ASAP Chess Coordinator

Posted by After School Activities Partnerships (ASAP) on June 18, 2019

ASAP/After School Activities Partnerships was created in 2002 at the request of city leaders to bring public awareness to the dangers of the afternoon hours for unsupervised youth in Philadelphia. ASAP’s mission is to develop and support high-quality after school activities and resources to empower youth and strengthen communities in Philadelphia. ASAP works with schools, libraries, and community sites to serve more than 5,000 youth (K-12) annually through the following citywide initiatives: ASAP Chess, ASAP Debate, ASAP Drama, and ASAP Scrabble.

ASAP Chess helps more than 2,000 youth in Philadelphia (grades K-12) develop critical problem solving and strategic thinking skills by coordinating more than 170 out-of-school time chess clubs and organizing dozens of after school and weekend competitions each year. Students in ASAP Chess clubs learn that every move has potential value and consequences. Students are instructed to carefully evaluate their different options in pursuit of the best possible solution. By practicing these tactics in club meetings and learning from their mistakes at competitions, students spend hours outside the school day honing critical mathematical skills. Looking forward, ASAP Chess endeavors to build on this success and provide even more youth in Philadelphia with the same opportunities as their suburban and private school peers to develop key critical problem solving and strategic thinking skills.

The Chess Coordinator will works alongside the Director of Chess Programs to support the expansion of ASAP Chess and provide more opportunities for young leaders to be engaged and challenged in a competitive and supportive environment. This includes building new school partnerships, recruiting and training adult chess club leaders, and fostering a sense of community among student chess players.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Work in partnership with the School District of Philadelphia and the City of Philadelphia’s out-of-school time network to promote ASAP Chess to priority schools and communities
• Recruit and support training for new ASAP Chess coaches
• Assist with the planning and leadership of after school and weekend chess tournaments, including the Philadelphia Scholastic Chess League, monthly Saturday chess tournaments, and regional after school scrimmage competitions
• Provide support and encouragement for ASAP Chess coaches through regular phone calls and emails, a weekly e-newsletter, and periodic site visits
• Manage special ASAP Chess projects, including the high school chess mentor program which matches high school chess players with middle school ASAP Chess clubs for additional coaching and mentoring support
• Promote gender equity in scholastic chess by promoting ASAP’s Philly Girls Play Chess Initiative. This includes organizing an all-girls tournament in partnership with the Drexel Institute for Women’s Health & Leadership and recruiting youth to attend the annual ASAP Girls Summer Chess Camp, a week-long program where more than 40 young girls spend 25 hours honing their critical thinking and strategic problem solving skills in a supportive community
• Work with the Director of Chess Programs and Director of Programs to collect and analyze student- and club-level data to measure the program’s impact and look for opportunities for continuous quality improvement
• Support ASAP’s other initiatives as needed and contribute to overall organizational goals through participation on ASAP’s internal staff committees

Requirements – The ideal candidate for this position will:

• Be passionate about empowering youth, strengthening communities, and providing equitable educational
  opportunities
• Value creativity, critical thinking, and attention to detail
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Exhibit a willingness to collaborate and work as a team to accomplish strategic goals
• Be able to multi-task and organize multiple long-term projects with overlapping deadlines
• Have experience with youth development programs and/or community outreach
• Demonstrate excellent written and oral communication skills
• Have the flexibility to work some evenings and weekends
• Be familiar with the Philadelphia school system, preferably as an alumnus
• Competitive chess experience preferred but not required
• Required education level: minimum Bachelor’s Degree
• Upon employment, candidate must obtain required clearances to work with youth (available through ASAP office)

Preferred start date is July 8, 2019. Annual salary is in the range of $30,000-$35,000 and will be determined based on candidate’s strength of qualifications and relevant experience. Employment at ASAP comes with a generous benefits package,including subsidized health and dental insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance, life insurance, and free enrollment in the company’s 401K plan. Employees are eligible for comp-time for working events outside of normal business schedule of 9am-5pm Monday through Friday.

To Apply: For more information and to apply, please send a resume, writing sample, and cover letter providing more information on your educational and professional experience to Sara Morningstar, ASAP Director of Programs at
smorningstar@phillyasap.org.