Youth Program Manager

About Kandelia

Kandelia’s mission is to remove barriers to opportunities so immigrant and refugee communities can flourish without compromising values, heritage, or ethnicity. Our main goal is for immigrant and refugee students to have equitable access and choice for educational and career opportunities. We serve students directly through school-based programs, particularly after-school and summer school. We partner with Seattle World School, a unique high school designed to meet the needs of newly arrived immigrant and refugee students. Kandelia also strengthens students’ local family support system through classes and workshops, and helps students and caregivers access and navigate resources for education, employment, basic needs, and more. Our programs impact about 600 immigrant and refugee community members annually.

Youth Program Manager Overview

With support from the Co-Executive Director, Kandelia’s Youth Program Manager is responsible for the management and oversight of Kandelia’s Youth Program, which serves immigrant and refugee high school students attending Seattle World School. This program helps students grow their resources, skills, and relationships to succeed in Seattle Public Schools and prepare to launch into their post-secondary plans. As a member of Kandelia’s management team, the Youth Program Manager actively participates in setting the direction of the organization, collaboration with other departments, and problem solving to help achieve our shared goals. The Youth Program Manager aligns program activities to Kandelia’s overall impact goals, sets program priorities, develops and monitors work plans, and supports and monitors the work of team members, contractors, and volunteers.

Core Responsibilities

Leadership and Supervision

• Actively participate in setting the direction of the organization, leading cross-team collaboration, and problem solving as a member of Kandelia’s management team
• Set priorities for department and team members in alignment with Kandelia’s impact goals and lead the development of the department’s annual work plans in coordination with other teams
• Participate in overall management team planning and decision making as a program team leader, coordinating annual schedules, leading department work plans, supporting cross team collaboration throughout the year, and promoting a positive and productive work environment
• Recruit, hire, onboard, train, supervise, and evaluate the performance of any Youth Program staff, contractors, interns, and volunteers, with regularly scheduled check-ins and feedback loops
• Develop, implement, and monitor departmental budget, ensuring responsible use of funding to meet objectives and impact goals
• Manage logistics and day-to-day operations of the department following Kandelia protocols, including expense tracking, invoicing, MOUs and contractor agreements, timely response to internal and external communications, and timely review of and response to PTO requests, timesheets, and staff reimbursement requests
• Exercise strong judgment and discretion in problem solving and decision making based on Kandelia’s mission and values.

Program Design, Implementation, and Evaluation

Program Design

• Design and implement program activities aligned to Kandelia’s mission, values, and overall strategy and impact goals
• Create an annual calendar of program activities including key milestones, projects, events and important dates such as reporting or recruitment

Implementation

• Coordinate logistics and schedules for classes, instructors, volunteers, and students
• Lead staff and partners to recruit and engage participants, following up with students with low participation or attendance to identify barriers
• Oversee coordination and tracking of strategies to minimize barriers to student participation including but not limited to distribution of culturally responsive snacks and meals, transportation, technology troubleshooting, program supplies/equipment management, stipend distribution, translation/interpretation of program information
• Support, supervise, and help lead classes when needed or update participants on class cancellation in a timely manner
• Create systems to track, record and maintain accurate and up to date program data and participant records while maintaining data security and confidentiality
• Troubleshoot and implement problem solving strategies for equipment and classroom challenges

Evaluation/Reporting

• Ensure high quality, accurate department data is recorded, including but not limited to participant data and program outputs
• Prepare regular programmatic reports to fulfill reporting requirements for all program activities, and share with internal and external stakeholders. Reports include but are not limited to program attendance, survey results, impact metrics, photos, and stories or narratives.
• Develop and administer regular surveys, assessments, and other evaluation techniques to assess program quality and effectiveness
• Review and analyze program data for continuous improvement
• Ensure that project and department milestones and goals are met and tracked
• Prepare, oversee, and submit monthly reports, invoices and contracts

Partnership Development/Community Engagement

• Build strong relationships, MOUs/agreements and work plans with existing and new partners including consultants, skilled volunteers, corporate partners, schools, district, and other community-based organizations who are aligned with Kandelia’s goals
• Stay informed and regularly update team on partner school’s protocols, policies, events, and general communications
• Work with partners to ensure their programs and services are accessible to Kandelia’s community
• Serve as an internal and external ambassador of Kandelia, the mission, programs, services, and partnership opportunities (eg. introductory meetings, school tours, tabling, representing Kandelia at events)
• Regularly communicate through multiple communication channels (in person, phone, email, text, etc) and build strong relationships with current and potential program participants

General Kandelia Engagement

• Regularly lead and actively participate in meetings including but not limited to: all staff meetings, department meetings, retreats, and partner meetings
• Support and promote organization-wide events and campaigns including but not limited to fundraisers, program events, and online campaigns
• Assist in the development of grant applications or proposals
• Other duties as assigned

Characteristics & Qualifications

• Personal alignment with Kandelia’s mission and values
• Experience working effectively with diverse, multicultural teams, stakeholders, and communities
• Experience working with young adults aged 14-21
• Experience creating welcoming, accessible, and inclusive environments where all voices are heard
• Empathy, humility, flexibility, and willingness to learn, especially when working across differences in language, culture, and communication styles
• Ability to think strategically, solve problems, and adapt to changing situations
• Positive, solution-oriented approach in a team working toward common goals
• Kindness, discretion, respect, and strong ethics in handling sensitive information, including but not limited to participant stories and data
• Strong communication, organizational, and project management skills, with the ability to prioritize across multiple workflows and meet deadlines
• Ability to maintain high standards while supporting team members to improve and succeed
• Fluency in additional languages other than English preferred
• Experience using Zoom, Google Suite (Gmail, calendar, forms, sheets, docs and Drive) or similar software, and a participant database preferred

Other Requirements

• Legal clearance to work with minors and within a school setting. All Kandelia employees must pass a background check and any other tests required by Seattle Public Schools or government partners.
• Strong ethics, maturity, and appropriate boundaries for adult interactions with minors, including compliance with all Seattle Public Schools HR and reporting requirements
• Physical demands: sitting or standing at a desk, walking throughout the school building, occasional loading or moving supplies

Location and Work Arrangements

• Location: Primary work location is Seattle World School, 1700 E Union Street, Seattle.
• Occasional meetings at Kandelia’s office: 3829B S Edmunds Street, Seattle
• Some flexibility for remote work with manager approval
• Hours: Full time, Monday-Friday, with occasional evenings or weekends

Compensation and Benefits

Compensation: This is a full time, non-exempt position. The pay rate is $34.64/hr. Reports to the Co-Executive Directors.

Benefits: Kandelia offers a generous benefit package which includes 100% paid health, vision, and dental insurance for staff, a 403(b)-retirement account which Kandelia matches up to $1,000 per employee per fiscal year, and a $500 annual wellness budget.

Paid Time Off: Kandelia offers a generous paid time off package which includes 19.5 days of paid time off per year, 11 paid holidays including one floating holiday, and paid wellness days including Fridays off in July and August and two weeks in December.

Kandelia is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our organization is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family responsibilities, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic.

We believe that diversity strengthens our team and enriches our work. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, abilities, and experiences. Our hiring decisions are based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

To apply, please submit your cover letter and resume to hr@kandelia.org with the subject line, ‘Youth Program Manager’. Position is open until filled, priority deadline is December 1st, 2025.

Benefits: Kandelia offers a generous benefit package which includes 100% paid health, vision, and dental insurance for staff, a 403(b)-retirement account which Kandelia matches up to $1,000 per employee per fiscal year, and a $500 annual wellness budget.

Paid Time Off: Kandelia offers a generous paid time off package which includes 19.5 days of paid time off per year, 11 paid holidays including one floating holiday, and paid wellness days including Fridays off in July and August and two weeks in December.

Fluency in additional languages other than English preferred.