YOUTH SERVICES COORD

City of Chicago; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 74,000 - 91,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Chicago is seeking a Youth Services Coordinator within the Department of Family and Support Services (Youth Services). This role develops and coordinates youth programming with delegate agencies, focusing on career readiness and employment opportunities for Chicago youth aged 14-24.

Under supervision, you will manage program curricula, monitor contracts, and support RFP processes while ensuring quality standards and effective data reporting.

Qualifications

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree in the Social Sciences, or a directly related field, plus three (3) years of community service experience
• Alternatives for Minimum Qualifications: seven (7) years of community service, an Associate's degree plus five years, or a Master's degree plus two years
• A valid State of Illinois driver's license is required

Responsibilities

• Develops, coordinates, and monitors programs and delegate agencies for youth employment
• Collaborates with stakeholders to integrate career education and experiential learning
• Screen and orient prospective youth employment participants
• Assist with RFPs and monitor review processes
• Provide program and contract support to delegate agencies with site visits and corrective action plans
• Develop policies and performance standards for program quality
• Analyze data and prepare programmatic, compliance, and budget reports
• Lead trainings for delegate agencies and represent the department at events

Skills

Youth program experience

Grants management

Budgeting

Stakeholder relationships

Written and verbal communication

Microsoft Office proficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences or closely related field

Seven years of community service experience

Associate's degree in Social Sciences or related field +5 years of experience

Master's degree or higher in Social Sciences or related field +2 years of experience

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

YOUTH SERVICES COORDINATOR

Department of Family and Support Services

(Youth Services)

Number of Positions: 2

Starting Salary: 82,644

This position is open to the public and all current City employees covered under the City's collective bargaining agreement with AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY, AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES (AFSCME) - BARGAINING UNIT 1, 3, 4 & 5. Only employees in City job titles in this bargaining unit are eligible to bid.

Mission

Working with community partners, we connect Chicago residents and families to resources that build stability, support their well-being, and empower them to thrive.

Background - Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS)

DFSS is the largest human and social service funder in Chicago. The department serves approximately 400,000 vulnerable Chicagoans every year through seven program areas: children and youth services, human services, workforce, seniors, domestic violence, and homelessness. The department provides critical services through its network of approximately 350 not-for-profit agencies with an operating budget of $790 million ($404M annual budget + $386M in CARES, ARP, and Bond investments).

Youth Services Division

• Enrichment: To meet the needs of youth in Chicago by providing access to high-quality afterschool programs to build the key skills necessary to succeed in life.
• Prevention & Intervention: To meet the needs of the most acutely at-risk youth by providing support and services to address their needs and better position them to reach their full potential.
• Youth Employment: To provide youth with access to career readiness and employment opportunities to gain experience and build the skills to succeed in life and work through over 30,000 youth, ages 14-24 annually.

Position

Under general supervision, develops, coordinates, and/or monitors programs and delegate agencies aimed at providing positive activities for youth, and performs related duties as required.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

• Assist with the development of program curricula and ensure youth have a clear pathway for career development.
• Collaborates with key stakeholders/teams to integrate career education and experiential learning into the youth employment experience.
• Assists with the screening and orientation of prospective youth employment participants.
• Participates in the development of specifications for Requests for Proposals (RFPs), research best practices and monitoring of RFP review processes.
• Provides on-going program and contract support to a portfolio of delegate agencies that provide youth employment programming including site visits, developing corrective action plans, and facilitating meetings.
• Develops policies and performance standards to ensure consistent program quality and procedures.
• Provides assistance and identifies resources for agencies that are not meeting program requirements.
• Analyzes data to identify trends and to prepare programmatic, compliance, budgetary and/or ad hoc reports for management review and utilize these platforms (i.e. Qualtrics, Survey Monkey, Cityspan, Microsoft Forms)
• Prepares work activity reports on the status, progress, and effectiveness of programs.
• Designs, leads, and conducts program and fiscal trainings for delegate agencies.
• Represents the department at various conferences, community meetings, and interagency taskforce initiatives to discuss youth programming and services.
• Performs related duties (programmatic and administrative) as required.

Additional duties may be required for this position

Location: Department of Family and Support Services

Address: 1615 W. Chicago Ave, Chicago IL 60622

Shift: Mon - Fri, 9:00am - 5:00pm

THIS POSITION IS IN THE YOUTH SERVICE DIVISION

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree in the Social Sciences, or a directly related field, plus three (3) years of community service experience

Alternatives for Minimum Qualifications

• Seven (7) years of work experience in community service
• Graduation from an accredited college with an Associate's degree in the Social Sciences or a directly related field, plus five (5) years of community service experience
• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Master's degree or higher in the Social Sciences, or a directly related field, plus two (2) years of community service experience

Licensure, Certification, or Other Qualifications

• A valid State of Illinois driver's license is required

Note: Applicants must submit a resume and cover letter.

All written materials must be attached at the time of application. Applicants that fail to attach the required documents will be considered to not have completed the application.

SELECTION REQUIREMENTS

This position requires applicants to complete an interview. The interviewed candidate(s) possessing the qualifications best suited to fulfill the responsibilities of the position, based on the oral parts of the interview will be selected.

Desired Skills

• Previous experience with youth programs.
• Previous experience with grants management and budgets.
• Previous experience with youth organizations, external stakeholders and building relationships.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Products (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and coordinate projects effectively.

For Information on our employees benefits please visit our benefits website at: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/fin/benefits-office.html

For Information on our salary and title structure visit our classifications website at: City of Chicago :: Classification and Pay Plan

APPLICATION EVALUATION

Initial evaluation will be based on information provided on the application and the documents submitted. Department of Human Resource staff will review applications after the final posting date. Staff will follow any and all required Employment/Hiring Plan provisions, federal, state and local laws, and Collective Bargaining Agreements when applicable. Staff will apply hiring preferences as required by the municipal code. Placement on an eligibility list is not an offer or guarantee of an interview nor employment with the City of Chicago.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY

To further our commitment to hiring applicants with diverse experience the City of Chicago has adopted the following ordinances 2-74-020 and 2-74-075. The ordinances provide a preference to applicants who meet minimum qualifications and who are veterans of the Armed Forces, and/or residents of Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Areas (SEDA) and/or Chicago Public School (CPS) high school graduates to be referred to departments for consideration. These hiring preferences do not apply to bidders, as Collective Bargaining Agreements define the hiring process for bidders. For positions covered by a collective bargaining agreement, bidders will be considered before external candidates. To learn more about our hiring practices click here.

ALL REFERENCES TO POLITICAL SPONSORSHIP OR RECOMMENDATION MUST BE OMITTED FROM ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS SUBMITTED FOR CITY EMPLOYMENT.

The City of Chicago in an Equal Employment Opportunity, Military Friendly, and Fair Chance Employer.

City of Chicago

Brandon Johnson, Mayor

Posting Information

Posted: Oct 19, 2026, 5:00:00 AM

Closing Date (Period for Applying) - External: Nov 3, 2026, 5:59:00 AM

Salary: $82,644

Pay Basis: Yearly