities can be modified to fit the skills and abilities of the right person.

Position Requirements:

• Ability and willingness to engage in all of the listed responsibilities
• A minimum of two full…