Community and Professional Training Manager

THE ORGANIZATION: 

Between Friends envisions a community without domestic violence (DV) where equality, safety, and justice exist for all. Between Friends provides a safe, violence-free, supportive, self-help environment for individuals and families in crisis. Between Friends' counselors empower individuals to make their own decisions and choices, rather than making choices for them. Between Friends helps survivors and children to recognize that their experience is shared and that the problem of domestic violence is social and political. To learn about its programs go to www.betweenfriendschicago.org. 

THE PREVENTION AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS: 

Community and Professional Education Programs for Adult Audiences:  

The Community and Professional Education Program is leading the way on Chicago’s far north side, preparing various professionals and community members to more effectively support survivors of domestic violence.  We have provided extensive training within the healthcare field - including general health, adolescent health, and behavioral health providers - to safely and critically respond to the needs of domestic violence survivors. We partner with hospitals and healthcare providers to equip nurses, physicians, clinicians and other healthcare professionals with the tools and support they need to respond to the holistic needs of survivors.  This is accomplished through training and community engagement with our healthcare partners. 

Between Friends is an ICDVP (Illinois Certified Domestic Violence Professionals) approved site for in-person, virtual, and hybrid 40-hour domestic violence training, as well as CEU (Continuing Education Unit) training for ICDVP professionals. The Professional Training Program offers education throughout the year for DV professionals, new staff, interns and volunteers - not only within the agency but also to other organizations and community partners. Our workshops cover a wide range of ICDVP approved topics such as: trauma informed care; neurobiology of trauma; cultural humility; and anti-oppression.  Between Friends is also approved by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) to provide domestic violence training to salon professionals.  In addition, the Professional Training Program works with professionals from diverse fields – including first responders and legal system officials, educators, those in business and government - to raise awareness, provide skills and tools, and build a strong constituency for ending the cycle of domestic violence. 

Our program extends these educational opportunities outside of professional settings as well.  We connect community organizations, youth coalitions, mutual aid societies, elected officials, parents, clergy and community members to services and training opportunities that raise awareness about domestic violence as a social and political issue. We conduct outreach to inform and educate the community about the persistence and severity of domestic violence through facilitation of training and community awareness events, as well as participation in community driven initiatives and partnerships. 

Community Education Programs for Youth Audiences: 

REACH Program - We believe it’s important to talk to young people at an early age about what makes a healthy relationship and what are the signs of harm or abuse. We put these principles into practice through our program?Relationship Education: A Choice for Hope (REACH), one of the largest and most comprehensive teen dating violence prevention programs in Illinois. Since 1995, REACH has served tens of thousands of young people.  In Chicago Public Schools classrooms, and wherever we are invited to talk, REACH engages 6th through 12th grade youth to examine issues including empathy, consent, boundaries, and conflict resolution in all kinds of relationships, as well as how to make positive differences in their communities. Between Friends educators also make sure teens know how to access information and services. 

POSITION SUMMARY: 

This position will work as a member of Between Friends’ Prevention and Education (PE) Team, which is comprised of a Prevention and Education Manager who oversees programs for youth audiences, a Community and Professional Training Manager who oversees programs for adult audiences, and several Prevention Educators who provide healthy relationship education to students within Chicago Public Schools (CPS), through Between Friends’ REACH Program. 

The Community Outreach and Professional Training Coordinator will report to the Community and Professional Training Manager and/or Director of Prevention and Community Education. The coordinator will be responsible for planning, delivering and overseeing all programming for adult audiences.   

This includes:  

• Planning, developing, and facilitating community education workshops for adults within each Chicago public school that hosts one of our REACH teams.  The adult audiences within each of these schools could include, parents/caregivers, neighbors, coaches, LSC (Local School Counsel) members, and other community-based constituencies.  The planning of these workshops will happen in collaboration with the Between Friends’ REACH Team. 
• Co-facilitating the REACH program if needed. 
• Planning, developing, and facilitating community education and awareness events and training, within community settings. 
• Cultivating meaningful relationships with different stake holders within community and professional settings. This includes maintaining existing partnerships and collaborations as well as initiation and development of new connections with potential partners.  
• Developing and honoring existing agreements with community partners, outlined in   MOUs (Memorandum of Understanding), contracts, payment agreements, invoices, and the like - in accordance with agency guidelines. 
• Planning and facilitating Between Friends’ 40-hour domestic violence training. 

RESPONSIBILITIES: 

Outreach, Direct Service, and Programming (50%) 

The Community Outreach and Professional Training Coordinator will work as a member of Between Friends’ Prevention and Education (PE) Team, to develop and refine the protocols, policies, and programs our community partners are using to work with domestic violence survivors. 

This will be accomplished through:  

• Responding, on an ongoing basis, to questions or concerns expressed by allied professionals and community members, regarding crisis intervention, advocacy, information, and referrals for those experiencing harm. 
• Developing and distributing educational materials to community partners - intended to raise awareness about domestic violence and provide information about a survivor’s rights and the resources available to them. 
• Closely working with the REACH Team to initiate and maintain professional relationships with CPS parents and staff and creating opportunities for training, collaboration, and ongoing communication - to encourage engagement and continued involvement. 
• Coordinating, scheduling and facilitating workshops for adult audiences. These workshops will address various issues concerning domestic abuse and provide guidance about how to effectively identify and support someone experiencing harm in a relationship. 

Program Planning and Implementation (35%) 

• Collaborating with the PE Team and other program departments to schedule domestic violence and teen dating violence prevention workshops.  
• Planning and facilitating 40-hour domestic violence training for Between Friends staff/interns and other DV professionals. 40-hour related tasks could include, but are not limited to: 
• Facilitating training sessions. 
• Creating a training schedule. 
• Working with community partners to identify an available training room to accommodate 20 hours of the training. 
• Setting up zoom links and event registration pages. 
• Contacting and scheduling professional speakers for various topic areas. 
• Collaborating with the PE team to schedule staff coverage. 
• Preparing and processing participant information and payment.  
• Developing and implementing an evaluation process for speakers and participants.  

Administrative and Other (15%)  

• Completing monthly and quarterly reports from the Community Outreach and Education Program. 
• Maintaining records and reporting relevant statistical information on all violence prevention and education activities related to community education. 
• Evaluating programs and services by creating and tracking relevant outcome measures and monitoring the results. 
• Overseeing the evaluation of all community education programming, and entering outcomes data into tracking systems when applicable.  
• Staffing the crisis line on an as needed basis. 
• Updating job knowledge by participating in professional development, reading relevant articles, and joining coalitions and committees related to violence prevention, healthcare, domestic violence, and community education. 
• Attending and actively participating in required professional development programs. 
• Participating in agency events as needed. 
• Performing and completing other duties as assigned. 
• Attending and actively participating in departmental and staff meetings. 
• Protecting the agency’s organizational values by keeping information confidential.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:  

• This position requires frequent travel around the city to different schools and professional/community venues – therefore, access to some form of reliable transportation is required.  Access to a car is preferred.  
• The main office location for this position in an environment that is not fully accessible: it is a 3-floor building with stairs available to move between floors and a ramp at one of the building entrances. While performing the duties of this job, an employee is required to talk and hear.  
• This is a full-time position, equaling 40 hours a week. Evening and weekend work is occasionally required. 
• This workplace is a smoke-free and drug-free environment. 
• Between Friends is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Decisions and criteria governing the employment relationship with all employees are made in a non-discriminatory manner, without regard to race, ethnicity, creed, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, citizenship status, military service and/or marital status, order of protection status, handicap, disability, or any other factor determined to be unlawful by federal, state, or local statutes. 

COMPENSATION: 

• Annual salary is in the range of $44,000-$48,000 - commensurate with experience. 
• Between Friends offers a comprehensive benefits package (with some employee contributions) including medical, dental, and vision insurance. 
• Between Friends provides 24 days of paid time off which is accrued during the first year of employment, and also provides 11 paid holidays. 

*hours based on a 40-hour work week 

 QUALIFICATIONS: 

Education 

• A Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Sociology, Women and Gender Studies, or another related field is preferred. 
• Attainment of the Illinois Certified Domestic Violence Professional credential is required upon hire or within one year of hire. 
• 40-Hour Domestic Violence Training Certificate preferred, or willingness to complete 40-Hour Training immediately upon hire. 

Experience 

• Teaching or public speaking experience is required. 
• Program development experience is preferred. 
• Direct service experience with domestic violence survivors is highly preferred.   
• Experience working in a healthcare setting or community service agency is preferred. 

Skills 

• Possessing skills related to coordination, implementation, and evaluation of capacity-building programs is highly preferred. 
• Fluency in Spanish and English is required. 
• Technology experience with word processing, publication design, spreadsheet use, and virtual meeting platforms is highly preferred.