JOB TITLE: Care Champion

ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND:

The Hidden Genius Project is a non-profit headquartered in Oakland, California that trains and mentors Black male youth in technology creation, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills to transform their lives and communities. The Hidden Genius Project seeks to reveal the true potential of Black male youth and transform their communities from the inside out. Through our student-centered, project-based approach, we invest in young Black men, give them access to technology training, and plug them into an ecosystem of innovation and empowerment. The Hidden Genius Project was founded in 2012 and established a full-time infrastructure in 2015. The organization now operates Intensive Immersion Programs in Oakland, Richmond, California, Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, and Baltimore; in 2025, we will continue on our national growth trajectory, all as we look to regain our programming rhythm in the wake of ongoing public health challenges. As the program continues to grow, The Hidden Genius Project seeks to impact thousands of more Black males and young people in the coming years.

POSITION PURPOSE AND SUMMARY:

The Care Champion within The Hidden Genius Project implements the holistic care management model according to the Support Services strategy.  The Care Champion ensures that student participants in the Hidden Genius Project’s Intensive Immersion program receive comprehensive services, driven by their expressed needs, in support of successful program retention, completion, and transition.  Hence, they are primarily responsible for conducting the student and family intake process (which includes demographic data collection and assessment of needs) and working with students and families to develop and manage Individualized Care Plans; and coordinating of care including problem-solving,  helping students navigate services, service referral, and occasionally coordinating workshops on various student success themes (i.e. Post-Secondary Planning; Life Skills, Planning and Organization etc...).  Additionally, they coordinate with and work collaboratively with the Programs and Operations staff.  The Hidden Genius Project seeks to provide a holistic care model that is strengths-based and culturally responsive to the needs and goals expressed by our youth and family participants, the Care Champion serves as a critical contributor toward this end.  Accordingly, it is vital that they continually exercise ingenuity, enthusiasm, ethics, and a deep commitment to continual learning within an exciting startup environment.  Finally, the care Champion works as part of a dynamic, communicative, and supportive team of staff, volunteers, and Board members committed to their success.  This is the consummate role of the social change agent with a creative and entrepreneurial spirit.

MAJOR AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:

  • Provide Care Management Services- Implement student Care Coordination Model in response to student and family needs. Develop and maintain a positive rapport with youth and family participants, identify resources and services in response to student needs, and facilitate healthy linkages to resources through service referral to external partners. Provide one-on-one student support through care management services. Assist with basic need resources in support of successful youth participation in the Immersion Program (i.e. snacks and meal services, transportation coordination, facility coordination, etc.). 

  • Mentorship and Positive Student Experience – Develop rich one-to-one connections with Immersion participants.  Through mentorship relationships, identify holistic participant needs as they arise, and strategize with The Hidden Genius Project staff to develop a plan to address them.   Solicit participant and parent/guardian feedback to guide responsive programmatic improvements to maximize participant enjoyment and success.  

  • Training, Technical Assistance, and Facilitation – Train The Hidden Genius Project staff and volunteers on relevant human service topics, best practices, and methods.  Engage relevant external stakeholders to leverage resources and develop partnerships towards meeting youth and family participant needs.  Collaborate in designing strategies to scale impact and/or support systems-level implementation.  Facilitate training and/or convenings for adults interested in providing technology education and direct services to youth.  As necessary, train volunteers to support Immersion Program, Catalyst, and Community Partner Program activities, and manage them within those settings.

  • Other duties as assigned by the Site Director, Support Services Director, and/or Programs Director – Work on other short-term and long-term projects as the need arises.

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

  • Bachelor’s Degree 

  • 3 or more years of experience with direct service case management

  • 3 or more years of experience providing youth services 

  • Commitment to achieving The Hidden Genius Project’s mission and vision

  • Excellent writing, communication, presentation, and group facilitation skills

  • Ability to work 40  hours per week, and during the evenings and weekends, as needed

Required

  • Excellent leadership abilities 

  • High comfort level with technology 

  • Experience working and communicating effectively with urban, underserved, and/or low-income youth 

  • Intense commitment to the life success of Black males and boys and men of color

  • Experience mentoring and working closely with Black male youth

  • “Can do” attitude and ability to work as part of a team 

  • Willingness to develop differentiated learning experiences

  • Ability to prioritize, organize, and delegate effectively required.

  • Ability to receive feedback and engage in continuous self-improvement 

  • Ability to adapt to a dynamic, rapidly-changing work environment 

  • Ability to build positive relationships with all important constituencies 

  • Firm belief in personal accountability, producing measurable outcomes, and sustaining high expectations

Role Overview:

  • Role location: Oakland, California

  • Reports to: Support Service Manager/Support Services Director

  • Status: Exempt

  • Schedule: Full Time (minimum 40 hours per week) working evenings and weekends, as needed

  • May Occasionally Manage: Student Interns, and Volunteers 

BENEFITS OF THE ROLE:

  • Dynamic, fun work environment.

  • Excellent opportunity to make a significant impact in the lives of numerous young people

  • Entrepreneurial organization; implement your own ideas and immediately see the effects.

  • Opportunity to meet and interact with multifarious individuals in the technology industry.

  • Opportunity to play a fundamental role in building a national organization.

  • Opportunity to innovate in building effective models for holistic technology instruction

COMPENSATION: 

  • Salary and benefits will be competitive and commensurate with experience

 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of this job:

  • The employee may occasionally climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; the employee may frequently stand, walk, or sit; the employee may regularly grasp objects, talk, and/ or hear.

  • The employee will occasionally lift up to 50 pounds; the employee will regularly lift up to 10 pounds

  • This job requires vision abilities that ensure the safety of operating and programming spaces for all stakeholders

  • Travel and supervise the transportation of students as needed

  • National (and possibly international) travel

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