Middle School Rowing Program Manager

In Seattle

The Middle School Programs Manager  will use his/her/their passion and expertise in sports, health and fitness to change young lives.

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Reporting to the Executive Director, the Middle School Programs Manager will play an integral role on the programs team at the Pocock Rowing Center. We are looking for a team player who is confident in their program development skills and is looking to grow with the GPRF. This person should be energetic, engaging, and creative as a leader and problem solver. This is a Seattle based position.

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One area we’ve identified as an important key to making change with our sport is the middle school age group. Due to financial pressures, few skilled coaches and just plain lack of fun, the average child today spends less than three years playing a sport and quits by age 11. These "early retirements," around the middle school age create big problems because sports not only keep kids active, but they teach youth valuable life lessons like how to deal with anxiety and be a good teammate, leadership, performing under pressure, and the list goes on. From our work at the GPRF, we know that middle schoolers are more open and willing to try new things than their high school counterparts. That’s why we’re looking for a dynamic leader to contribute to the mission of the GPRF through designing, launching and leading two new middle school initiatives at the Pocock Rowing Center:

• Camp Lucy: Honoring the legacy of Lucy Pocock, a free summer camp serving middle school girls utilizing the sport of rowing to empower confident, strong, healthy young women.

• Discovery Crew: An after school program for middle schoolers from communities that would not ordinarily encounter rowing. Through rowing we promote the discovery of oneself and others.

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Focus on national competition has resulted in an extremely expensive, resource-heavy and exclusive experience for the majority of the children who encounter and participate in our sport. We run the risk of burning out athletes with intense specialization while failing to meet their social-emotional needs. Leading with the values of access and excellence, through these new programs our goals are to:

• Develop physical literacy

• Teach self-reliance

• Develop healthy bodies and minds

• Support social and emotional development

• Develop engaged citizens and community members through volunteerism

• Create opportunities for career or college exploration

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The Middle School Program Manager must be dedicated to creating an inclusive atmosphere for all participants, communicating and implementing team rules and positive culture, and showing an active interest in getting to know all program youth and their families.

This is a roll-up-your-sleeves position that puts social change and youth development goals into action, delivering direct programming to youth throughout the year.

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The ideal candidate for this role:

• Wants to have a big impact! This person is passionate and knowledgeable about some or multiple aspects of our mission: the power of rowing to influence young people, the values of the foundation, and/or the value of youth development. They want to have an impact on young people, as well as on a growing and evolving community organization.

• Is a caring and empathetic mentor. This person is curious about others’ stories, asking questions and seeking to understand the experiences of others. They love to work with kids, and always have energy to listen.

• Is action-oriented and a self-starter. This person isn’t afraid to plow through a to-do list, and is someone that others count on to follow through even when juggling multiple balls.

• Is a proactive communicator. This person understands the importance of over-communicating, speaking up, and being direct, while also actively listening and learning from others.

• Is committed to a more welcoming boathouse. This person is eager to build meaningful connections to the communities we serve, embracing and actively contributing to a thriving and inclusive boathouse community at the Pocock Rowing Center.

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Role Expectations and Responsibilities

This position will be responsible for planning and leading implementation of Camp Lucy and Discovery Crew. The continued success of this program will depend heavily on the relationships developed between the Manager, athletes, school partners, and families. Additionally, the Manager will contribute to the success of the GPRF as a whole, collaborating with colleagues in different programs to advance the mission.

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Coaching & Direct Service (50%): Lead comprehensive, holistic, and youth-centered programming with newcomer youth throughout the year, including after-school and summer Camp programming. In addition, they will: lead athlete recruitment and retention, academic monitoring and advocacy, coach & volunteer supervision, feedback, and escalation of cases for concern. Design and implement an inclusive and culturally responsive curriculum for all programs with coaching staff and feedback from the GPRF programs team.

Supervise and instruct a diverse group of students that have different educational backgrounds and experiences.

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Staff Team Leadership (25%): Actively participate with GPRF Programs Team through weekly meetings, planning and implementation of new initiatives, hiring and managing middle school coaches, and volunteer management: correspondence, onboarding, coordinating with site leaders, planning and facilitating training, collaboration with community partners.

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Program Support (25%): The Middle School Manager will also play a key role in securing the inputs needed to ensure the GPRF can operate successfully. This includes collecting data for continued improvement and grants reporting. Over time, working with our high school head coach and all coaches to create a seamless transition for middle school participants to row in high school. Assisting the development director with social media content (providing material for communications, stories, photos, videos, etc.), and working with the Executive Director to manage budgets for each program.

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Qualifications Include

• Teaching, coaching or tutoring experience with a diverse group of middle-school or high-school level students

• Rowing experience strongly preferred

• Experience with inclusive and multicultural curriculum development

• Candidates must satisfactorily complete a criminal background check

Personal Attributes

• Demonstrated cultural awareness, including knowledge of themselves and the cultural lenses they bring to interactions. The candidate will understand different perspectives; interact respectfully with cultures other than their own; and cultivate meaningful relationships with people that have different cultural frameworks.

• Prior experience working with a diverse student population and demonstrated equity and inclusion mindset. Candidates should be aware of their own identity and biases; the candidate actively works to create an inclusive environment.

• Must be team oriented, with a strong work ethic, excellent communication skills and a passion for serving under-resourced youth.

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The George Pocock Rowing Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.
 

Program Director - Renton Rowing Center

In Renton

The Renton Rowing Center (RRC) is a unique, inclusive community boathouse developing and supporting rowing for both youth and adults at the South end of Lake Washington.

The Position

This full-time leadership position is responsible for the strategic direction and tactical efforts of the rowing programs at the Renton Rowing Center.

This position is an exciting opportunity to lead a young rowing organization in its next phase of growth, sustainability and relevance.

Reporting to the GPRF Director of Rowing Operations and the Renton Rowing Center Management Committee (MC), the candidate will grow with, and within the RRC and the GPRF. We are looking for an energetic, creative leader to increase our impact in the Renton community.

The ideal candidate for this role builds inclusive teams and:

1. Excels in a work environment where there are multiple priorities, projects and relationships requiring simultaneous action.

1. Deeply appreciates the role of sport in the development of young people.

1. Serves with enthusiasm as the primary RRC ambassador in the community.

1. Thinks outside traditional norms of rowing program participants, structures and calendars. This person will lead efforts to reimagine the Renton youth program to better serve the needs of the community.

1. Is committed to a welcoming boathouse. This person is eager to build meaningful connections with the communities we serve, embracing and actively contributing to a thriving and inclusive community at the Renton Rowing Center.

Role Expectations and Responsibilities

This candidate is responsible for the many aspects of managing a growing rowing club, currently 40 youth and 25 adults.

The position is supported by the GPRF team of specialists in diversity and inclusion, operations, accounting, human resources and organizational leadership. The position is also supported by the volunteer Management Committee, a group of parents, athletes and community members.

We have identified the following expectations and responsibilities as critical to success in this role.

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Leadership

The Program Director serves as the primary leader of the Renton Rowing community. This person models inclusive behavior through their character and decision making. They build relationships and work plans to achieve strategic aims. They manage a staff of 5-10 coaches and customer service representatives. They embrace the role of mentoring young coaches. While maintaining an open door, they are unafraid of difficult conversations. This person sees strength in collaboration between individuals, teams and the Renton community to ensure rowing programs meet the needs of current and future participants.

Operations

The Program Director is responsible for the safety of participants and staff at the boathouse. They will manage the infrastructure and resources required for the club to achieve its mission. They will build an inclusive program of youth development through rowing. They will recruit, develop and steward volunteers to support and grow the operational capacity of the RRC. Partnering with a volunteer Management Committee, the candidate will supervise efforts to revitalize the adult rowing program. This person will hire staff to manage a successful SUP / kayak / canoe rental operation during the summer.

Organizational Relationships

The Program Director expands partnerships with the Renton School District, Renton Parks and other community organizations to build career success and lifelong skills in low-income and diverse youth.  These relationships will create a more sustainable operation.

Communication

The Program Director is an excellent communicator. They are comfortable using multiple mediums to effectively engage with a wide range of constituents including athletes, parents, staff, partner organizations and colleagues. They ensure consistency and regularity in communication, including newsletters, social media and websites.

Administration

The Program Director will manage internal processes and procedures to ensure consistent and accurate registrations, payments and expense reporting.  This person will devise and utilize metrics to track the effectiveness of programs based on goals set with the Management Committee. The candidate will manage the budget of the organization to balance financially accessible programs with covering the costs of operation of the boathouse.

Entrepreneurship

The ideal candidate will display creativity and entrepreneurial acumen in two key areas of our operation.

1. Through partnerships and feedback from participants, the candidate will lead the promotion and delivery of youth and adult programs that increase the racial and socio-economic diversity of the Renton Rowing Center. 

2. The candidate will increase revenue outside of rowing program fees in order to defray the cost of youth programming.

Qualifications include

• Coaching, administrative or professional experience that demonstrates ability to fill the roles and responsibilities of the position

• Rowing experience strongly preferred

• Experience and comfort in a multi-cultural environment

• Candidate must satisfactorily complete a background check

Personal Attributes

• Demonstrated cultural awareness, including knowledge of themselves and the cultural lenses they bring to interactions. The candidate will understand different perspectives; interact respectfully with cultures other than their own; and cultivate meaningful relationships with people who have different cultural frameworks.

• Prior experience working with a diverse population and demonstrated equity and inclusion mindset. Candidates should be aware of their own identity and biases, identify and overcome others’ biases; the candidate actively works to create an inclusive environment.

• Must be team oriented, with a strong work ethic, be a listener with excellent communication skills and a passion for serving under-resourced youth.

The George Pocock Rowing Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.

YOUTH & ADULT ROWING COACHES

Renton

Renton Rowing Center in Renton, WA is looking for several coaches for our beginning and experienced youth and adult programs. We have positions for summer and fall seasons.

Start date:  June 28th for summer programs

Pay rate:  $15 - $20/hour, depending on experience

Coaching hours: either 7-10am or 6-8pm

Boathouse location: 1060 Nishiwaki Lane, Renton, WA 98057

Candidates are asked to indicate their preferred group to coach.

Coaching Responsibilities will include:

• Ensure the safety and security of participants and guests at the Renton Rowing Center.

• Creatively engage with young people to teach life skills they will use in and out of the boat.

• Lead in creation of an inclusive, welcoming environment for a racially and economically diverse team.

• Maintain and run an organized, technically structured, and physiologically sound training program for assigned team and crews.

• Provide constructive feedback to rowers during practice.

• Create a positive learning experience and environment for rowers and coxswains.

• Communicate with your team, fellow staff and supervisor on a regular basis about items relating to safety, athlete development, facility and equipment use and other pertinent topics.

The George Pocock Rowing Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.