Middle School Program Director
Position Overview:
The Middle School Program Director leads the growth and innovation of King Street Center’s out-of-school programs for grades 6-8 to boost engagement and participation. This role oversees key job skills programs, including Job Club and Lemonade Stand, and plays a vital role in making the program a model for youth engagement, career exploration and post-secondary success. This visionary leader is committed to expanding the program through new partnerships, innovative ideas, and strategies to re-engage and attract youth.
King Street Center is a vibrant nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering youth to explore their talents and find their voice through learning, play and opportunity. We offer a variety of programs ranging from mentoring, out-of-school programming and early childhood education. Located in the heart of Burlington, Vermont, King Street Center serves predominantly BIPOC children from Burlington's immigrant communities.
We strive to be one of the most racially diverse places to work in Vermont, as a community where both our youth and colleagues have shared identities or experiences. As a BIPOC led organization, serving BIPOC children and families, King Street is committed to centering equity, inclusion, and belonging in all facets of our work. If you are passionate about making a positive impact in the lives of children in the Burlington community and you have personal, life or work experience with the communities we serve, we would love to hear from you!
Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
Program Development
Lead the vision and execution of a dynamic Middle School program, working in partnership with the Senior Director of Programs to grow and enhance offerings.
Continuously assess and improve program effectiveness using data, youth feedback, and best practices to drive decision-making and improvements; identify what is not working and implement changes.
Create flexible and responsive programming, recognizing the unique and varied needs of middle school youth.
Actively seek to increase the number of youth engaged in King Street Center by reaching youth not currently involved in any programs and finding innovative ways to bring them in.
Expand and diversify programming, identifying and implementing new initiatives, events, and experiential learning opportunities that make King Street Center a go-to destination for middle schoolers.
Job Club & Lemonade Stand:
Oversee and improve the Middle School Job Club & Lemonade Stand, ensuring it effectively prepares youth for workforce readiness and financial literacy.
Maintain relationships with Echo Leahy Center and other lemonade partners to coordinate operations.
Supports the middle school coordinator to organize and facilitate daily operations of the lemonade stand, including scheduling shifts, tracking inventory, and ensuring accurate financial records for daily revenue
Manages the finances of the lemonade stand by serving as a check on the middle school coordinator’s daily revenue count and depositing into bank
Collaborate with the development team on sponsorship and in-kind partnerships with businesses that are engaging in Job Club.
Actively identify ways to expand Job Club to be year-round, design and implement.
Collaborate with the Senior Director of Programs and Middle School Coordinator to ensure program promotes financial literacy.
Develop and strengthen relationships with schools, community organizations, businesses, and citywide partners to expand youth opportunities. Build an annual work plan, set goals, plan for programming, and evaluate program staff supervision.
Manages and coaches staff, ensuring that they are modeling safe behavior, effectively communicating risk management issues or concerns and participating in appropriate meetings.
Works with the HR Manager on recruitment, subs, hiring, onboarding, training, and evaluation of staff. (HR oversees onboarding for agency-wide requirements and programs oversee onboarding for program specific requirements.)
Leads regular staff meetings and individual check-ins with staff, including offering feedback on performance and requesting feedback on director performance.
Ensures staff are fully trained and adhere to policies and procedures contained in the staff handbook, parent handbook and emergency procedures.
Sets staff schedules and expectations.
Manage classroom staff schedule, time off requests, and substitute assignments.
Build agendas and plans for staff days that offer professional development opportunities.
Oversee Junior Camp Counselors during summer to successfully participate in the elementary summer program.
Strategic Leadership
Provide strong leadership to the Middle School Coordinator and part-time staff, ensuring their programs align with King Street Center’s long-term goals and continuously evolve to meet youth needs.
Empower and inspire staff, creating a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Ensure professional development for staff, providing ongoing coaching, training, and guidance to enhance their effectiveness.
Foster a results-driven team environment, encouraging staff to think creatively and proactively in order to grow and improve programming.
Staff Supervision
Manages and coaches staff, ensuring that they are modeling safe behavior, effectively communicating risk management issues or concerns and participating in appropriate meetings.
Works with the HR Manager on recruitment, subs, hiring, onboarding, training, and evaluation of staff. (HR oversees onboarding for agency-wide requirements and programs oversee onboarding for program specific requirements.)
Leads regular staff meetings and individual check-ins with staff, including offering feedback on performance and requesting feedback on director performance.
Ensures staff are fully trained and adhere to policies and procedures contained in the staff handbook, parent handbook and emergency procedures.
Sets staff schedules and expectations.
Manage classroom staff schedule, time off requests, and substitute assignments.
Build agendas and plans for staff days that offer professional development opportunities.
In collaboration with the HR Manager, determines the need for interns and work study students and supervises them.
In collaboration with the Mentor & Volunteer Director, determines the need for volunteers and supervises them.
Administration & Operations:
Maintains reciprocal, ongoing pathways of communication with families. Build, enhance, and maintain family relationships. Schedule and participate in parent meetings.
Works with the Family Support Director to ensure all eligible children receive child care subsidy and communicate with families about subsidy.
Develop, implement, and monitor the annual program budget; ensuring resources are strategically allocated to maximize program impact and growth.
Works with the Meals Program Coordinator to ensure nutritious meals are provided during the program.
Participates in agency team meetings and staff days.
Works with Senior Director of Programs to implement annual evaluation of program
Ensure physical space is clean, welcoming, safe from hazards, and an inspiring environment for youth and staff.
Supervises the student enrollment process, including registration and roster creation using standard systems, procedures and deadlines as established by King Street Center; ensures a streamlined registration process and ongoing engagement with families.
Ensure proper data collection and evaluation, tracking participation trends, youth engagement, and program outcomes to inform future programming; maintains Traxsolutions Database and daily attendance.
Ensures accurate record keeping of student records, including health and safety matters.
Maintain compliance with health, safety, and mandatory reporting requirements.
Provide ongoing support in programming to ensure adequate coverage. When necessary, provides coverage for breaks and staff absences.
Manage the Middle School Program budget, ensuring responsible allocation of funds.
Supports behavior management in classrooms.
Community Engagement & Partnership Building:
Act as a representative of King Street Center’s middle school program, building relationships with schools, families, businesses, and other youth-serving organizations to expand youth opportunities.
Serve as a visible and engaged leader within the community, attending events, collaborating with partners, and advocating for the needs of Burlington’s teens.
Collaborate internally with other King Street Center programs (Early Childhood, K-5, High School, Mentoring, Family Support) to create seamless pathways of support and opportunity for youth as they grow.
Student Engagement & Support
Develop and implement strategies to ensure youth’s consistent attendance and participation in King Street Center programs.
Serve as a mentor and trusted adult, building positive relationships with youth and guiding them through their middle school journey.
Provide one-on-one and small-group support to help students set and achieve academic and career goals.
Develop strategies for youth leadership and decision-making, ensuring student voices are central in program planning and evaluation.
Be a consistent liaison at Edmunds Middle School (EMS), collaborating with leadership staff, teachers, and afterschool coordinators to support students academically and socially.
Hold weekly office hours at EMS for students to check-in, receive academic guidance, and discuss career or personal goals.
Proactively check-in with youth and teachers regarding student progress, offering additional support during KSC program hours.
Relationships & Roles:
Reports to Senior Director of Programs.
Supervises Middle School Coordinator, program staff, interns, and volunteers.
Works closely with other Program Directors to plan and implement programs and to share building space.
Collaborates with the Development Team and Operations Team
Interacts with Youth, families, local schools, business leaders, city officials, funders, and the broader community.
Qualifications:
Knowledge:
Best practices in teen program expansion, recruitment, and retention.
Adolescent development and trauma-informed approaches.
Career pathways, workforce development, and post-secondary education opportunities.
Skills:
Exceptional leadership and communication skills—this person must inspire, motivate, and engage youth, staff, and external partners.
Strategic program development and expansion, with a proactive and growth-oriented mindset.
Relationship-building and networking, with a proven ability to forge strong community partnerships.
Program evaluation and data-driven decision-making, ensuring continuous improvement.
Budget management and resource allocation to support sustainable growth.
Abilities:
Visionary leadership—this role requires someone who sees what’s possible and makes it happen.
Ability to develop and execute a long-term plan for growing and enhancing the teen program.
Adaptability and problem-solving, making quick and informed decisions in a fast-paced environment.
A relentless drive to engage more youth, expand opportunities, and ensure King Street Center’s teen program is the best it can be.
Experience:
At least 3 years in youth program leadership, with a track record of expanding and enhancing teen programs.
Experience supervising staff, managing partnerships, and leading new initiatives.
Demonstrated success in increasing youth participation and engagement in a program or organization.
Experience working with low-income communities and immigrant, refugee and BIPOC youth and families is required.
Must pass a criminal background check through the VT Child Care Development Division.
Must have a valid driver's license and pass a motor vehicle report.
Experience working with low-income communities and immigrant, refugee and BIPOC youth and families is required.
Proficiency in additional languages (particularly Nepali, Maay Maay, Somali, Burmese, or Swahili) is a plus.
Education:
Bachelor’s degree in social work, human services, education, youth development, or a related field.
Required Competencies:
Instills trust - gaining the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity
Manages ambiguity - Operating effectively, even when things are not certain or the way forward is not clear
Values differences - Recognizing the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization
Courage - Stepping up to address difficult issues, saying what needs to be said
Being resilient - Rebounding from setbacks and adversity when facing difficult situations
Self-development - Actively seeking new ways to grow and be challenged using both formal and informal development channels.
Curiosity - Consistently seeks opportunities to learn, ask questions, and explore new ideas to improve outcomes and drive continuous growth.
Physical Requirements & Conditions of Work:
Work is conducted inside and outside during all seasons. Must be able to be physically active, participate in gross motor games, and walk distances to neighborhood sites. Occasional lifting of furniture, materials and children, weighing up to 50 pounds. Occasional interaction with children and families exhibiting some instability in their behavior. Some potential for risks to physical safety and security of the facility. Potential for injury from physical interplay with children, and for illness passed along from children. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work to be performed by the individual assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and skills required. Management reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties as necessary.
Employment Details:
Pay: $55,000 - $65,000
Hours: Full-time, exempt, 40 hours / week, year round
Location: This is an on-site position, with regular trips off site
Benefits:
Health Insurance
Vision Insurance
Dental Insurance
Healthy Living Allowance
Paid Time Off
Employee Assistance Program
Retirement Benefit
Parental Leave
Disability Insurance
Life Insurance
How to Apply:
Candidates should send the following to hr@kingstreetcenter.org:
1. Resume
2. Cover letter that includes:
Description of your experience working with BIPOC youth from low income, refugee and/or immigrant communities
Why you would like to work at King Street Center
Please be prepared to submit three professional references at a later time