Professional Mentor (Friend) - East Los Angeles

About the role

The East Los Angeles site of Friends of the Children – Los Angeles (Friends L.A.) is seeking passionate, committed, professional mentors, known as Friends, to support our mission to impact generational change by empowering youth facing significant challenges through meaningful relationships with trained, full-time professional mentors.

Responsibilities

• Develop and sustain a long-term, caring, trusting, and accepting relationship with each child;
• Spend time with or on behalf of the child one-on-one in the classroom and in the community;
• Develop and maintain positive relationships with parents/caregivers, extended family, teachers, and others involved in each child’s life;
• Partner with parents/caregivers to provide concrete and social-emotional supports for the family, and link them to appropriate community resources;
• Teach life skills and healthy habits to contribute to both basic development and learning, and build positive self-esteem, behavioral management skills, tolerance, respect for others, courtesies, and compassion;
• Develop realistic expectations and goals based on each child’s strengths, talents, abilities, and needs;
• Provide enrichment resources and activities that include opportunities for cultural awareness, diversity, and community service;
• Reinforce basic academic skills and learning;
• Model and promote good problem-solving and decision-making skills to children and families;
• Participate in the programming and resources available through the organization, effectively utilizing program resources to meet the needs of each child and their families;
• Maintain spending within allocated youth budget;
• Complete, distribute, and collect time summaries, activity journals, short-term plans, expense reports, and evaluation materials accurately and in a timely manner;
• Attend and actively participate in team meetings, staff functions, and trainings;
• Provide information and support to the development team and related activities as needed;
• Fulfill other responsibilities as required.

Essential Skills and Abilities

• Ability to develop and maintain trusting, supportive relationships with children, families, teachers, and others involved in each child’s life;
• Demonstrated ability to work with children in various capacities and settings to help them learn and grow;
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and communicate appropriately within the workplace;
• Ability to use creativity and initiative in planning activities to continually develop children;
• Ability to manage several concurrent issues and solve problems effectively, exercising appropriate discretion and judgment, and under varying levels of stress;
• Ability to set goals and develop plans to ensure the development of each child;
• Ability to complete administrative tasks accurately and on time;
• Willingness to work collaboratively, but with the capacity to work independently;
• Strong interpersonal skills;
• Ability to have empathy and a learning posture toward different backgrounds including, but not limited to, culture, race, gender, and religion;
• Ability to adapt personal experience and skills;
• Ability to handle high mobility and driving demands safely and with good judgment;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, strong organizational and time management skills, professional demeanor, and sound judgment;
• Basic computer and keyboarding skills, proficiency with e-mail systems, familiarity with Microsoft Outlook, Teams, and Access (or other database applications).

Working Hours and Conditions

This is a full-time, non-exempt position in a hybrid work environment. Due to the nature of a Friend’s role, the work hours are somewhat non-traditional, and include late afternoon and evening work. The general workweek is Monday through Friday, with occasional weekend events. The Program requires that you see each of your assigned children both in and outside of school and/or daycare, for an average of four hours each week, although how you accomplish that is at your discretion within established Program guidelines. You are required to maintain current driver’s license, good driving record, and vehicle insurance; you will be reimbursed for mileage related to youth transportation.

Education and Experience Required

A bachelor’s degree preferred, plus 2-4 years’ experience working/volunteering with youth in a social service setting or with families impacted by systemic injustice and chronic trauma. Alternatively, an associate’s degree required, plus 4-6 years’ experience working/volunteering with youth in a social service setting or with families impacted by systemic injustice and chronic trauma. Mentoring experience with children and families impacted by the child welfare system is also preferred.

Benefits

• Generous vacation and sick leave policy;
• Quarterly reset days;
• 12 paid holidays;
• Summer half days;
• An annual winter recess during the last week of December;
• Medical benefits (including vision and dental);
• 401k retirement plan;
• Ongoing professional development opportunities.

Note

Friends LA requires COVID-19 vaccines for all employees. As of March 1, 2022, we will be expanding our in-person vaccination requirement to include booster shots. Accommodations or exceptions can be requested for medical or religious reasons.