With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and opportunities in more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia is the fifth largest city in the United States and one of the largest employers in Southeastern Pennsylvania. As an employer, the City of Philadelphia operates through the guiding principles of service, integrity, respect, accountability, collaboration, diversity and inclusion. Through these principles, we strive to effectively deliver services, to resolve the challenges facing our city, and to make Philadelphia a place where all of our residents have the opportunity to reach their potential. 

AGENCY DESCRIPTION 

Philly Reading Coaches (PRC) is a new program, based on proven models, that combines early reading support, access to books, and community volunteers to boost reading skills for our city’s children.  The program works by pairing trained volunteers with young students – kindergarten through 3rd grade, and by providing fun and child-guided reading experiences that help build reading skills and motivation.  Each child in the program also receives 25 free books to take home.

The Site Coordinator (SC) serves as the key on-site liaison for the PRC program.  In this role, SC’s will lead a team of committed volunteers focused on improving the literacy levels and love of reading for student in grades K-3.  The SC’s will be responsible for managing the volunteers as well as the student-volunteer sessions at their assigned site and ensuring that the program is implemented with fidelity.  SC’s will report to the Regional Coordinators (RC).

Essential Functions

The duties of the Site Coordinator include:

Reading Session Coordination

• Create a welcoming, organized, and comfortable reading space
• Ensure volunteers understand their role and that both volunteers and students have a meaningful experience by providing ongoing coaching
• Work with site staff and community volunteers to schedule reading pairs between volunteers and students- creating an environment that promotes ongoing mentoring relationships
• Provide oversight during all reading sessions to help children and volunteer readers select books, answer questions, observe and offer reading tips, and ensure safety and security procedures are followed
• Assist with volunteer retention at site helping to ensure every selected child has a volunteer reader
• Manage the site supply of books; noify Regional Coordinators if books are damaged, lost, or if inventory is low
• Ensure adherence to PRC’s Volunteer Code of Conduct, Cancellation Policy, Background Checks, and site specific emergency protocols
• Support execution of special events at sites
• Attend scheduled SC trainings throughout the year

Communication

• Contact returning and potential volunteer readers to encourage ongoing participation in the program
• Establish regular and effective communication between site partners and Regional Coordinators, maintaining expectations of Site Partnership Agreement
• Communicate with Regional Coordinators on a weekly basis
• Data Collection
• Collect program data (students, volunteers, books) and submit weekly reports to Regional Coordinators using CitySpan, PRC’s database system
• Assist in conducting student evaluations

Qualities and Skills

• Advocate of children’s literacy and dedication to serving the community
• Experience in community partnership building (preferred)
• Positive and open minded personality; has flexibility and adaptability in work style
• Able to use and access technology proficiently; comfortable with digital devices incl1uding but not limited to computer and/or mobile devices
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Ability to train and coach volunteer readers as necessary
• Comfortable speaking with parents anfd volunteers of all ages and backgrounds
• Ability to work independently, while maintaining communication with RC’s
• Understand of the importance of adhering to the literacy model, guidelines and expectations
• Reliability and a strong commitment to attendance at the program and other meeting and trainings throughout the year
• Comfort navigating the City of Philadelphia as this position requires travel to assigned sites and trainings

Training and Support

• All Site Coordinators will be required to attend 10-12 hours of training in the summer, prior to the program launch
• Coordinators are expected to attend monthly Site Coordinator team meetings throughout the year
• RC’s will work with SC’s to answer questions, both on-site or remotely as they arise

Commitment

• SC’s will commit to an average of 5 to 7 hours per week
• SC's will be expected to attend 10-12 hours of training. SC’s will be paid an hourly rate for their attendance.
• The PRC program runs October 2019- May 2020
• All PRC programs operate during the school year in the hours after school (typically between 3:30PM-5:30PM)  and mirror the School District of Philadelphia’s school calendar (including days off and holidays)

This is a contracted position being offered for a small stipend. Stipend Site Coordinators will be compensated at a rate of $13.25 per hour, with roughly 5-7 hours per week anticipated.

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to pchr@ phila.gov. For more information, go to: Human Relations Website: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations/Pages/default.aspx

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