Program Manager

ExpandED Schools is a leading afterschool organization that advances educational equity for students from under-served communities across New York City. Founded in 1998 with a catalytic $125M from the Open Society Foundations, ExpandED designed the nation’s first city-wide, publicly-funded system for afterschool programming. Today, through advocacy, research, and program development, ExpandED continues to build the capacity of the NYC afterschool field to address the educational inequities that prevent far too many students from reaching their full potential. 

Now more than ever, under-served students need access to innovative, engaging ways of learning to help them deal with the trauma of the pandemic and racial injustice and make up for lost learning time due to the public health crisis. In the face of remote learning and cuts to city and state budgets, ExpandED is designing online programming, organizing and uniting partners across the afterschool field, and leading the fight for urgently-needed public funding to ensure kids from communities most affected by COVID-19 will continue to have access to a robust public education, whether in-person or remotely.

Purpose of Position

ExpandED Schools manages after-school and expanded learning time program funding administered through the New York City Department of Youth & Community Development (DYCD) and supports after-school program services in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education’s Office of Community Schools (OCS). Program Managers work closely with school and community-based organization (CBO) teams in an effort to support programs in their local schools that conform to ExpandED Schools, DYCD and OCS program quality standards.

Reporting to the Director of Program Excellence, the Program Manager will oversee a portfolio of approximately 20 school sites. The Program Manager will be the primary liaison between ExpandED Schools, CBO partners, schools, and related organizations within the after-school and expanded learning time community. The Program Manager will serve as a resource and support to school-CBO teams to ensure students participate in high-quality activities that integrate what happens in the school day with less formal learning experiences in the after-school environment. The Program Manager will oversee budget and expenses review and approval for their respective program portfolio; assess program quality through on-site observations; and formulate narrative feedback reports as required by ExpandED Schools, DYCD, OCS and other funders.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Oversee all aspects of quality assurance at assigned school sites, including supporting school-CBO teams with formulating program designs, schedules, and budgets; monitor and assess the quality of program activities; analyze data and support conversations with school-CBO teams related to student enrollment and attendance; reinforce program compliance with Department of Education and Office of Children & Family Services regulations for childcare, health and safety; maintain program portfolio files, including internal and external program narrative reports and site visit records
• Coach and support program leaders in the implementation of quality after-school and expanded learning time offerings that includes both academics and enrichment activities such as the arts, sports, literacy and STEM
• Conduct site visits to identify promising practices as well as opportunities for strengthening quality, and provide written feedback to school-CBO teams to foster continuous improvement
• Facilitate reflection and planning sessions with school-CBO teams to support aligned actions toward common results and data-driven decision making
• Design and implement workshops on promising practices in the field of after-school and expanded learning
• Serve as a knowledge-base about their respective program sites by providing qualitative and anecdotal data to shape ExpandED/DYCD/OCS policies as well as the growing field of after-school and expanded learning
• Organize meetings and institutes between ExpandED, program sites and other stakeholders as needed
• Collaborate on intra and inter-departmental special projects as needed

Qualifications and Competencies:

• Commitment to educational equity
• Bachelor’s degree and at least three years of teaching or related experience in the youth services and/or education field required
• Experience supporting partnerships between schools and community organizations particularly in a coaching capacity, strongly preferred
• Strong cultural competence with respect for and extensive knowledge of the cultures of the various stakeholders we work with and the communities we serve
• Commitment to collaboration and participating as a member of a team that recognizes that it is strengthened through its diversity
• Excellent planning and organizational skills with a proven ability to execute tasks efficiently
• Strong communication and facilitation skills, including clear and persuasive speaking and writing
• Expertise in using data to improve programs and instruction
• Ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders and execute projects independently
• Computer skills, especially MS Office: Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel
• Flexibility, adaptability and comfort with complexity and change
• Willingness to travel throughout NYC for schools visits (up to 2-3 days per week)

This position requires regular use of public transportation and regular work in school buildings that may require climbing stairs.