Position Overview

The Solutions Lab Training Manager is a new role on our team who will add capacity to the work-based training and coaching YouthForce NOLA is contracted to do for district, school, and/or nonprofit partner organizations. This role will support Paige Boetefuer, Director of The Solutions Lab, with our growing portfolio of services and contracts, and they will partner with other teams as needed. 

The Opportunity

Young people in New Orleans are eager to make informed decisions about their futures. We can expand options, opportunity, and prosperity for our youth and our city by strengthening and reimagining college and career pathways. YouthForce NOLA equips New Orleans Public Schools students with the skills and know-how they need—including through industry-backed credentials, on-the-job experience, and college credits—to take charge of their futures and successfully navigate their next steps in life. Our team fuels a coordinated network of education, community, and business partners who, together, provide young New Orleanians with ready access to the learning experiences and practical resources they need to explore and confidently pursue a wide range of opportunities after high school. To date more than 1,500 public school students have completed a YouthForce NOLA internship with 250+ local companies. In addition, we have increased by tenfold the number of graduates holding a certificate that qualifies them for a great job in fields like carpentry, engineering, graphic design, IT, pre-nursing, and software development. As a result of our collective efforts, our public school graduates will thrive in meaningful, well-paying careers, right here in New Orleans. 

YouthForce NOLA was founded in response to a collective call to action. We believe that soliciting, listening to, and following the lead of individuals from backgrounds and identities that reflect the young people we serve, who are predominantly youth of color experiencing poverty, is essential to our success. We are actively seeking to diversify our team with this top of mind. We are also deeply committed to ensuring YouthForce NOLA is an inclusive and equitable place for all team members, and we aim to build an environment that supports an authentic sense of belonging.

Location:  New Orleans, LA. YouthForce NOLA operates in a hybrid model - team members work in-person for at least three days a week and have the flexibility to work from home other days. 

Position Type: Full-Time, Exempt

Supervisor: Paige Boetefuer, Director of The Solutions Lab  

Timeline and Application: The deadline to apply for this role is 5pm CT on Thursday, January 23, 2025.

We believe that hiring great people in the right roles for them is one of the most important things we can do to set up new staff for success. We have designed a hiring process with research-based practices that work to combat bias and inequity, including a consistent hiring process for every candidate. Our process allows us to get to know you, and it allows you to get a good sense of us and the role. Aligned with our values of Transparency and Respect, we are sharing this Hiring Process Overview with candidates. 

To Apply: Please submit your application using this form. As part of the application, you will be asked to upload a copy of your resume. After you submit your application, you will be provided with a link for an optional 5-minute follow-up survey. If you have any questions, please reach out to hiring@youthforcenola.org.  

Position Details

This is a new role designed to add capacity to our Solutions Lab team, and other YouthForce teams when needs and skills align. The Solutions Lab Training Manager will become an additional subject matter expert on work-based learning, with a focus on high school internships, and will support the project management, logistics, design, and facilitation of training and coaching sessions. They will partner with, learn from, and support our internship and industry partner team members as needed. 

This is a new position that will require someone to learn YouthForce NOLA’s work, collaborate closely with different departments, and be eager to plug in to projects when needed. It is not required that someone come in with expertise in work-based learning experiences. While that would be helpful, as long as someone has aligned skills and experience in training and project management, we can build the content expertise.

That said, the work will largely look like the following: 

The Solutions Lab

• Support the Director of The Solutions Lab on inbound requests, engagements, and contract execution
• Serve as primary facilitator and training project manager for our Internship Teacher- Coordinator Training: 
• • Manage pre- and post-training tasks, including: registration, materials prep, event logistics, post-training office hours, deliverable review and feedback, final evaluations, completion certificates, and communications with participants and LDOE as needed/appropriate
  • Facilitate multi-day workshops, which sometimes occur in-person, locally and across LA, and occasionally on zoom
  • Manage and respond to follow up questions from participants after the training, flagging up deeper support needs and keeping track of FAQs to inform updates to the initial training 
• Serve as another subject matter expert on work-based learning, especially high school internships, providing extra capacity for internship-related inbound requests and engagements 
• Contribute to the development and refinement of external-facing resources
• Utilize established systems for project management, data entry and management, invoices, etc; provide feedback and support continuous improvement of systems for this work  
• Participate in regular check-ins and strategy meetings
• Manage event planning and administrative duties, including site visits, invoices, etc. 
• Observe, contribute to planning and/or support other YouthForce NOLA programming based on team needs and capacity  
• Collaborate with Director of The Solutions Lab to plan and continuously improve workshops, leveraging input from additional team members and participants
• Facilitate trainings (in person in multiple locations in Louisiana, plus occasionally via Zoom)
  
  

Support the Industry Exposure & Experiences Team 

• Observe and collaborate with other YouthForce members on work related to work-based learning to gain hands on experience and building relationships
• Support the YouthForce NOLA Internship program during key moments throughout program planning and execution to provide additional capacity and develop a deeper understanding of the work required to run a district-wide internship program. This may include, for example:
• • Co-facilitating recruitment sessions at local high schools
  • Scoring student applications 
  • First day of internship program added support 
• Help plan and facilitate initial training and provide additional support to partner with school staff leading school-run internships, in collaboration with Internship Team staff members  
• Contribute to development and refinement of external-facing resources 
  
  

Other YouthForce NOLA Responsibilities: As part of our culture of collaboration and valuing every team member's perspective, every YouthForce NOLA team member is expected to actively participate in structures for individual and organization-wide feedback and continuous improvement, including but not limited to: staff meetings, surveys, professional development sessions, retreats, twice annual formal performance management conversations, and ad hoc organizational improvement.

This is an exciting role for anyone who:

• Enjoys training and coaching adults, recognizing the importance of developing adult capacity to increase student access to high-quality, impactful programming
• Believes that career-connected learning generally, and work-based learning specifically, are important components of a students’ learning experience and provides meaningful insights and experience that lead to better life outcomes for young people
• Is highly adaptable to change and enjoys a role where they will take on new projects as priorities, new information, and external interest and requests arise
• Is great at building and utilizing highly detailed systems and project plans to deliver thoughtful, well planned, and tightly organized work products
• Thrives in a collaborative team environment but also enjoys delivering highly impactful work on their own to achieve goals

Skills and Mindsets for Success

To be successful at YouthForce NOLA team, one must demonstrate commitment to:

• The vision and mission of YouthForce NOLA and an unwavering belief that all young people, and especially young people of color experiencing poverty, have the potential to achieve academic, professional, and personal success
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, demonstrated by:
• • the willingness to examine personal identity and biases 
  • comfort engaging in conversations around race, class, and privilege and operationalizing work in ways that actively combat racism, bias and white supremacy culture 
  • an understanding of how to empower and honor people’s strengths and differences
  • soliciting and incorporating the perspectives and lived experiences of others
• YouthForce NOLA’s five competencies:

1. Organization, Planning, and Execution
2. Listening and Communication
3. Relationship Building and Management
4. Critical Thinking
5. Adaptability and Self Reflection
   
   

A strong Solutions Lab Training Manager candidate must also demonstrate the following skills and mindsets:

• The ability to internalize, personalize, and deliver high-quality adult learning experiences
• Able to quickly learn and synthesize information; package and share information in a way that is easily understood to different audiences 
• A high level of adaptability and comfort working through the ambiguity of a new role that supports various workstreams
• Strong project management, organization, attention to detail, and prioritization skills
• Willingness to travel and/or work outside of the Mon-Fri, 9-5 structure when deadlines or events require it
• Experience and proficiency with Microsoft Office and Google Suite, especially Excel/Google Sheets, Word/Docs, PPT/Slides, and document organization in Google Drive

Experience 

• At least 2 years of aligned professional work experience 
• Experience designing and delivering adult learning experiences (i.e., professional development, coaching, meeting facilitation, etc.)
• Experience managing complex projects

Compensation and Benefits

Starting salaries will be determined based on skills, relevant previous experience, internal organizational equity, and equity with the market. Applicants will have the opportunity to discuss salary in the initial interview to ensure alignment in expectations and budget for the role. The salary range for this role is $56,000-$63,000, and we typically bring in candidates between the minimum and midpoint of this range. If you have questions, please reach out to hiring@youthforcenola.org.  

Full-time employee benefits include: 100% employer-paid medical, vision, and dental premiums for employees and 20% employer-paid for dependents; 100% employer-paid life insurance for employees; the option to pay into a pre-tax  flexible spending account; an automatic 3% employer 401k contribution and immediate 100% vesting; 10 days of paid vacation in the first year (with additional accruals over time); 7 days of paid sick leave per year per year; 19 paid holidays and 2 floating personal holidays in 2024; 10 weeks of paid parental leave for all new parents; a taxable $550 stipend for start-up Work From Home (WFH) expenses; and a $51/per pay period cell phone and WFH taxable stipend ($1,326 annually); and a $750 professional development budget.  

YouthForce NOLA is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and has a strong commitment to sustaining a diverse and inclusive team. As such, it is the continuing practice of YouthForce NOLA to consider all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status, physical or mental disability, or any other categories protected by applicable federal, state, or local law, provided they are otherwise able to perform the essential functions of the job.