Fatherhood Peer Mentor

Overview

At The New York Foundling, we trust in the power and potential of people, and we deliberately invest in proven practices. From bold beginnings in 1869, our New York‑based nonprofit has supported hundreds of thousands of our neighbors on their own paths to stability, strength, and independence. We help children and families navigate through and beyond foster care. We help families struggling with conflict and poverty grow strong.

We help individuals with developmental disabilities live their best lives, and we help our neighbors access quality health and mental health services—core to building lifelong resilience and wellbeing. Together, our interrelated programs provide a whole‑person, whole‑family, and whole‑life approach that unlocks solutions for a lifetime.

The Fatherhood Peer Mentor will serve as a positive role model and guide for fathers working to rebuild, strengthen, or maintain healthy relationships with their children. Drawing from lived experience—such as separation, supervised visitation, or family reunification—the mentor provides support, encouragement, and practical tools that empower fathers to grow as parents and community members.

• Provide one‑on‑one weekly and group mentorship to help fathers enhance parenting and co‑parenting skills (as needed). Support fathers in identifying goals and creating action plans for family and personal development. Achieve 50% of fathers reporting improved parenting confidence and communication skills (via pre/post surveys) each quarter.
• Attend community outreach events to recruit fathers and connect them to program services. Develop and maintain partnerships with community organizations and agencies. Represent the program in 2+ community meetings, fairs, and outreach events per month.
• Maintain up‑to‑date knowledge of community resources (employment, housing, legal aid, mental health, etc.). Provide information, referrals, and advocacy to fathers to help them achieve identified goals. Follow up to ensure successful resource connections. Update and share a resource directory quarterly.
• Complete 100% documentation, data entry, and progress notes for all participant interactions. Track father engagement and outcome metrics as per the program KPI and goals.
• Participate in training, supervision, and coaching. Support team initiatives such as events, outreach, and strategic planning. Contribute to ongoing improvement of program services to help achieve KPI and goals.
• Respond to email correspondences in a timely manner and maintain family confidentiality.

• High school diploma or GED equivalent.
• Demonstrated lived experience as a father who has faced and overcome challenges such as family separation, supervised visitation, or co‑parenting barriers.
• Minimum 1 year of experience providing mentorship, peer support, or community outreach (formal or informal settings).
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to build trust and rapport. Empathy, patience, and cultural sensitivity when working with diverse fathers and families.
• Ability to facilitate group discussions and model effective parenting behaviors.
• Organizational and time‑management skills to meet program goals and documentation requirements.
• Knowledge of local community resources and willingness to build new connections.
• Working knowledge of email, data entry, virtual meetings, Microsoft Office.

High School / G.E.D.

The New York Foundling is committed to attracting and retaining a diverse employee population, the Foundling will honor your experiences, perspectives and unique identity. Together, our community strives to create and maintain working and learning environments that are inclusive, equitable and welcoming.