Professional Mentor-Friend

Friends of the Children - Eastern Washington; Spokane (WA); Vor Ort; USD 34.000 - 36.000; Vollzeit

Benefits dieser Stelle

Vacation & sick leave

Paid holidays

Medical benefits (vision & dental)

401k retirement plan

EAP

Professional development opportunities

Zusammenfassung

Friends of the Children - Eastern Washington is seeking a full‑time Professional Mentor to develop sustained, supportive relationships with eight children. The role includes planning activities, ensuring safety, and documenting progress across schools, homes, and community locations.

You will partner with families and educators to foster life skills, resilience, and educational success, while maintaining confidentiality and professional standards.

Qualifikationen

• Associate degree required; Bachelor’s degree preferred, plus three years’ experience working/volunteering with children.
• Alternatively, minimum seven years of progressive experience working with children and families will be considered in lieu of a college degree.
• Commitment to serving in the role for a minimum of three years.
• Sense of humor is a plus.

Aufgaben

• Develop long-term mentoring relationships with assigned children.
• Maintain supervision and safety for each child during activities.
• Plan mentoring activities in schools, homes, and community locations.
• Document activities and complete required reporting on time.
• Collaborate with parents, families, and educators to support youth development.
• Remain flexible to adapt to changing needs and environments.

Kenntnisse

Interpersonal communication

Written communication

Verbal communication

Time management

Organizational skills

Ausbildung

Associate degree

Bachelor’s degree preferred

Three years’ experience with children

Tools

First Aid & CPR certification

Jobbeschreibung

Basic Function / Position Objective

A Professional Mentor (“Friend”) works intensively with eight (8) children as a positive adult role model to develop a caring, trusting, and sustained relationship with each child. For each child, a Friend will set positive expectations; nurture and promote the child’s strengths, talents, and abilities; help ensure the child’s physical and emotional well being; teach life and academic skills; provide enrichment activities; and model responsible behavior. A Friend will fully document activities and participate in an ongoing evaluation process. Friends will work primarily one‑on‑one with their assigned children in schools, program facilities, family homes, and community locations, and during transportation. Because Friends work independently with children, they must remain attentive to each child’s safety, location, needs, and surroundings throughout mentoring activities. A Friend must also know, understand, honor, and support the organization’s mission, vision, values, principles, and policies, and be able to clearly articulate the organization’s function.

Core Job Accountabilities

• Work independently with each child to develop and sustain a long‑term, caring, protective, and supportive relationship;
• Spend one‑on‑one time with children while maintaining continuous, developmentally appropriate supervision and attention to each child’s safety, location, needs, and surroundings in community settings;
• Plan and carry out mentoring activities in schools, program facilities, family homes, community locations, and other environments that may be noisy, crowded, unfamiliar, or unpredictable;
• Respond promptly and appropriately to unexpected situations, behavioral concerns, medical needs, emergencies, and other circumstances affecting a child’s safety or well‑being;
• Develop, maintain, and follow a Roadmap or Transition Plan for each child;
• Partner with parents and caregivers to provide concrete social emotional supports for the family;
• Establish individualized goals based on each child’s strengths, talents, abilities, and needs;
• Teach life skills and healthy habits that support positive development, self‑esteem and resilience;
• Develop a talent/skill/area of interest with each child to help develop positive self‑esteem and experience growing confidence;
• Deepen cultural connections by incorporating culturally responsive practices, activities and programming;
• Provide enrichment opportunities that support cultural identity development and belonging;
• Build collaborative relationships with families, teachers, and others involved in each child’s life;
• Reinforce basic academic skills and support youth in achieving educational success;
• Maintain spending within budgetary guidelines;
• Complete required documentation, including time summaries, activity journals, short‑term plans, expense reports, and evaluations materials accurately and on time;
• Attend and actively participate in team meetings, trainings, and staff functions;
• Provide information and support to leadership regarding program activities and outcomes.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

• Demonstrated ability to relate to children and develop trusting, supportive relationships;
• Ability to give assigned children sustained attention and supervision while managing environmental distractions and competing demands;
• Ability to respond appropriately to unexpected situations and exercise independent judgement under varying circumstances and levels of stress;
• Ability to actively monitor children and maintain a secure, hazard‑free environment at all times, including but not limited to, recognizing and responding appropriately to safety concerns and emergencies involving children;
• Ability to safely transport children in personal vehicle as required for mentoring activities;
• Ability to build positive, respectful relationships with children, families, educators and community partners;
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and communicate professionally and appropriately;
• Ability to complete administrative tasks accurately and on time;
• Ability to handle high mobility and driving demands safely and with good judgment;
• Ability to advocate to secure additional resources, opportunities, and services for youth as appropriate;
• Ability to work effectively with Indigenous children and families and demonstrate understanding of Indigenous cultures, traditions and ways of knowing;
• Ability to work independently and as a team player;
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, solve problems effectively, and adapt to changing needs;
• Strong interpersonal, written and verbal communications skills;
• Strong organizational, administrative and time management skills;
• Fulfill other responsibilities and essential job functions as assigned, with or without reasonable accommodations;
• Maintain a valid driver’s license, an acceptable driving record, and required automobile insurance; and
• Maintain First Aid and CPR certification.

Education and Experience Required

• Associate degree required; Bachelor’s degree preferred, plus three years’ experience working/volunteering with children.
• Alternatively, minimum seven years of progressive experience working with children and families will be considered in lieu of a college degree.
• Commitment to serving in the role for a minimum of three years.
• Sense of humor is a plus.

Working Hours

This is a full‑time, 40 hour per week, non‑exempt position. Due to the nature of a Friend’s role, the work hours are non‑traditional and can include late afternoon and evenings. We recognize that each Friend’s daily work schedule will vary due to the uniqueness of the role and the needs of the individual children and families being served. Each Friend is expected to exercise appropriate discretion in this regard. The Program requires you to see each of your assigned children both in and outside of school, for an average of four hours each week (although how you accomplish that is at your discretion within established Program guidelines)

Compensation and Benefits

• The wage range for this position is $24.50-$26.00 per hour.
• Friends Eastern Washington cares about our employees as whole people. We offer a generous vacation and sick leave, paid holidays, and a flexible summer schedule. Employees are eligible for medical benefits (including vision and dental), 401k retirement plan, EAP and ongoing professional development opportunities.

The statements above are intended to describe the general nature and level of work to be performed be individuals assigned to this position. They are not intended as a comprehensive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified.

Friends of the Children is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to addressing discriminatory practices. The equal employment opportunity policy of Friends of the Children provides fair and equal opportunities for all employees and job applicants. Friends of the Children hires and promotes individuals solely on the basis of their qualifications for the job to be filled.