Out of School Time (OST) Program Facilitator, Part-Time Contractor

Dates: October 18 2025 - June 1, 2026

Our Mission: Project Invent empowers youth with future-ready mindsets to succeed individually and impact globally, through invention.

Our Vision: A generation of fearless, compassionate problem solvers.

Location: On-site

Best Buy Teen Tech Center at the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos

1 Positive Place

San Marcos, CA 92069

Description: Project Invent is a national nonprofit empowering youth across the country to invent technologies for social impact. We train educators in design thinking, engineering, and entrepreneurship to lead youth as they identify real problems in their communities and invent impactful solutions. At the end of the year, youth present their inventions to their Community Partners and have a chance to pitch to investors and tech leaders at our Demo Day events.

We are searching for a part-time facilitator to lead a group of youth through our invention-for-social-good program. This is an in-person opportunity at the Boys and Girls Club of San Marcos, a partner of Project Invent and the Best Buy Foundation. You will work directly with a small team of youth as they design and build a tech device to address a real-world problem. In this role, you will implement Project Invent’s curriculum and guide youth on their invention journey as they build relationships with a Community Partner, ideate on potential solutions, design and build a physical prototype, and participate in key program milestones like Idea Review, Pitch Coaching, and Demo Day. To help you on your way, you will receive 4-days of Project Invent invention exploration in our program to kickstart your work and explore our Theory of Change, as well as ongoing 1:1 support from a Project Invent Program Manager.

This is a part-time, limited engagement opportunity. Your student team will be selected by the Boys and Girls Club of San Marcos and you will work with them in out-of-school hours, tentatively scheduled for Tuesday OR Thursday afternoons from 4 pm - 6 pm, coordinating with the site schedule at the Boys and Girls Club of San Marcos. You will work 2-5 hours per week, depending on the site's schedule and the program milestone calendar. This position is temporary with an expected start date of October 18 2025 and end date of June 1, 2026.

The ideal candidate loves working directly with youth to help them grow as individuals and develop skills that will set them up for life-long success. If like us, you believe that combining human-centered design, engineering, and social impact into a learning experience transforms educators and youth alike, this is a fantastic opportunity!

What We’re Looking For:

• Experience and passion for working directly with high school age youth.
• Enthusiasm & passion for working with youth farthest from opportunity to build technology and social + emotional skills.
• Comfort with teaching in an in-person, out-of-school-time environment.
• Availability to attend some virtual weekend and evening events,
• Availability to attend our virtual fall fellowship training October 18-23, 2025 (agenda)
• Experience with design thinking principles, invention, and/or making/tinkering is a plus.
• Experience with microcontrollers such as Arduino or Micro:bit is a plus.

Essential Duties:

• Complete Fall Institute in a virtual environment, both synchronously and asynchronously, with Project Invent staff to prepare for curriculum delivery in-person at the Boys and Girls Club of San Marcos.
• Deliver weekly workshops using the Project Invent curriculum from December 2025 - May 2026.
• Work under direction of Project Invent Program Manager and site Pathways Facilitator to meet the program and grant requirements.
• Coordinate with the Career Pathways site facilitator to meet the needs, challenges, and logistic requirements of the Boys and Girls Club of San Marcos.
• Act as the primary support, mentor, and coach for participants as they develop specific technology, entrepreneurship, and design skills through the Project Invent program.
• Attend virtual events alongside youth on some weekends and evenings (approximately 3 to 5 engagements), as well as professional development workshops and educator meetings.
• Serve as the primary contact for all program partners, mentors and volunteers as well as provide ongoing support.
• Communicate regularly with the Tech Center Staff and Project Invent programs team via email, phone, and meetings.
• Coordinate other program aspects as needed with the Career Pathways Facilitator.
• Provide timely feedback on program effectiveness, challenges, and opportunities for improvement.

Helpful Links:

Want to get a better feel of what we do and why we do it? Check out these links:

• The Invention Journey: Freeport High School (video)
• Program Experience (video)
• Fellow Experience (video)
• Journey to Demo Day (video)

Fall Institute Dates: To help you on your way, you will receive 4-days of Project Invent invention exploration in our program to kickstart your work with us! This is the same professional development Institute we offer to schools and educators to cover the principles of design-thinking, real-world problem solving through innovation, and empowering youth with 21-century skills. You can view the schedule and agenda here.

Demo Day: The youth you support on this innovation journey will be eligible to participate in an in-person Demo Day in May 2025 in the San Diego metro area, which may occur on a weekday or a weekend day outside of the weekly scheduled meeting times. If you are available, you will be able to attend this local field trip as a chaperone to watch your youth inventors present their projects to a panel of judges.

Background Check Requirement: This position works with minors and young adults. Applicants must agree to a background check to qualify, to be administered as a final step in the hiring process.

Insurance Requirement: Contract facilitators are required to carry general liability insurance to protect against claims of property damage, bodily injury, or accidents that may occur on a job site. Contractors engaged in this role are required to maintain active general liability insurance unless otherwise noted by the Project Invent team and the Boys and Girls Club of San Marcos. Proof of coverage must be provided prior to the start of work and kept current throughout the contract term.

Pay: This position is a part-time, limited-engagement contractor opportunity. The average hourly commitment is expected to be 2-5 hours per week for 21-22 weeks (school holidays excluded). The total compensation for the contract is $10,000.