Director of Junior High

By The Hand Club For Kids is a Christian, after-school program that emphasizes academic excellence while nurturing the whole child – mind, body and soul. Located in Chicago’s most under-resourced neighborhoods, By The Hand helps children have abundant life. The culture of By The Hand is Christ-centered, people-focused and results oriented. While loving and nurturing, By The Hand has a strong results-orientation, a very structured program and a growth mindset that believes with hard work we can all continue to learn and grow. 

Joining By The Hand’s incredible mission as an abundant life builder means jumping right into the work of healing and hope on behalf of our extraordinary children. You’ll have the opportunity of a lifetime to impact the trajectory of generations of stories; helping students soar to success in their academic performance, practice personal accountability and, even more importantly, grow in their understanding of God and their relationship with Jesus. 

By The Hand is a not-for-profit, religious organization. Individuals employed at By The Hand are working in ministerial roles and perform all or some of the following responsibilities: sharing the Gospel, teaching chapel, leading Bible studies, discipling students, and modeling behavior that is consistent with Christ’s teaching. 

Salary: $52,500 - $57,500

Overview of Position

Reporting to the Director of NXT, the Director of Junior High is a ministry worker who oversees all aspects of programming for 7th and 8th grade at all locations.  The Director of Jr. High provides leadership, management and accountability to the Jr. High staff, achieving their goals such as students attending selective enrollment schools and enrolling in our NXT program as 9th graders. This position supervises Junior High Team Leaders. 

Spiritual Requirements

• Has a personal and saving relationship with Jesus Christ, evidenced by a lifestyle that demonstrates the Word of God, and is in regular fellowship with other members in a Bible-believing church.

• Agrees with the By The Hand Club Doctrinal Statement and adheres to the Employee Biblical Standards of Living.

• Shows by example, the importance of Scripture memorization, Bible study, prayer, witnessing, and Christian fellowship.

• Leads a team devotional on a regular basis and participates in weekly team prayer.

• Has completed an evangelism course and is trained and prepared to share the gospel with anyone who inquires.

• Works with staff and members of the EOS Leadership Team to monitor and enforce policies and procedures to further By The Hand’s religious purpose and freedom.

Role Responsibilities 

• Performs in a way that is consistent with the vision, mission, and culture of By The Hand and commits to excellence in every aspect of the overall operation. 

• Models cultural values of By The Hand Club For Kids in day-to-day behavior. 

• Follows all policies as outlined in the operational guide, including maintaining brand standards and ensuring 100% adherence to the Child Protection Policy. 

• Participates in employee growth plans, including quarterly conversations and annual review meetings. 

• Creates a culture in which people are encouraged and held accountable for their spiritual growth.

• Manages relationships with partners who provide programs and resources for our students.

• Works with the Fund Development and Volunteer departments to connect our students to partnerships and volunteers and engage them into our programs.

• Creates learning opportunities for parents and students to learn more about quality high schools, including the admissions process.

• Works with the Learning Department to oversee the management of the blended learning program for Junior High students.

• Facilitates and manages training for Junior High programming, including creating training materials.

• Creates and manages programs and events that engage, prepare, expose and motivate junior high students for high school.

• Upholds the Child Protection Policy during club and offsite.

• Develops and manages Jr High staff and conducts weekly check-in meetings. 

• Meets overall targets for achievement with an emphasis on academic progress, attendance and retention for all students.

• Ensures staff are utilizing the Student Behavior Policy when students need redirection.

• Responsible for submitting monthly expense reports and monitoring the financial statements to stay on budget.

• Reviews, tracks and approves staff paid time off (PTO) and hours worked via ADP.

• Maintains enrollment at full capacity throughout the entire year.

• Holds staff accountable for attendance, enrollment, programming and home/school visit metrics.

• Maintains consistency among the staff’s programming practices, classroom effectiveness, and expectations for student success.

• Provides support during normal programming hours to staff, deals with discipline issues as needed, and ensures facility/classrooms/team leaders are prepared.

• Keeps abreast of the current events that impact junior high age students.

• Collaborates with the Director of High School , Vice President of Learning and Vice President of Spiritual Development.

• Performs all other duties as required and assigned.

Required Skills/Abilities

• This position requires a Christ-like servant leader who has a sense of calling and who models Biblical principles.

• Passion and commitment for urban student transformation, confidence to lead in a challenging situation and belief that all children can learn.

• Outstanding problem-solving skills with an orientation toward results, action, impact and influence.

• Ability to work both as a team player and independently.

• Proven ability to work under tight deadlines and multi-task well.

• Outstanding time management and communication skills.

• Empowering leader and effective communicator.

• Excellent work ethic and commitment to excellence.

Education and Experience 

• Bachelor’s degree in Education, Youth Development or related field.

• Five plus years of professional work experience.

• Three plus years of experience managing others.

• Knowledge of Google Suite, including Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Drive.

• Spiritual maturity and the ability to disciple others.

• Must have a valid driver’s license.

Work Environment 

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, photocopies, filing cabinets. 

Physical Demands 

The employee is regularly required to speak and listen. This role may require you to move equipment from room to room and lift up to 50 pounds. The individual is also required to travel to other organization sites to meet with staff and attend trainings.  

Disclaimer

The duties and responsibilities described are not an exhaustive list of all functions that the employee may be required to perform. The employee may be required to perform additional functions as necessitated by business demands. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice. Employment with By The Hand Club For Kids is at will, and the employee must be able to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily, with or without reasonable accommodation. 

By The Hand Club For Kids is an equal opportunity employer. By The Hand does not unlawfully discriminate against any protected classes. As a ministry, By The Hand is permitted and reserves the right to prefer employees or prospective employees on the basis of religion in our screening and selection process. By The Hand is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified candidates with a disability, absent undue hardship. An employee or applicant who believes he or she has a disability and may require an accommodation must contact the Human Resources Department at [email protected] or call 773-854-4176.