Temporary Summer Youth Coordinator (Part-Time, 20 hours/week) at Centers For New Horizons Inc – Chicago, Illinois

Founded in 1971, Centers for New Horizons is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children, youth, and families become self-reliant and thrive. Serving Chicago’s South Side communities, Centers reaches more than 1,000 individuals daily through early childhood education, youth development, and family support programs. Our work is rooted in community, equity, and creating pathways to opportunity.

The Summer Youth Coordinator will perform a variety of administrative functions related to the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). The Youth Coordinator will work in conjunction with CHA for youth initiatives. Individual accountabilities and work volume will be established through the development of annual Success Objectives, within the framework outlined below.

The Summer Youth Coordinator is responsible for supporting the successful enrollment and engagement of youth participants in the Chicago Housing Authority Summer Youth Employment Program. This role focuses on outreach, applicant intake, eligibility verification, and ongoing follow-up to ensure youth are successfully onboarded and prepared for program participation.

This is a fast-paced, people-facing role requiring strong organization, communication, and follow-through. This role will be working 20 hours/week and last anywhere between 6-8 weeks and we are hoping to start this role in April.

Essential Function
*Serves as primary contact for the Summer Youth Employment Program
*Serves as an advocate for Centers for New Horizons
*Responsible for the input of daily information into the Cityspan database
*Special projects as assigned by the SYEP Program Director

Recruitment & Outreach
*Conduct targeted outreach to recruit eligible youth participants across CHA communities
*Build relationships with community partners, schools, and local organizations to support recruitment efforts
*Distribute program information through in-person events, digital platforms, and community networks
*Track outreach efforts and maintain recruitment logs

Participant Intake & Enrollment
*Support the full intake process, including application assistance and document collection
*Verify participant eligibility in accordance with CHA and SYEP requirements
*Ensure all required documentation is complete, accurate, and submitted on time
*Maintain organized digital and/or physical participant files

Follow-Up & Engagement
*Conduct consistent follow-up with applicants to ensure completion of enrollment steps
*Communicate program expectations, deadlines, and next steps clearly to participants and families
*Provide basic troubleshooting support for application or onboarding issues
*Track participant status from application through placement

Data Entry & Reporting
*Accurately enter participant data into required systems (e.g., Cityspan or other platforms)
*Maintain up-to-date records on enrollment, outreach, and follow-up activities
*Assist with generating basic reports on recruitment and intake progress

Collaboration
*Work closely with program staff to ensure alignment between recruitment, intake, and program capacity
*Participate in team meetings and provide updates on recruitment and enrollment status

Qualifications:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. *Must have a vehicle
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Education and Experience:
*High school diploma or equivalent with some college classes

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
*Ability to resolve and/reframe conflict
*Experience with providing supervision of youth/young adults
*Project management skills
*Strong written and oral communication skills, as well as ability to present information effectively in one-on-one and small group situations
*Must have working knowledge of Microsoft Office or at minimum, Microsoft Word
*Must have reasonable proficiency in keyboarding

Worker Traits:
*Excellent oral and written communication skills
*Ability to get along with diverse personalities, tactful, mature, and flexible
*Excellent organizational skills, demonstrates ability to plan and manage projects, to juggle multiple responsibilities simultaneously to meet deadlines
*Flexible and creative