YouthForce Internship (YouthForce NOLA Internships) Coaches will deliver soft skills and work readiness curriculum, provide case management, and complete data tracking for a cohort of young people (mostly rising high school seniors) during the YouthForce Internship program.

The Opportunity

Young people in New Orleans are eager to make informed decisions about their futures. We can expand options, opportunities, 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, nearly 1,500 public school students have completed a YouthForce NOLA internship with 250+ local companies. In addition, we have increased the number of graduates holding a certificate that qualifies them for a great job in fields such as carpentry, engineering, graphic design, IT, pre-nursing, and software development by tenfold. As a result of our collective efforts, our public school graduates will thrive in meaningful, well-paying careers, including right here in New Orleans. 

YouthForce was founded in response to a collective call to action. 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 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. Coaches will mostly work in person, but some meetings will be virtual, and some work will be done remotely. See the Schedule Details section for more details.

Position Type: Seasonal, Part-time, non-exempt

Supervisor: Intern Supports Manager (Shania Nowlin, MSW, LMSW), Internships Operations Manager (Rowan Stewart), or Curriculum & Training Manager (Adrian Brenneman)

Timeline and Application: The application deadline for this role is Friday, January 30th, at 11:59 pm. 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 all prospective candidates. 

To Apply: Please submit your application using this form.

Specialized Coach Roles: We are hiring general coaches and several specialized coaches. This posting is for one of the specialized coach roles. If you are interested in one or more specialized roles, please let us know in your application. All coach roles will follow the same hiring process. The job descriptions for all general and specialized coach roles are linked below:

• Internship Coach
• Internship Coach, Intern Inclusion Specialist
• Internship Coach, Paraprofessional
• Internship Coach, English Language Learner Specialist   

Position Details 

To date, nearly 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, including right here in New Orleans. The role of the YouthForce Internship Coach is to prepare interns for their internships and support interns’ development throughout the summer. Coaches facilitate soft skills and work readiness training, provide case management for a cohort of summer interns, manage and submit data related to their interns’ performance (attendance, notes from check-in calls, etc.), and work closely with YouthForce NOLA staff to ensure their interns learn and grow throughout the summer. This coach will not have their own cohort during training. Rather, they will support various coaches in meeting the diverse learning needs of interns throughout the program. After interns receive their internship placements, this coach will be assigned a caseload of interns to coach throughout the internship/case management portion of the program.

Specifically, this role is responsible for:

• Relationship-building: Building strong relationships with interns, establishing and reinforcing YouthForce NOLA Internships norms and culture, and acting as a role model and mentor
• Curriculum delivery: Facilitating engaging and meaningful soft skills and work-readiness training sessions with a cohort of 15-30 student interns (lesson plans are already designed, largely built off the skill building blocks and core hirability skills from the MHA Labs framework), providing individualized feedback on interns’ work
• Case Management: Monitoring interns’ progress, guiding them through the program with targeted check-ins and reflection sessions, acting as a mentor to help them navigate the work world, and troubleshooting major intern issues or challenges in collaboration with the YouthForce NOLA Internships team
• Deliverable review + feedback: Reviewing interns’ program deliverables for accuracy and completion, and giving timely, actionable, and high-quality feedback 
• Data Entry + Management: Completing regular data entry and tracking promptly to ensure all interns are properly paid, that interns are matched with well-suited internship placements, and that we meet all requirements of the program’s funders (e.g., confirm requirements for youth payroll, complete assessments to aid in intern matching, submit information and updates from weekly intern check-ins, and monitor intern attendance/timekeeping data)
• On-Boarding: Attending all onboarding sessions in preparation for summer programming
• Attending regular team meetings with YouthForce Internship staff throughout the program

Skills and Mindsets to Succeed

YouthForce Internship Coaches must be committed to the mission of YouthForce NOLA and believe that all young people should be able to achieve economic stability and thrive in fulfilling, well-paying careers. They must also demonstrate a belief in the importance of soft skills for one’s personal and professional success.

Additionally, successful candidates should demonstrate:

• Written and verbal communication skills, the ability to collaborate with a variety of people
• Eagerness for continuous growth and a track record of acting on feedback to improve
• Google Suite experience (Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides) and comfortable learning new platforms
• Strong mastery of soft skills and willingness to be a responsible role model for youth
• A deep belief in YouthForce’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, demonstrated by:
• • The willingness to examine personal identity and biases and engage in conversations around race, class, and privilege
  • Awareness of personal identities, as well as knowledge of anti-bias and anti-racism frameworks, and how they affect educational and job opportunities
  • An understanding of how to empower and honor young people’s strengths through internship training and support
• 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

Requirements

• Expertise and experience supporting youth with learning disabilities and other exceptionalities, including best practices for serving students who receive IEP and 504 accommodations
• Ability to manage time effectively and develop a schedule for push-in services
• Proven track record of building meaningful, respectful relationships with young adults
• Experience working with youth ages 15-20 (e.g., school/program staff, tutoring, sports, etc.)
• Experience facilitating young adult learning (traditional classroom experience not required)
• Ability to work a non-traditional schedule as needed (e.g., meeting with interns before or after traditional 9a-5p work hours)

Preferred Prior Experience

• Paraprofessional and/or special education teaching experience
• Experience in maintaining a special education caseload with students with diverse exceptionalities
• Alumni of New Orleans high schools are highly encouraged to apply
• Prior participation in a YouthForce NOLA program or event

Don’t meet every single requirement?

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this role.

Schedule Details

On-boarding (Apr 2nd - May 26)~40 hours total

• Mandatory sessions from April 2 - May 27 (Mon. and Wed. on Zoom and Thurs. in-person, 5-7 pm), plus an 8-hour day on May 27 at the YouthForce NOLA Internships training site
• Complete asynchronous tasks, including pre-work for onboarding sessions, curriculum prep, data and communication systems setup, etc. 
• A mix of remote and in-person at YouthForce NOLA’s office (1100 Poydras St.)

Training (May 27 - June 18) 30-35 hours/week

Coaches must be available M-F, 8a-3:30p to:

• Facilitate daily training sessions
• Prepare, monitor, and give feedback on interns’ work 
• Ensure all interns complete required training hours and submit all required deliverables
• One-on-one intern case management
• In-person at the YouthForce NOLA Internships training site (specific location TBD)

Internships (June 22 - July 24) 20-30 hours/week

Coaches provide case management support for their interns, including:

• Scheduling and completing check-ins with interns via in-person meetings, video calls, and phone calls
• Data management and submission (case management notes, digital intern timesheets, and other key data)
• Frequent communication and check-ins with staff
• A mix of in-person check-ins and remote work

Close-out (July 27 - July 31) 10-15 hours total

• Complete final check-ins with interns & submit their final data 
• Debrief & feedback meetings
• Remote work

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 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.

Compensation and Benefits

Compensation for this position is $28-$30 per hour and will be determined based on prior work experience, prior experience with YouthForce NOLA, and prior experience working with English language learners and young people with exceptionalities. Hours will vary weekly during programming, not to exceed 40 hours in a given week, for a total of 275-325 hours throughout the summer. 

Additionally, YouthForce NOLA Internships coaches will receive a cell phone stipend of $25.50 per pay period and 4 hours of holiday pay for each of these 3 holidays: Memorial Day (5/25/26), Juneteenth (6/19/26), and July 4th (7/4/26).