The posting
ABOUT THE POSITION:
In the role of Site Coordinator, you provide onsite consultation by teaming up with schools and youth partners to offer demonstration-style consultation and professional development to staff that fosters social thinking and increases physical activity through play-based learning. You will work directly with the school’s administration, teachers, and recess staff to provide expertise on Playworks best practices and model and teach the strategies, games, and systems to develop and sustain a positive classroom and recess culture. In partnership with the school, Site Coordinators create opportunities where students and school staff are active, learn leadership skills and conflict resolution tools, and practice respectful behavior.
Program Implementation Duties
- Plan and implement a consultative play-based program at two to four public elementary schools.
- Coordinate with administrators, educators, and recess teams to schedule programmatic delivery, including the collection and maintenance of paperwork, meeting agendas, notes, and data, and the organization of daily, weekly, and monthly schedules.
- Maintain communication between Playworks staff, school staff, teachers, and volunteers.
- Plan and implement the learning units and recess staff trainings for program components.
- Deliver onsite coaching, consultation, and modeling to school personnel regarding the implementation of the following components.
- Recess - With school personnel, create and coach recess staff to develop a safe and welcoming recess experience by organizing playground games, playing games with large groups of students (100+), and modeling positive behavior.
- Youth leadership program – with school personnel, organize a “Junior Coach” student leadership program by facilitating training and coaching staff to supervise and manage the Junior Coaches’ roles in the classroom and at recess.
- Instructional classes - coordinate and lead play-based instructional classes with elementary grade level students and their teacher in cooperative, skill-building games and activities to increase awareness of rules, boundaries, skills used, and expectations at recess.
Coaching Duties:
- Model Playworks core values, program implementation, group management, and rapport-building strategies for school personnel.
- Provide school personnel with action plans and feedback regarding program implementation.
- Lead monthly training with school personnel on best practices for program implementation and program quality goals.
- Provide the Playworks Program Manager with observation notes and strategies for program quality consultation priorities for each school.
School Partnership Duties:
- Consistently represent Playworks’ brand in a professional manner.
- Design program schedule with input and support from school administration.
- Communicate with school administration regarding program implementation logistics and management support needs.
- Facilitate the school’s transition to other Playworks training, programs, and products in preparation for future school years.
- Showcase Playworks services in additional prospective schools to assist with an existing school recruitment strategy for growing TeamUp services within the region.
Administrative Duties:
- Provide timely client communication, proactive internal Playworks communication, and timely reporting.
- Collect and maintain paperwork, including organizing daily, weekly, and monthly schedules, timesheets, and mileage reports.
- Support school recruitment administration, which may include conducting school contact research, analyzing outreach data, and attending local conferences and resource fairs.
- Provide the Playworks Program Manager and the school leadership with weekly observational updates on each school's program quality and consultation priorities.
Regional Support Duties:
- Support delivering corporate engagements to adults, such as School Beautification, Play Days, Corporate Recess, etc.
- Support the regional team and the national program department with the delivery of programmatic learning, pre-service training, and management resources, and contribute to the development and continued quality improvement of Playworks curriculum.
- Participate in fundraising projects and events. (i.e., End of the Year Appeal and annual events)
If you're a good fit for this position, you already know most of what this job entails. However, to be sure we're providing a complete picture, here are some details:
- Success in this position requires strong communication and interpersonal skills, problem-solving and critical thinking, leadership and team building, organization, independence, and the ability to work with different groups of people. The strongest candidate will have proven experience in the following areas:
- Active and Outdoors-Oriented: You enjoy being active, working outdoors, and bringing energy to physically engaging environments.
- Energetic and Passionate: You bring enthusiasm to every interaction, are deeply committed to youth development, and will enjoy playing playground games with elementary school-aged children.
- Positive and Approachable: You bring friendly, welcoming energy to every interaction, and you are able to build strong relationships and foster trust among groups.
- Adaptable and Resilient: You thrive in fast-paced environments and excel at finding creative solutions to challenges.
- Training/Meeting Facilitation: You lead clear, engaging training sessions and meetings, creating a collaborative environment that keeps participants motivated and open to constructive feedback.
Required Skills & Experience
- Proven organizational skills in meeting or exceeding expectations in producing timely planning and deliverables such as program plans, reports, and observational notes.
- Extensive knowledge of youth development principles and practices.
- At least 2 years of experience working directly with small and large groups of children.
- Experience working collaboratively with adults and facilitating meetings and training for an adult audience.
- Strong written and oral communication and presentation skills with the ability to facilitate small and large group presentations.
- Experience in establishing and maintaining professional relationships with internal leadership and teams and external clients through excellent interpersonal skills and professionalism.
- Experience interacting with diverse communities and the ability to integrate into school communities.
- Knowledge of computer and internet-based programs, especially Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), Google Drive, and virtual meeting platforms such as Google Meets and Zoom.
- This position will require travel to various regional locations. School sites may be widely dispersed in the city/region; therefore, daily access to reliable transportation is required.
- Requires flexibility to readily adapt to a changing environment.
Compensation & Benefits:
Playworks offers the full package - great benefits, a fun place to work, and an opportunity to grow professionally.
- Competitive annual salary: starting at $43,000
- This is a full-time, non-exempt position (40 hours per week). The daily work schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Locations: Central Indiana–Greater Indianapolis Area
- A comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, disability, 401k, life insurance, employee-funded pre-tax health, and child care spending accounts.
- Generous flexible time off with sick and holiday leave
This is a hands-on, creative, playful, and fun-loving place to work, all while contributing to the success of our nation’s youth. So if you're ready to immerse yourself in the education sector, working on a rewarding set of challenges, and if you've got the skills, experience, passion, and a team spirit, apply!
Please include:
- A cover letter describing your interest in Playworks and how your experience has prepared you for this role.
- Resume.
- References will be requested.
ABOUT PLAYWORKS
At Playworks, we believe in the power of play to bring out the best in every kid. We create a place for every kid on the playground to get active, build valuable skills, connect, and have fun. We partner with schools, districts, and after-school programs to provide a service or mix of services, including on-site coaches, professional training for school staff who support recess, and consultative partnerships.
Service Environment: This position operates outdoors and in educational and office settings. The position interacts daily with children and adults on playgrounds and in classrooms.
Other things you need to know:
- If a Playworks employee is required to drive a vehicle for work-related purposes (not commuting purposes), the employee must complete an authorization form and provide us with evidence of a valid, current driver's license and proof of liability/collision/property damage insurance with minimum coverage of $50,000 each accident/ $100,000 each occurrence
Typical physical and mental demands:
This position requires sufficient physical ability and mobility to stand for extended periods at times; walk on a school site in various weather conditions; to climb stairs at some sites; to occasionally stoop, bend, kneel, crouch, reach, and twist, and, dependent on assignment, the employee may occasionally lift, push, pull, and/or move up to 50 pounds.
As an equal opportunity program, Playworks encourages applications from all individuals regardless of age, gender, gender identity/expression, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, faith, marital status, physical ability, or any other legally protected basis. Playworks evaluates all candidates for employment, volunteering opportunities, or board service on a merit basis.
