Resource Connection Coordinator

Resource Connection Coordinator

Position Type: Full-Time, Salaried (30 Hours Per Week to Start)

Compensation: $45,240 annually

Reports To: Program Manager / Program Director

Location: Philadelphia, PA (community-based with regular travel to program sites and community partners)

About Beyond the Bars

Beyond the Bars is a student-driven, community-based music and resource connection organization dedicated to interrupting cycles of violence and divestment while helping young people recognize their potential and build bright futures.

Through music, mentorship, workforce development, leadership opportunities, and a citywide ecosystem of support, Beyond the Bars partners with schools, shelters, diversion programs, community organizations, justice-involved settings, and neighborhood hubs to help young people build meaningful connections to their communities and futures.

We believe every young person deserves access to creative expression, caring adults, supportive opportunities, and pathways to success.

Position Overview

The Resource Connection Coordinator leads Beyond the Bars' organization-wide approach to connecting young people with resources, opportunities, and supportive services that help them pursue their goals and overcome barriers.

Beyond the Bars believes that strong relationships are at the center of effective youth support. Program Mentors build those relationships by maintaining small caseloads of students, conducting regular one-on-one check-ins, understanding students' goals and needs, and helping young people navigate opportunities.

The Resource Connection Coordinator serves as the resource connection expert and support system for those Program Mentors.

This position meets regularly with Program Mentors to review student caseloads, identify needs and goals, determine appropriate resources, assign follow-up responsibilities, troubleshoot barriers, and ensure that students are successfully connected to opportunities and supports. The Resource Connection Coordinator also takes a more direct role when a student or family has a complex or urgent need requiring additional expertise, advocacy, or coordination.

Resource connection may include employment, workforce development, education, college and trade pathways, transportation, food access, housing, mental health services, legal support, benefits, leadership opportunities, and other community resources.

In addition to these organization-wide responsibilities, the Resource Connection Coordinator serves as a Site Coordinator and Lead Facilitator for assigned Beyond the Bars programs, helping ensure that resource connection remains grounded in real relationships with young people and direct experience within programming.

Core Responsibilities

Resource Connection & Youth Opportunity Navigation

• Serve as Beyond the Bars' primary internal resource for identifying and navigating community resources and opportunities.
• Help connect young people and families to employment, workforce development, education, trade programs, college pathways, transportation assistance, food access, housing resources, mental health supports, legal services, benefits, and other resources.
• Build knowledge of Philadelphia's youth-serving organizations, programs, services, and opportunities.
• Develop strong relationships with community partners that can provide meaningful resources and opportunities for young people.
• Help students navigate applications, referrals, appointments, enrollment processes, and other steps required to access opportunities.
• Prioritize warm handoffs and relationship-based connections rather than simply giving students lists of resources or phone numbers.
• Follow up to determine whether referrals resulted in successful connections.
• Provide more intensive support when students or families experience complex, urgent, or significant barriers.
• Help identify new opportunities that align with students' interests, strengths, and goals.

Program Mentor Leadership & Caseload Support

Program Mentors maintain direct relationships and small caseloads of students throughout Beyond the Bars. The Resource Connection Coordinator provides functional supervision, guidance, and accountability for the resource connection component of their work.

Responsibilities include:

• Meet regularly with Program Mentors to review their student caseloads.
• Support Program Mentors in conducting meaningful one-on-one student check-ins focused on goals, needs, interests, challenges, and opportunities.
• Help mentors identify needs that may not have an immediately obvious resource or solution.
• Review student goals and resource needs identified through one-on-one meetings and case notes.
• Identify appropriate resources, partners, and opportunities for students.
• Assign resource connection and follow-up tasks to Program Mentors.
• Establish clear next steps and timelines for student support.
• Follow up with Program Mentors to ensure assigned resource connection tasks are completed.
• Troubleshoot situations where students experience barriers to accessing services or opportunities.
• Help Program Mentors determine when a situation can be handled directly and when additional support or escalation is needed.
• Support mentors in developing their skills and confidence around resource navigation, advocacy, follow-up, and relationship-based youth support.
• Ensure resource connection work is consistent across programs rather than dependent on which staff member a student happens to know.

Formal personnel supervision, performance management, and broader staff professional development remain the responsibility of the Program Manager and Program Director.

Student Success Planning & Follow-Through

Beyond the Bars believes that identifying a need is only the beginning. Success means helping young people make meaningful connections to resources and opportunities.

The Resource Connection Coordinator will:

• Help establish systems for documenting student goals, resource needs, referrals, and outcomes.
• Review Student Success Plans and other student-support documentation with Program Mentors.
• Track open resource needs and outstanding follow-up.
• Help ensure every identified need has a clear next step and responsible staff member.
• Monitor whether students successfully access resources after referrals are made.
• Follow up when connections are unsuccessful and identify alternative pathways.
• Help students develop goals related to education, employment, creative development, leadership, and personal growth.
• Coordinate with other Beyond the Bars staff when students would benefit from internal programs or opportunities.
• Help ensure students receive consistent support as they move between Beyond the Bars programs.

Opportunity & Pathway Development

Resource connection at Beyond the Bars is not only about responding to crises. It is also about helping young people access opportunities and build pathways toward their futures.

The Resource Connection Coordinator will:

• Identify employment, internship, apprenticeship, trade, college, training, scholarship, and leadership opportunities for students.
• Maintain up-to-date information about youth opportunities throughout Philadelphia.
• Help connect students to workforce development and post-secondary partners.
• Support students and Program Mentors with applications, resumes, interviews, enrollment processes, and other opportunity-navigation needs.
• Help develop and support Opportunity Labs and other spaces where young people can receive hands-on assistance pursuing jobs, education, trades, and other goals.
• Build relationships with organizations that can provide opportunities for Beyond the Bars students.
• Share relevant opportunities with Program Mentors, students, families, and program staff.
• Help create pathways from participation in Beyond the Bars programming into employment, education, leadership, and long-term community connection.

Community Resource Network

• Develop and maintain strong knowledge of resources available to young people and families throughout Philadelphia.
• Build relationships with community organizations, workforce programs, educational institutions, service providers, and other partners.
• Maintain an organized and accessible system of current resources, referral pathways, eligibility requirements, and partner contacts.
• Help ensure Beyond the Bars' resource information remains current and useful for staff.
• Identify gaps where students have needs but appropriate resources are difficult to access.
• Work with organizational leadership to develop new partnerships that address recurring student and family needs.
• Represent Beyond the Bars in relevant resource, workforce, youth development, and community partnerships.

Site Coordination & Program Leadership

The Resource Connection Coordinator will also serve as a Site Coordinator and Lead Facilitator for assigned Beyond the Bars programs.

At these sites, the Resource Connection Coordinator will:

• Serve as the primary Beyond the Bars on-site leader.
• Plan engaging music and creative programming with the teaching team.
• Facilitate music, songwriting, recording, beat-making, instrumental, and other creative programming based on experience and program needs.
• Ensure the teaching team understands the plan and priorities for each session.
• Delegate responsibilities to Teaching Artists, Associate Teachers, and Student Teachers during programming.
• Lead program flow, transitions, activities, and group discussions as appropriate.
• Make real-time adjustments based on student needs, attendance, classroom dynamics, or partner needs.
• Ensure students are engaged and staff have meaningful roles throughout programming.
• Ensure attendance and required program documentation are completed.
• Build strong relationships with young people and remain aware of their goals, strengths, interests, and needs.
• Communicate important student, partner, staffing, or program updates to the Program Manager and Program Director.
• Serve as a consistent Beyond the Bars point person for assigned partner sites.
• Help create welcoming, organized, creative, and youth-centered program environments.

The Resource Connection Coordinator provides day-to-day leadership and direction during assigned programs. Formal staff supervision, performance management, staff training, and professional development remain the responsibility of the Program Manager and Program Director.

Internal Collaboration

• Work closely with the Student Coordinator to identify students who need additional outreach, resources, or opportunities.
• Collaborate with diversion staff around the needs of diversion-involved young people and families.
• Work with Program Mentors to ensure information from student one-on-ones leads to meaningful follow-up.
• Participate in regular student-support and program team meetings.
• Communicate significant or urgent student needs to the Program Manager and Program Director.
• Help create clear systems for staff to communicate student needs without students having to repeatedly explain their circumstances to different people.
• Support a culture in which resource connection is integrated throughout Beyond the Bars programming rather than functioning as a separate service.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means:

• Program Mentors consistently conduct meaningful one-on-one check-ins with their students.
• Student goals and resource needs are identified, documented, and followed up on.
• Program Mentors know where to turn when they need help connecting a student to resources.
• Resource connection responsibilities have clear owners and next steps.
• Students are not simply referred to resources—they are supported in actually accessing them.
• Students receive support around employment, education, transportation, food, housing, mental health, and other needs when appropriate.
• Young people are consistently exposed to opportunities that align with their interests and goals.
• Complex student and family needs receive additional support and coordination.
• Beyond the Bars develops strong relationships with community resource and opportunity partners.
• Resource information remains organized, accurate, and accessible to staff.
• Assigned program sites have consistent on-site leadership and strong program planning.
• Resource connection becomes a shared organizational practice supported by a knowledgeable and accountable leader.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working directly with adolescents and young adults.
• Experience in resource navigation, youth advocacy, case coordination, workforce development, social services, community programs, education, or related work.
• Strong knowledge of or willingness to deeply learn Philadelphia's youth-serving resources and opportunities.
• Experience supporting young people around education, employment, workforce development, or post-secondary pathways.
• Strong relationship-building and communication skills.
• Experience coordinating or supporting staff who maintain youth caseloads.
• Ability to coach others, assign follow-up responsibilities, and maintain accountability while building positive working relationships.
• Strong organizational and follow-through skills.
• Experience maintaining case notes, referrals, student records, databases, or similar documentation.
• Ability to navigate complex systems and persist when an initial referral or resource does not work.
• Experience facilitating youth programs, music, creative arts, or other student-centered programming is strongly preferred.
• Strong group facilitation and classroom leadership skills.
• Knowledge of trauma-informed, restorative, and healing-centered youth development practices.
• Commitment to youth leadership, equity, creativity, and community-centered practice.
• Ability to travel regularly throughout Philadelphia.

Beyond the Bars values lived experience, community knowledge, relationship-building ability, creativity, reliability, and demonstrated commitment to young people alongside traditional professional and educational experience.

Typical Weekly Schedule — 30 Hours

The Resource Connection Coordinator's schedule combines organization-wide resource connection leadership, Program Mentor support, and direct program leadership.

A typical week may include:

• Meeting with Program Mentors to review student caseloads, one-on-ones, goals, and resource needs.
• Researching resources and opportunities and coordinating referrals.
• Assigning and following up on resource connection tasks.
• Providing direct support for students or families with more complex needs.
• Developing relationships with workforce, educational, community, and resource partners.
• Supporting Opportunity Labs and other education/workforce navigation activities.
• Maintaining resource, referral, and student-support documentation.
• Serving as Site Coordinator and Lead Facilitator for assigned Beyond the Bars programs.
• Planning and facilitating programming with Teaching Artists.
• Communicating with students, families, partners, and staff.
• Participating in student-support, program, and organizational meetings.

Because many Beyond the Bars programs operate during after-school and early-evening hours, this position requires regular afternoon and early-evening availability.

The position will begin at 30 hours per week, with potential opportunities for increased hours and responsibilities as Beyond the Bars continues to grow.

Compensation & Benefits

• Annual Salary: $45,240
• Salaried, 30-hour-per-week position to start
• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Employer-Supported SIMPLE IRA Retirement Plan
• Disability Insurance
• Paid Training and Professional Development Opportunities
• Flexible, Community-Centered Work Environment
• Opportunities for Leadership Development and Organizational Growth

Professional Growth Opportunities

Beyond the Bars is committed to investing in staff and developing leaders from within.

The Resource Connection Coordinator is an important leadership position within Beyond the Bars' growing ecosystem of support. The role provides experience across youth advocacy, resource navigation, workforce and educational pathways, staff leadership, partnership development, direct facilitation, and program operations.

The successful candidate will have opportunities to deepen their expertise in resource navigation and become a trusted organizational leader in helping young people and staff understand and access Philadelphia's network of opportunities and supports.

As Beyond the Bars continues to grow, team members may have opportunities to increase hours and responsibilities, oversee larger portfolios, develop new resource and workforce initiatives, move into program management, or advance into broader organizational leadership positions.

How to Apply

Please submit a resume and brief statement describing your interest in the Resource Connection Coordinator position, your experience working with young people, and your experience helping individuals or communities navigate resources, opportunities, education, employment, or other systems of support to outreach@beyondthebarsmusic.org

Compensation & Benefits

• Annual Salary: $45,240
• Salaried, 30-hour-per-week position to start
• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Employer-Supported SIMPLE IRA Retirement Plan
• Disability Insurance
• Paid Training and Professional Development Opportunities
• Flexible, Community-Centered Work Environment
• Opportunities for Leadership Development and Organizational Growth