Empower urban youth through environmental exploration and leadership in New Haven, CT!

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to lead the development of a program that helps young people succeed? That creates meaningful opportunities for youth to build the skills they need to succeed while also making an impact on their communities and environment?

Overview of Solar Youth, Inc.:

SOLAR YOUTH, INC. is a New Haven-based non-profit youth development and environmental education organization. Our mission is to empower youth from New Haven’s low income neighborhoods to achieve lifelong success – and nothing less!  Through programs that connect youth to the environment, their communities and each other, youth build the skills and motivations necessary to be positive contributors to their community, have healthy relationships, be physically and mentally healthy, and become economically self-sufficient.

Our youth reside in New Haven’s low income communities who are faced with incredible challenges such as poverty, crime and violence in their neighborhoods, and are in great need of positive supports and opportunities to succeed.  Through our neighborhood-based programs, youth explore their environment, learn the skills and joys of being agents of positive change, and teach what they have learned to others (Kids Explore! Kids Do! Kids Teach!).  The four core elements of our programs are ENVIRONMENTAL EXPLORATION, YOUTH-LED PROBLEM SOLVING, NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION and MINDFULNESS PRACTICE.

Overview of Position:

Solar Youth's Green Jobs Youth Development program is in need of a strong, creative leader. This position recruits and leads teenage interns to create and initiate service projects to improve the environment in their public housing neighborhood. Projects may include gardening, landscaping, trail maintenance and others they envision as a team. Regular opportunities for outdoor leadership, hands-on environmental education, job skills, personal development and goal setting are included. This program provides inner-city youth with positive supports and challenging opportunities to understand, appreciate, and ultimately affect change in their local environment, all while building the skills and motivations to become confident, capable individuals prepared for the future. Over time we want to expand the program to serve more youth in more neighborhoods.

Solar Youth is seeking an individual with a passion for environmental education and outdoor work and a commitment to teen youth development. We are looking for someone interested in developing, establishing and cultivating a meaningful program for young people facing major life challenges; someone who sees a setback as a challenge, loves working with teenagers and is a creative problem solver. We are looking for someone interested in building connections to run this program with the aim of establishing a solid, sustainable, empowering curriculum for the long term. Is that you?

Start Date: Position starts January/February 2018

Pay: Dependent on experience

Hours: 40+ hours per week some evenings and weekends required

Longevity: Full time Spring/Summer position through end of August 2018 with the possibility of extending into year round position

Responsibilities:

Support youth in Community Service Action Projects design and implementation, which may include landscaping, carpentry, community clean-ups, trail maintenance and more
Demonstrate and coach youth on important employability skills (such as professionalism, punctuality, time management, excellence etc.)
Serve as motivator, mentor and supervisor for youth
Lead youth in outdoor recreational activities, team building initiatives and leadership development
Plan, develop, lead engaging, educational and empowering curriculum/activities/projects
Develop and maintain community partnerships, resources, funding, and opportunities for teens
Solo daily educator for program for up to 12 teens
Collect, record and report program data
Develop, review and maintain program content and curriculum

Qualifications

Commitment to Solar Youth’s 5 organizational values (interdependence, stewardship, kindness, excellence and fun)! See solaryouth.org/our-values.
Self-motivation, flexibility, teamwork and patience

Superb problem solving skills and initiative
Openness to mindfulness practices and nonviolent communication; prior experience preferred
Excellent communication skills
Impeccable accountability
Commitment to continued personal and professional development
Experience working with inner city and low income youth
High energy and ability to motivate urban teenagers and serve as positive role model
Experience in professional landscaping, gardening, and/or urban forestry or farming
Candidates 25+ years of age and a clean driving record

REQUIRED

Knowledge of and comfort with hiking, camping and other outdoor recreation
Passion for working with teenagers, outdoor recreation and service learning
Ability to work independently, with a spirit of reaching for excellence
Ability to be resilient in the face of challenging circumstances
Teaching, curriculum and lesson plan development experience
Willingness to understand and abide by and apply Solar Youth values and culture
Bachelor’s degree or higher in a related field preferred