Program Manager, International Professionals Program

Posted by Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians on February 4, 2020

The Welcoming Center is seeking a Program Manager to join our growing Workforce Development division. The Program Manager is a full-time position in the Welcoming Center’s International Professionals Program (IPP) and plays an integral role in IPP program delivery, development and relationship management with participants and external stakeholders. The Program Manager facilitates group training sessions and guides individual participants in planning for short- and long-term professional career goals.

Program Description

The International Professionals Program is an eight-month program developed to address the issue of “brain waste” among highly educated, foreign-trained immigrant professionals in Philadelphia who are un- or under-employed and seeking meaningful employment. In addition to traditional job-seeking skills, IPP provides skills to overcome the unique barriers immigrants face when seeking employment in a new culture; specifically building networks and developing cultural competence. The program consists of two phases of instruction. Phase 1 is an eight-week classroom-based and experiential training term that helps build job-seeking skills, and connect participants to mentors, professionals and networks that support their career goals. Training is conducted by WCNP staff, external field experts and volunteers. Phase 2 consists of six months of customized job-coaching and providing one-on-one guidance for job-seeking activities and evolving individual needs. IPP graduates may also have the opportunity to connect to real-world, paid experiences in their field through the Immigrant Fellowship Program, offered in partnership with the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Workforce Development.

Responsibilities:

• In all duties, demonstrates a commitment to organizational core values which uplift the skills, experience, and aspirations of program participants and recognize their role as agents of the change they seek.

• Provide regular classroom facilitation of IPP programming that is consistent with the goals of the curriculum, and responsive to the needs of English Language Learners (ELLs).

• Learn participant’s education level, work history, interests and goals and suggest potential career paths, networking, volunteer and other opportunities. Identify career goals with our program participants and working with them on a plan for how to achieve those goals is essential to this position.

• Provide advice and counsel on resources for job search and future professional success using best practices for individual coaching. Recognize transferable skills from one profession to another unrelated profession. This includes tackling large issues such as career exploration and decision making as well as tactical skills such as resume and cover letter writing, interviewing, networking, and application preparation. Deliver constructive critiques and guidance to strengthen various aspects of participants’ job search.

• Advise participants about possible experiential learning opportunities (when appropriate) and resources, such as volunteer work and internships. This includes administration of the Immigrant Fellowship Program, a collaboration with the City of Philadelphia and private industry to provide meaningful, paid work experience to IPP grads.

• Collaborate with the Director of Workforce Development and IPP Program Managers to establish and maintain employer relationships and to oversee the effective delivery of services to participants and employers. Conduct employer site visits and participate in employer visits on-site with IPP Program Managers and other Welcoming Center staff

• Maintain consistent contact with employer partners on their emerging business/HR needs and upcoming job postings and communicate updates to other IPP Program Managers, the Contextualized ESL team, and other directors as appropriate.

• Ability to understand employer HR practices and industry trends and assist staff in implementing this knowledge in coaching sessions and in communicating this information to participants.

• Collaborate with IPP Program Managers, the Director of Employer Engagement, other directors, and the leadership team to connect employers to other engagement opportunities in the organization, including volunteerism, and corporate sponsorship.

• Maintain familiarity with the resources to assist IPP participants with their job searches in a variety of technical, business and financial fields, among others.

• As a part of outreach, intake and program administration, collect various forms of data from participants, volunteers and employers with high attention to detail, privacy and data integrity. Keep current records in Salesforce and other platforms, for all participants and programming details. Provide data to external funders, and internal Directors as requested.

• Administer program evaluation tools such as surveys, focus groups, and other tools as a part of the ongoing internal monitoring and evaluation systems for the program. Assist leadership in the production of program reports for both internal and external purposes.

• Practice excellent communication and time management skills that can serve as a model to program participants. Manage communication with individual participants, cohort groups, and team members as a part of program delivery. Guide participants through communication challenges with great sensitivity as they adapt to US workforce culture.

• Manage program volunteers, coordinating all aspects of outreach, communication, scheduling, and activities.

• Coordinating with the Division of Community Engagement, assist in alumni community building efforts through outreach, communication, planning activities, and long-term support.

Learn more and apply: https://welcomingcenter.org/about/careers/#1579810248462-858ced0b-d2da