Program Manager, Parent Mentor Program

About DOI

District Outreach Industries NFP (DOI) is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming the lives of youth, young adults, and families who have been affected by trauma. Founded and led by Dori J. Collins, we believe healing must go beyond meeting immediate needs. It must address the emotional, mental, and social well-being of the whole person and the whole family. Through personalized support, evidence-based interventions, and deep community engagement, DOI empowers the people we serve to rebuild their lives with dignity, resilience, and optimism.

Rooted on Chicago’s South Side, DOI works hand-in-hand with schools, hospitals, victim service providers, faith institutions, law enforcement, and grassroots community partners to address not only the effects of trauma and violence, but their root causes.

About the Parent Mentor Program

DOI’s Parent Mentor Program (PMP) builds transformative parent leadership in local schools. DOI partners with schools to recruit and train parents — typically six to eight per school — who assist teachers about two hours a day, four days a week, working one-on-one and in small groups with students in an assigned classroom (not their own child’s). Parent mentors receive weekly training in academic support, professional development, community engagement, and leadership, and earn a stipend after completing a semester of volunteer service.

The program strengthens students and classrooms, develops parents as leaders, and builds community-centered schools, with a particular focus on Black, Brown, Indigenous, and immigrant families. Cohorts run for the full school year, beginning in the Fall.

Position Summary

DOI seeks an experienced, mission-driven Program Manager to lead the day-to-day implementation and success of DOI’s Parent Mentor Program across its partner public schools. The Program Manager hires and supervises Parent Mentor Coordinators and organizers from the community, oversees parent recruitment and training, manages school partnerships and program compliance, and ensures each school cohort is staffed and running for the full school year.

Key Responsibilities

Program Oversight & Implementation

• Manage the day-to-day implementation of the Parent Mentor Program across DOI’s partner schools and ensure program objectives and deliverables are met.
• Ensure each school cohort has a Parent Mentor Coordinator in place by the Fall start and runs both semesters of the school year.
• Oversee recruitment and training of parent mentors (typically six to eight per school) and connect staff and mentors to required weekly training and professional development.
• Track parent-mentor volunteer hours and ensure timely, accurate stipend processing.

Team Leadership

• Hire, train, and supervise Parent Mentor Coordinators and program organizers, prioritizing candidates from the communities served.
• Conduct onboarding, coaching, and performance management; manage schedules and workflow.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, and culturally responsive team environment.

School & Community Engagement

• Build and maintain strong relationships with school principals, teachers, parents, and community partners.
• Represent DOI at school and community meetings, events, and convenings.

Parent Leadership & Family Engagement

• Support parents’ growth as classroom partners and community leaders.
• Foster parent-led engagement that strengthens students, classrooms, and schools.

Safety & Compliance

• Ensure program activities comply with applicable regulations and school-site requirements, and maintain child-safety and supervision standards in classroom settings.
• Serve as a mandated reporter under the Illinois Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act (325 ILCS 5) and report suspected abuse or neglect as required by law.

Program Management, Reporting & Compliance

• Manage the program budget within approved funding.
• Compile data and submit monthly reports, performance-standard tracking, and start- and end-of-year evaluation surveys; maintain audit-ready recordkeeping.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Degree in education, social work, human services, community development, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education, experience, and community leadership.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in program management, community organizing, parent/family engagement, or education, including at least [2] years supervising staff.
• Demonstrated ability to manage programs, deliverables, and school or community partnerships.
• Strong organizational, communication, and relationship-building skills, with culturally responsive practice.
• Ability to travel among partner schools and community sites
• Ability to work some evenings and weekends for parent and community activities.
• Successful completion of required background checks and clearances prior to school-based work with students present

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience partnering with public schools and/or implementing parent-mentor or family-engagement programs.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) or additional language access .
• Experience hiring and supporting staff and leaders from the community.
• Familiarity with grant-funded program compliance and reporting.
• Lived experience and strong ties to the communities served highly valued.

Clearances & Youth Safety

Because this position involves school-based work in classrooms where students are present, and oversees parent mentors who work directly with students, employment is contingent on completing all required background checks and clearances before beginning that work. The Program Manager is a mandated reporter under the Illinois Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act (325 ILCS 5) and must complete DCFS-approved mandated reporter training. Required clearances typically include a DCFS background check and school-district vendor/volunteer clearance, and may include a fingerprint-based criminal history check. Consistent with Illinois law and DOI’s equal opportunity policy, a conviction record does not automatically disqualify an applicant.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This position supervises Parent Mentor Coordinators and program organizers and serves as the primary operational leader for DOI’s Parent Mentor Program. It reports to Director of Parent Programs

• Health and dental insurance.
• Paid holidays, vacation, and sick leave.
• Professional development and leadership training opportunities.
• Opportunity to help lead a high-impact parent leadership and family-engagement program.

Bilingual applicants encouraged to apply