Grant Writing Specialist

About PYN:

The Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) is a nationally-recognized intermediary organization dedicated to improving the economic and education outcomes of Philadelphia's youth. PYN organizes its work around four core functions: leveraging, coordinating and managing public and private investment directed at youth education and workforce development in the Philadelphia region; convening and leading cross-sector partnerships and initiatives that enhance opportunities available to Philadelphia youth; designing, managing and replicating effective program models that prepare Philadelphia youth for the future workforce, focusing particularly on youth that live in poverty, have dropped out, or are at risk of dropping out of school and/or are involved with public care systems; and organizing these program models into coordinated service and delivery systems.

PYN provides project management support to the William Penn Foundation's Youth Development Initiative's (YDI) Chester Youth Collaborative and Southeast Philadelphia Collaborative. YDI seeks to create a strong collaborative system in which youth ages 12 to18 in targeted communities become connected to quality programming in their neighborhoods. PYN is funded by the William Penn Foundation to support the coordination and management of YDI, including system-wide and organizational capacity-building.

About the Chester Youth Collaborative:

The Chester Collaborative (CYC) is an initiative of Crozer-Keystone Health Systems and the City of Chester. The CYC works to build the capacity of youth organizations serving youth ages 12-22. The CYC informs, educates and organizes a broad and diverse network of community partners, policymakers and stakeholders to leverage greater access to resources and opportunities that address the needs of youth in the Chester area. CYC facilitates several subcommittees that address quality of life issues impacting Chester youth (Health & Wellness; Post-Secondary Access; Workforce Development; and Quality Out-of-School Time). The CYC supports school partnerships and provides performance management support to its youth serving partners. See CYC's website for more information: www.cyc.crozer.org

General Description:

The Grant Writing Specialist (GWS) will function as part of the Chester Youth Collaborative team based at the Crozer Wellness Center and the Chester Boys and Girls Club. The GWS is a temporary postion beginning July 2013 and extending through December 2013. The GWS is responsible for supporting the work of the CYC Manager and the CYC Director as it relates to researching funding opportunities to expand and merge efforts of the CYC, as the city of Chester's Youth Intermediary, and the Chester Boys and Girls Club as a national youth development model. This work will primarily focus on capacity building, workforce preparation and post-secondary access. Additionally, the GWS is responsible for documenting efforts in the Social Solutions Efforts to Outcomes database. The GWS work responsibilities span the following areas:

• Researching, writing, and submitting at least four grants.
• Working with a team to support the mission of the CYC and Chester Boys and Girls Club.
• Development of online grant writing resource guides (catering to the needs of neighborhood/community partners).
• Data Entry into Social Solutions Efforts to Outcomes tracking system
• Supporting CYC administrative needs i.e., meeting, planning, and logistics.
• Supporting the supervision of Chester WorkReady interns during summer months.

Education, Experience & Skills Required:

• Bachelor's degree or higher.
• Education or training in office administration, data entry or related field.
• Experience in grant development, coordination, and evaluation.
• Experience with youth development organizations and/or community based organizations.
• Experience working with youth or youth programs serving youth between the ages of 6 and 18.
• Must have verifiable knowledge of Microsoft Office and Excel, or comparable software applications.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to gather data, to summarize information, and prepare reports.
• Ability to troubleshoot and evaluate issues.
• Ability to understand and follow specific instructions and procedures.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects in a high paced environment which includes being highly self-motivated and disciplined; able to take ownership and drive projects through to completion.
• Must be flexible and relationship oriented.
• Successful completion of a criminal and child abuse clearance.