Youth Be Heard

Program Coordinator

Do you have a heart for youth and the arts with skills in communication and management?

Youth Be Heard is seeking a Program Coordinator for 20 – 30 hours per week. This is a work-from-home role with flexible hours with the ability to travel a few times per year for events in Greenville, IL and East St. Louis, IL. Though not required, the ideal candidate will reside in Bond County or East St. Louis Illinois. This individual would be a self-starter and able to work independently. The rate is $30-35 per hour. No benefits are currently available.

Job description:

  • Able to plan events and collaborate with local entities to gain support and cooperation.
  • Manages volunteers, contractors, editors and community relationships 
  • Develops and delivers communication to create awareness of program opportunities to gain involvement 
  • Promotes youth written works and the outcomes the program has achieved to the community through videos, emails, social media
  • Manages social media based communications by designing, creating, deploying communications
  • Prepares outcome reports to provide to schools, state programs and the Youth Be Heard board
  • Performs other tasks as assigned
  • Able to provide your own workspace, computer, internet, and phone 

Skills Required:

  • Great at building and maintaining strong working relationships with adults and youth
  • Outstanding written and verbal communication skills using timely communication and follow through
  • Strong time management skills including the ability to self-manage to complete tasks independently and in a timely manner 
  • Technologically savvy and proficient with Microsoft Office Suite, Google Suite, Canva, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok
  • Familiarity with WordPress preferred
  • Video editing skills preferred 

Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree required
  • Two years of related experience
  • Masters in social work, business, or communications preferred
  • Experience in a communications, marketing or public relations role preferred 

Contact renee@youthbeheard.org with your resume and cover letter

About Youth Be Heard

Youth Be Heard is a 501(c)3 non-profit established in 2018 as an innovative and research-based response to the mental health crisis among youth. Youth Be Heard’s mission is for all youth to believe in their own value and potential. Our vision is to elevate youth expression so they can inspire each other and the world. Developing the skill of writing is a powerful tool to help shape society while also shaping ourselves. 

YBH offers youth free editing and feedback on writing and art, poetry open mic nights, publication of youth work, writing and art contests, mentorship, and youth leadership opportunities.

  • YBH publishes over 100 pieces a year from young authors and artists in the United States and beyond.
  • The majority of work submitted is from youth who have never published or submitted work before and have no adults in their lives to encourage and support them in developing their writing/ art.
  • 76% of youth reported that publishing with YBH improved their sense of self-worth.
  • 76% responded that publishing on YBH increased their belief in their ability to impact others.
  • 70% said that creating their own content helped them understand how other media is created and published (media literacy).

Youth Be Heard is built on Positive Youth Development (PYD) and Media Literacy principles. 

Positive Youth Development

Rather than taking the typical psychological approach of “what’s wrong with you?” or “What is broken and what needs to be fixed?” Positive Youth Development looks at what’s right and what skills youth have that the world needs. “PYD has its origins in the field of prevention. In the past, prevention efforts typically focused on single problems before they surfaced in youth, such as teen pregnancy, substance abuse, and juvenile delinquency” (youth.gov, 2018). Over time, experts realized that rather than taking a deficit view, promoting positive asset building and considering youth as resources were critical strategies to helping youth thrive.

The principles of PYD promoted by Youth Be Heard include:

  • Focus on strengths and positive outcomes. Rather than taking a deficit-based approach, communities intentionally help young people build on their strengths and develop the competencies, values, and connections they need for life and work.
  • Youth voice and engagement. Youth are valued partners who have meaningful, decision-making roles in programs and communities.
  • Strategies that involve all youth. Communities support and engage all youth rather than focusing solely on “high-risk” or “gifted” youth.
  • Community involvement and collaboration. Positive youth development includes but reaches beyond programs; it promotes organizational change and collaboration for community change. All sectors have a role to play in making the community a great place to grow up.

PYD research shows that cultivating youth’s passions through skill-building opportunities, mentorship around those interests, and empowering them to use their voice for the good predicts positive outcomes more significantly than do demographics. The outcomes are better psychological, academic, social, and behavioral well-being and more contribution to social good (Scales et al. 2011. Adolescent thriving: the role of sparks… J Youth Adolescence).

However, less than 10% of 15-year-olds report experiencing these supports (Scales, et al. 2011). Why is age 15 important? Because that’s when many other good youth-serving programs end and teens are just starting high school. They are growing in capacity and asking tough questions. They are looking to the outside world more than ever before as they expand their horizons beyond their families.

Media Literacy

Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using all forms of communication. In its simplest terms, media literacy builds upon the foundation of traditional literacy and offers new forms of reading and writing. Media literacy empowers people to be critical thinkers and makers, effective communicators, and active citizens (namle.net, 2017).

Media Literacy is the ability to identify different types of media and the messages that are being sent. It helps youth:

  • Learn to think critically.
  • Become a smart consumer of products and information.
  • Recognize different points of view.
  • Create media responsibly. 
  • Identify the role of media in our culture.
  • Become a creator rather than just a consumer.
  • Understand the author’s goal.

Youth Be Heard gives youth an opportunity to create media responsibly, and in doing so, trains them to be critical thinkers when consuming media. Creating and publishing for an authentic audience is a key step in The Experiential Learning Cycle. 

We are a stepping stone for youth to grow into being the confident and mindful voices that are needed in our collective futures. The primary way we do this is by encouraging youth to recognize their own value, to be creators of media, and by offering writing prompts that get youth to consider thinking critically about the media they consume. 

Learn more by visiting youthbeheard.org