Join Our Team

Organization

Founded in 2003, the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians’ (WCNP) mission is to promote inclusive economic growth through immigrant integration. We develop and implement training programs focused on social, civic, and economic engagement which enhance skills and expand opportunities. By doing so, we strengthen the economic development of the city and the state. We believe that immigrants broaden the productivity, profitability, and stability of this region and contribute to both Pennsylvania’s and the nation’s economic growth.

The barriers immigrants face are as diverse as our participants, and our programming responds to the comprehensive and varied nature of their challenges by providing creative, measurable responses to each scenario. We believe every person has skills, experience and aspirations to participate in creative solutions to their challenges and choose their own course of action. We practice collaborative, participant-centered approaches as we seek to cultivate a community that can serve as a vital resource for all people working toward successful immigrant integration.

We seek to address individual needs through our programming, but we also recognize the value of strategic partnerships to elevate immigrant voices and opportunity. By cultivating these external relationships, we increase awareness and leverage resources that promote immigrant inclusivity as an important component of economic growth for all.

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.

Position Summary

Do you thrive in a fast-paced and collaborative environment?

Are you a creative problem solver with strong communication skills?

Are you motivated by mission driven work which creates meaningful change?

Are you passionate about creating equitable opportunities in the regional workforce and economy?

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.

A successful candidate for this position can operate effectively in a dynamic, fast-paced, and sometimes ambiguous non-profit environment. We’re seeking someone who will strive for quality in program delivery and outcomes without sacrificing attention to individual participant needs. This role requires strong organizational and administrative skills in order to plan and implement the rigorous program schedule, as well as the ability to professionally engage external relationships with volunteers and employer partners. Proficiency and creativity in classroom management, facilitation and individual coaching is a must, along with an ability to interact with a wide variety of people from different backgrounds with cultural competency and respect.

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.

Skills and Abilities:

• Strong interpersonal skills, possessing good instincts, intuition and an ability to adapt to intercultural communication, presenting both a professional and approachable demeanor. Excellent listening skills, allowing for language and culture differences in communication. A relationship-builder who can provide services and teamwork with great empathy.

• Excellent verbal, written, and telephone communication skills. Comfortable adapting communication style to a diverse range of participants. Demonstrated evidence of ability to navigate conversations which may be difficult due to language, culture, and other circumstances which may lead to misunderstanding. Experience working with ELLs desirable.

Demonstrated initiative and creativity in program planning and implementation, especially with regards to participant outreach and job search.

• Strong commitment to core values of community, collaboration, creativity and asset-based, participant-centered approach.

• Commitment to inter-team communication and cohesiveness and sustaining a supportive and collegial culture during programmatic changes and growth. Willingness to be a part of a team where everyone’s highest and best work is a goal.

• Demonstrated experience in recruiting/staffing, human resources, and/or employer relations. Experience understanding and utilizing employer HR practices to enhance service delivery to participants in their job search.

• Experienced one-on-one coach with a demonstrated ability to form professional relationships with participants in order to support their efforts to reestablish their career path. Working knowledge of job-seeking skills and career pathway development.

• Previous experience in facilitation, with an ability to utilize a variety of classroom methods to engage participants and effectively communicate content.

• Ability to externally share information and promote the program in outreach efforts to local institutions, organizations, community groups and potential employer partners.

• Familiarity with Microsoft Office Suite and SharePoint, Salesforce, LinkedIn and other job-seeking online tools.

• Availability to share evening and occasional weekend hours with fellow teammates (evening hours until 7:30 up to two times per week) for facilitation of programming.

• Highly organized, detail-oriented with an ability to see projects through to completion and effectively communicate updates to supervisor, colleagues and staff across programs. Ability to manage files and data in consistent ways so that file-sharing is efficient.

Salary and Benefits

This is a full-time position with a salary range of $42,000-48,000. Final salary offer is dependent on experience and qualifications. Competitive benefits package inclusive of medical, dental and 401k.

Application Submission

To apply to this position, please send your resume and a cover letter to jobs@welcomingcenter.org with the subject “Program Manager – IPP”.

Welcoming Center is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, immigrants, women and LGBTQ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.