Program Manager - Culinary Training Program

Program Manager - Culinary Training Program

The Organization: 

Root is a nonprofit social enterprise with a mission to help young adults create a pathway to independence through foodservice training and employment. Founded in 2017 and serving youth aged 16-26 from cities and towns north of Boston, Root focuses on the food service industry as it is permeable and accessible for individuals with varying education levels and backgrounds. By developing essential life and work readiness skills, youth leave Root prepared for success in the workplace. Root has built a Culinary Training Program and an Alumni Employment Program that supports multiple social enterprises, including a Community Catering initiative to address local food insecurity. Root’s vision is to maximize youth opportunity through meaningful, skill-oriented employment, accompanying support services and coaching, and progress toward a living wage and independence. 

To date, Root has graduated 198 youth, generated over $1M in organizational earned income, and prepared over 100K meals for food insecure families and individuals.  Through its enterprises, Root has created more than 50 transitional employment opportunities for young adults and continues to expand.  

Root’s organizational core values include: 

• Youth-First is our “North Star.” As an organization and as a team, Root leads with the interests of youth in our programs and our enterprises.  In order to prioritize young people, we create opportunities for youth to influence and improve our programs and their experience. 
• Hands-on Skill Development Differentiates Our Graduates & Empowers Them. We believe hands-on skill development is the most effective approach to job training.  Providing youth with practical tools through our enterprises empowers them in the face of systemic marginalization. 
• Team Transcends Individual and Collaboration Leverages our Individual Efforts. By working together and with our partners, we believe we serve youth and Root’s mission most effectively. 
• Diversity and Inclusion Strengthen Us.  We acknowledge, respect, and embrace the differences within one another and the communities we serve. 
• Big Success is a Series of Small Wins. We meet youth where they are and celebrate their individual victories as steps on their path to success. 

To learn more about Root, please visit www.rootns.org.

The Opportunity

The  Program Manager - Culinary Training Program will serve a vital role on the Root program team, delivering workforce readiness lessons and other services to trainees and working closely with the entire Root program team to support trainees on their path to independence. Reporting to the Director of Programs and working in close contact with all program team members and cross-departmentally, this position will ensure that Root trainees engage fully in Root’s 14-week training program and leave Root with confidence in - and an understanding of - the value of their skills and experience, exposure to soft skills workshops and financial literacy, and a network of support from Root’s staff and partners. This position will need to be performed on-site at Root’s location in Salem, and occasional evening hours are required.

Areas of Responsibility

Workforce Readiness and Preparation Workshops

• In conjunction with the Director of Programs and other program team staff, plan for and implement key parts of Root’s core Culinary Training Program, building relationships with trainees and serving as a trusted point of contact 
• Lead and provide workforce readiness training and preparation, through direct instruction, communication skills workshops and practice, soft skills development, field trips, guest speakers, formative assessments, and advising
• Work closely with the program team on various events and planned, structured, relevant field trips and other experiential learning opportunities
• Take the lead on communicating with supportive adults in trainees’ lives, ensuring there is a structured way to keep them informed of program milestones, trainee attendance and participation, trainee successes and setbacks, trainee outcomes, program events, and identified next steps, including securing appropriate identification and documents for employment paperwork, such as photo IDs and/or Social Security cards

Externship Program and Employer Partnerships

• Work with Director to build a network of employer partners to serve as host sites during Root’s “externship” period that are philosophically aligned with Root’s mission to support young adults experiencing barriers to employment with a living wage, supportive employment, and ongoing training and development
• Coordinate Root’s externship program (weeks 11-12 of the 14-week program), structuring a process by which youth trainees can easily identify and select available shifts at partner businesses and Root staff can make site visits during the externship 
• Communicate regularly throughout the year with current, past, and potential externship partners, including cold calls and visits, on-site tours, and other engagement opportunities developed in conjunction with the Director of Programs and other Root departments
• Guide youth in carrying out their externship search and interview process, ensuring they understand their responsibilities and are equipped with the necessary tools to succeed in the real-world learning environment; and, after externships are completed, engage with both trainees and partners directly to solicit post-externship feedback from trainees and employers.

Direct Youth Advising

• Work with the program team to develop “assessments” of knowledge delivered during culinary and workforce readiness workshops and share the responsibility for administering, assessing and analyzing data gathered on program participants
• In collaboration with the Director of Programs and other program team staff, ensure each trainee is assigned an advisor from the program team and engages in advising sessions throughout the program
• Continue to build out and refine the advising session scripts and data collection points, incorporating discussion, feedback from and to trainees, goal-setting, skills assessment, job coaching, and relationship-building into each advising session
• Serve as an advisor for up to 8 youth during each 14-week program, ensuring all data is faithfully collected and tracked so that relevant reports built for program improvement can be pulled and analyzed readily. As needed, and in certain cases or special circumstances, continue advising relationships beyond the 14-week program.

Program Team Administration and Ongoing Program Improvement

• Attend and contribute positively to program team meetings to collaboratively ensure the quality of the Culinary Training Program, discuss individual students’ progress against shared metrics and goals, and to facilitate feedback for trainees during advising sessions
• In collaboration with the program team, reflect on and refine the 14-week Culinary Training Program, updating and improving the curriculum as needed by reflecting on program data, student self-assessments and formative assessments, and by soliciting and examining stakeholders’ (especially trainees and alumni, externship partners, and employer) feedback.
• Support the Director of Programs and the program team in recruitment and engagement activities, including, but not limited to, presentations, trainee interviews and selection processes, site visits, on-site tours and engagement activities, and other activities as needed.
• Manage the program database (Apricot) to enable the team to assess and use data to improve curriculum and program design, execution, retention, and outcomes.

Experience and Qualifications

• 3-5 years of experience in education, social services, or youth development
• Experience in education is strongly preferred but not required, but an interest in teaching and direct instruction is a must
• Strong commitment to youth leadership and empowerment; and ability to work sensitively, positively, and effectively with young people 
• Team player, flexible, with creative problem solving skills, empathy, and an understanding of trauma-informed approaches and care
• Excellent communications and presentation skills (both written and verbal)
• Cultural competency and an understanding of systematic marginalization and the challenges facing the youth population we serve
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office programs and Google Suite and a willingness to further develop those skills 
• Experience in the restaurant industry or food service is helpful, but not required
• Driver’s license preferred, but not required

The salary for this position is $60,000. This full-time position also includes benefits, including medical and dental insurance and PTO.

To apply, send a resume and brief cover letter to Merlinda Philippe, Director of Programs, at mphilippe@rootns.org 

It is the policy of Root to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, age, physical or mental disability, religion, national origins, marital status, sex, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, ancestry, political belief or activity, status as a veteran, military service, application for military service, or any other status protected by applicable law. This policy applies to all areas of employment, including recruitment, hiring, training and development, promotion, transfer, termination, layoff compensation benefits, social and recreational programs, and all other conditions and privileges of employment in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.