About UTEC, Inc:

UTEC’s promise is to ignite and nurture the ambition of our most disengaged youth to trade violence and poverty for social and economic success. UTEC’s outcomes-focused model begins with intensive street outreach, reaching proven high-risk youth “where they’re at.” UTEC engages youth in workforce development and educational programs and provides intensive case management. Social justice and civic engagement are embedded in all programming. For more info, please visit www.utecinc.org.

Serving young adults throughout the Merrimack Valley area (Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill). UTEC was founded in 1999 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping young adults (ages 17-25) overcome the very real challenges of poverty, gang involvement, unemployment. UTEC reaches 500+ youth annually through an evidence-based model aimed at reducing recidivism while increasing education and employment attainment.

Job Summary

The Lead Programming Support Specialist is a member of UTEC’s Programming team. The position supports proven-risk young adults (young adults), aged 17-25, as they learn basic workforce skills through programs such as culinary arts, catering, and food service in UTEC’s catering kitchen, woodworking program, and Organizing crew. Seventy-five percent of the position will be hands-on, coaching and supervising young adults in the various programs, while twenty-five percent of the position will be dedicated to planning, collaborating and meeting with other staff within the organization, and data entry. The ideal candidate is passionate about youth work, positive youth development approach and teaching/facilitating curriculum. The Lead Programming Support Specialist works closely with all Instructors, Program Managers and Transitional Coach. UTEC also provides transportation to young adults from the Merrimack Valley to programming sites in Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill. This role, at times, will be responsible for safely transporting youth from various sites to their programming location utilizing a UTEC owned van. In addition, this role will also support programming by delivering meals to young adults at various site locations.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Will supervise Programming Support Coordinator and Program Driver
• May have other other supervisory duties (supervision, payroll, etc.)

Duties/Responsibilities

• Directly supports a crew of up to 15 young adults for up to 2.5 hour sessions daily
• Supports multiple areas of the program as needs arise- is able to support Transitional Coaches, Program Managers, Instructors and Educators in areas identified by the team
• Implements curriculum and coverage plans when Instructors and Program Managers are out and communicates progress to staff when they return
• Exemplifies youth work best practices to young adults and colleagues
• Teaches and enforces basic standards of safety and UTEC’s Standards of Accountability inside and outside UTEC
• Coaches and encourages positive young adult progress and upholds program expectations

• Works in tandem with other UTEC departments and programs, including HiSET and Case Management, to best support young adults involved in the program
• Manages and ensures young adult attendance and daily activities are tracked accurately and entered into Quickbase (UTEC’s performance management database)
• Supports the development of young adults so that they can progress to the next stages of the program and eventually complete the program
• Implements social-emotional and social justice curricula to support the development of young adults towards personal and career goals
• Supports with leading and supervising enrichment activities when coverage needs decrease

• Maintains a positive work environment with high standards in engagement and expectations
• Supporting with coverage plans for crews and building
• Supporting with logistical and scheduling needs
• Provides transportation when needed:
  • Arrive to pick up and drop off locations on time
  • Provide daily transportation to UTEC youth throughout Haverhill, Lawrence, and Lowell neighborhoods
  • Providing a safe and positive environment for all young adults in the van
  • Communicate with staff any concerns/potential conflict that would help the team prevent any future incidents
  • Ensure all UTEC rules and policies are followed in the van
  • Ensure company van is properly cleaned and maintained after each trip
  • Ability to fill out incident reports as necessary
  • Engage young adults in healthy topics of conversation and build positive relationships with each young adult
  • Collaboratively creating/adjusting pick and drop off routes

Required Skills/Abilities

• Create and facilitate curriculum and activities in group settings
• Understanding of young adult development required; prior experience with high-risk young adults preferred
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to build relationships with both program participants and colleagues
• Knowledge of career readiness skills, workforce programs, or social enterprises
• Knowledge of and experience in teaching social-emotional skills with an anti-racist lens
• Strong knowledge of diversity, equity, and inclusion frameworks and/or practices
• Support young adults in connecting them to community resources
• Former experience working with youth (ages 17-25) in any capacity preferred
• Eagerness to learn and work with young adults required
• Ability to remain calm and objective when confronting defense-provoking situations; tolerates stress
• Strength and solution based practices
• Ability to remain flexible, handling multiple work streams and pivoting when needed

Education and Experience

• At least 1 year of working with young adults (17-25) required; 3 or more years of work experience strongly preferred
• Supervisory experience
• At least 2 years of working in culinary arts and/or the food service industry; management experience preferred
• Experience with justice-involved youth preferred
• Experience with operational duties pertaining to running a program preferred
• Prior experience supervising youth or training staff preferred
• Reliable transportation to work
• Bilingual preferred
• A commitment to, or strong willingness to learn UTEC’s values around DEI and Restorative Justice
• Experience/familiarity with Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill communities
• Bachelor’s Degree preferred but not required

Physical Requirements

• Must have a valid, unencumbered MA driver’s license and a good driving record with no moving violations in the last 3 years. A driving record history will be verified.
• Must be at least 5 years of driving experience.
• Able to travel as needed.
• Ability to safely drive 15 passenger van throughout Haverhill, Lawrence, and Lowell.
• Must be able to lift up to 25 pounds at times.

Salary range of $50k-$58k, commensurate with experience. Benefits include retirement 401K plan, health and dental (50-85% subsidized), 3 weeks paid vacation, holiday and paid sick/personal time, the opportunity for a paid sabbatical after 3 years, first-time homebuyers funding, free counseling for all staff, and unlimited free coffee courtesy of Café UTEC! Please see www.utecinc.org/jobs for more details.

This position has an application deadline of Monday, January 16th. Please submit your application by the end of the day on 1/16 to be considered.

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