Youth Advocacy Program Manager | Full-Time

Juvenile Law Center fights for rights, dignity, equity, and opportunity for youth. We work to reduce the harm of the child welfare and justice systems, limit their reach, and ultimately abolish them so all young people can thrive. 

Founded in 1975, Juvenile Law Center was the first nonprofit, public interest law firm for children in the country. As an advocacy organization, we now use multiple approaches to accomplish our mission: legal advocacy, policy advocacy, youth-led advocacy, and strategic communications. Our strategies are interconnected. We pair impact litigation with policy advocacy and community organizing to push for lasting and transformative change. Our policy agenda is informed by—and often conducted in collaboration with—youth, family members, and grassroots partners. Our youth advocacy campaigns respond to legal and policy opportunities in the field. In all our work, we seek out strategic communications opportunities to enhance the work and shape public opinion. We seek opportunities across the country to work where we can respond to identified needs in the community, build on local partnerships, leverage legislative and legal reform opportunities, and create momentum for change. 

We strive to ensure that laws, policies, and practices affecting youth advance racial and economic equity and are consistent with children's unique developmental characteristics and human dignity. 

Position Purpose 

In 2008, Juvenile Law Center launched its Youth Advocacy Program (YA) with two youth advocacy groups (Advocates Transforming Youth Systems and Advocates for Youth Justice) for young people with experience in the child welfare or justice system to lead advocacy efforts in their communities. The YA program strives to work with youth most impacted by systems to build power and arm them with tools to push for system transformation and advocate in their communities.   

Role of the Program Manager: The role of the YA Program Manager is to, under the guidance of the Senior Program Manager, implement the Youth Advocacy Program’s mission and strategic goals. The Program Manager manages the daily program operations with the supervision of the Senior Program Manager and the Program Manager helps to ensure the services provided meet program standards.  

Supervision Responsibilities: The YA Program Manager works with and supervises youth advocates (youth members of the Youth Advocacy Program).  

Essential Functions include, but are not limited to: 

• Works to develop a strong community for youth advocates, and alumni in the program including creating opportunities to come together to build relationships. 
• Develops ongoing programming in collaboration with YA Program Senior Manager and YA Fellow and as needed, in collaboration with alumni and other partners.  
• Assists Senior manager and Director in the hiring process for permanent staff, interns, and YA fellows  
• Manages and facilitates weekly YA Programming  

• Recruits, onboards, trains new members 
• Manages documentation of YA protocols and models 
• Designs and implements onboarding and orientation processes for youth in collaboration with clinical social worker  
• Develop and maintain partnerships with national and local community organizations.   
• Identifies trainings, and events through the Youth Speakers Bureau for Youth Advocates to build their public speaking, presentation, and facilitation skills  

• Prepares youth for public speaking events on current and past projects. 
• Connect with legal and policy staff on policy research, program collaboration for youth projects and campaigns  
• Connect with external organizations to influence youth programming  
• Identifies external presenters for weekly meetings, in collaboration with clinical social worker  
• Reports to Senior Program Manager 

• Assists Senior Manager and YA Director with synthesizing program data and content for grant narratives and proposals as needed 
• Collaborates with YA program staff to provide support to youth advocates on an as needed basis 
• Develops media content and collaborates with youth/alumna and communications team to engage in strategic communications in support of youth advocacy projects  
• Travels for events and conferences 

Required Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree required, B.A. in social work, counseling, public policy or related field preferred with at least four (4) years of program management experience OR an advanced degree with at least two (2) year experience. 
• Available in office two 2days per week with an option of remote work two (3) days per week, job responsibilities may require additional in-person time.  

Required Skills 

• Program Management experience 

• Demonstrated commitment to civil rights, racial justice, economic justice, and children’s rights. 
• Experience working on a team.  
• Commitment to our mission and vision 
• Highly organized with excellent attention to detail 
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Google   

• Valid driver’s license  
• Some travel required, including, but not limited to working some nights and weekends. 
• Facilitation and public speaking experience  
• Experience working with teens, or young adults.  
• Understanding of trauma informed practices and cultural competency  

Note: Juvenile Law Center commits to professional development and will actively support candidates in further developing their skills in these areas. 

Responsibility Level 

This position will report to the Senior Manager of the YA Program. 

Salary 

Salary is commensurate with experience. The minimum starting salary for this position is $60,258. This is a full-time permanent position.  

Juvenile Law Center offers excellent benefits, including employer-paid health, dental and vision insurance for employees and their families, short- and long-term disability and life insurance, and employer contributions to 403b retirement plans. Paid time off includes fifteen (15) vacation days, five (5) personal days, and twelve (12) sick days. Juvenile Law Center is closed for twelve holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. 

Office Location 

This position can be remote or located in Philadelphia. Juvenile Law Center’s office is open to use only by employees who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Individuals working remotely are expected to travel to Philadelphia regularly to be determined based on the needs of the position as identified by the individual’s supervisor and the needs of the organization. All remote working employees are expected to travel to Philadelphia a minimum of once every other month.  This position may require some additional travel in Pennsylvania and to other states where Juvenile Law Center has active litigation. 

COVID-19 Policy 

At Juvenile Law Center, we believe that we must do all that we can to protect the safety, health, and well-being of employees, youth advocates, guests, our communities, and others with whom we interact. All offers of employment are contingent on the candidate showing proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to pass the pre-employment requirements. Individuals in need of an exemption from this policy due to medical reasons, or because of a sincerely held religious belief may request an exemption from this policy. Accommodation will be granted where they do not cause Juvenile Law Center undue hardship or pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others. 

Application Process 

Please email your resume, a cover letter, and 3 references in one single pdf to hr@jlc.org. No phone calls, please.  

Equitable/Inclusionary Hiring Practices 

Juvenile Law Center’s mission is to advocate for rights, dignity, equity, and opportunity in the child welfare and justice systems. The diversity of our staff is critical to fulfilling this mission. 

Juvenile Law Center seeks to minimize bias and the impact of structural racism in the fields we work in within our hiring practices. To that end, we focus on relevant skills and experience and aim to de-prioritize information that can allow for implicit bias. 

Juvenile Law Center is committed to advancing equity both internally and in our advocacy 
work. We recognize the urgency and necessity of actively building and supporting diverse leadership at the Juvenile Law Center and in the field more broadly. We are committed to actively recruiting and hiring from communities most impacted by our work. Applicants working to advance equity and who identify with these impacted communities are strongly encouraged to apply and self-identify during the application process. 

Juvenile Law Center is committed to cultivating an inclusive space that affirms and celebrates the backgrounds, learned and lived expertise, whole identities, and individual perspectives of our staff. We are committed to the diversity of our staff as it pertains to race, color, ethnicity, class, sex, marital or parental status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, size, disability, religion, national origin, and/or child welfare or juvenile or criminal justice involvement, including a prior record of arrest, adjudication, or conviction. Applicants of all backgrounds and experiences are encouraged to self-identify during the application process. 

Juvenile Law Center is an equal opportunity employer.