Youth Development Counselor- Timbers Elem (Humble ISD)

Position Summary

A dedicated and responsible youth development professional to assist with providing quality care in before and after-school site and camp setting by teaching values, ensuring safety, and facilitating structured play and educational activities with the children, in accordance with state childcare licensing requirements and YMCA policy. Assist with providing a quality experience to children and parents that focuses on youth development, including the YMCA core values: honesty, respect, responsibility, caring, and faith. Responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of children and leading age-appropriate activities and appropriately monitoring children’s behavior in care.

Supervision and Safety

• Ensure the safety and security of all children in the program at all times.
• Monitor the children’s activities to ensure they engage in safe and age-appropriate behaviors.
• Conduct regular headcounts and maintain accurate attendance records.
• Respond appropriately and promptly to emergencies and incidents, following established YMCA policies.

Behavior Management

• Implement positive behavior management techniques to promote a respectful and inclusive environment.
• Address behavioral issues in a calm and constructive manner, following established guidelines.

Activity Implementation

• Implement a variety of age-appropriate activities, including structured and unstructured activities as outlined in YMCA approved curriculum.
• Encourage and facilitate positive social interactions among children.
• Adapt activities to meet the diverse needs and interests of all children.

Policies and Procedures

• Follow all organizational policies and procedures, including those related to health and safety, child protection, and confidentiality.
• Maintain a clean and organized environment, adhering to sanitation and safety standards.
• Report any concerns or issues to the Site Lead or Program Director in a timely manner.

Daily Operations

• Maintains the program site and camp environment by adhering to YMCA of Greater Houston program standards and childcare licensing minimum standards.
• Supervises children under the direction of the Site Lead.
• Acts as a role model to the children by exemplifying the YMCA’s five core values.

Relationship Building

• Maintains positive relations with children, parents, school personnel, directors and other staff.
• Attends and participates in staff meetings, and staff trainings.
• Reports suspicious and inappropriate behaviors and policy violations.
• Ensures youth are properly signed in and signed out, ensures only authorized adults are allowed in the facility, etc.
• Adheres to policies related to boundaries with each child.
• Ensures unused rooms and closets remain locked; routinely monitors high-risk locations (bathrooms), etc.

Child Abuse Prevention

• Reports suspicious and inappropriate behaviors and policy violations.
• Fulfills mandated abuse and incident reporting requirements.

Qualifications

• To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.
• To be considered for this position, candidates should have:
• At least 18 years of age.
• A high school diploma or general education degree (GED).
• At least 6 months working with youth at a licensed facility, church, school or equivalent.
• CPR, First Aid, AED certifications and Child Abuse prevention trainings.
• Ability to plan, organize, and implement age-appropriate/developmentally appropriate program activities.
• Previous experience with diverse populations.
• Current record of tuberculosis examination and/or current local health department regulations, examinations, and/or immunization as required by the local or State Department of Health.
• Pass a local/state background and FBI fingerprinting check.

Education and Experience

• High school diploma or general education degree (GED) with demonstrated interested in the welfare of children; prior childcare or baby-sitting experience is preferred.
• Language Skills: Ability to read and comprehend simple instructions, short correspondence, and memos. Ability to write simple correspondence. Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to customers, clients, and other employees of the organization.
• Mathematical Skills: Ability to add and subtract two-digit numbers and to multiply and divide with 10's and 100's. Ability to perform these operations using units of American money and weight measurement, volume, and distance.

Reasoning Abilities

• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out simple one- or two-step instructions.
• Ability to deal with standardized situations with only occasional or no variables.

Physical Demands

• While performing the essential and marginal functions the employee may be required to maintain physical condition necessary for adequate physical performance including light to moderate lifting (up to 25 lbs with occasional lifting of up to 50 lbs.); bending, stooping, kneeling, crawling, climbing; standing, walking, pushing, pulling, reaching, balancing, and crouching; use of hands and fingers, handle or feel; reach; speak and hear, use close and distant vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perceptions, and ability to adjust focus; must utilize auditory, sensory abilities constantly on the job site.

Work Environment

• The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Work Schedule

• Before/After School: Part-time, typically Monday-Friday, afternoon shift 2:30 pm – 6:30 pm (start and end time may vary). Program runs concurrently with ISD calendar.
• Camp: Typically Monday-Friday, 6:30 am – 6:30 pm with a morning, afternoon and evening shift option (start and end time may vary). Camps run concurrently with ISD calendar breaks.

Other Duties

• Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job.
• Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.