At Caldera, we believe in the power of creativity.  Our mission is to inspire and support youth from underserved rural and urban communities by awakening the potential of their creative voice.  We do this through a unique fusion of art, environment and mentorship.  Our Youth Program provides students from Portland and Central Oregon with long-term relationships with caring adults, which nurtures individual creativity, beginning in sixth grade and continuing into young adulthood.

Caldera has a $4M budget, a 17-member board, 23 full-time year-round positions, and a range of seasonally contracted artists and staff.  Its administrative office is in Portland, Oregon, and Caldera is located outside of Sisters in Central Oregon.

Position Title: Middle School Mentor

Supervisor: Youth Program Manager

Schedule:  Full-Time at 37.5 hours/week. Approximate hours are 9:00-5:00 Monday-Friday with occasional days and hours outside of that. Summer Youth programming will involve work at our residential summer program at Caldera Sisters.

Work Location (Hybrid): Various school/community sites throughout Central Oregon, and telecommuting as appropriate

Compensation & Status: $47,000-52,000 annually, non-exempt. Benefits include generous paid time off, health, dental, and vision insurance (95% employer paid for employee, 15% employer paid for dependents), 403(b) retirement matching, flexible spending account (with employer contribution), long-term disability, short-term disability, life insurance, paid parental leave, and partial relocation reimbursement if applicable.

Equity & Inclusion

We recognize that Caldera communities face many societal inequities. We recognize the history and ongoing impacts of racism in our country, state, and institutions. We acknowledge that we will always have room to grow as an organization and as individuals in our understanding of racism and oppression.

We commit to continually examining our role in both perpetuating and combating institutional racism. We also commit to ongoing alignment of our policies and practices to advance racial equity, inclusion, and freedom of expression.

We commit to integrating equity and inclusion into all areas of our work to better serve our mission; when we do, we get closer to the world that we want for our youth. To ensure our own accountability, we will 1) seek deeper relationships with and feedback from our larger community; 2) use our Equity Plan to guide ongoing work; and 3) apply our Equity Lens to decision-making. We will also seek inspiration from artistic and cultural traditions.

Caldera is an equal opportunity employer encouraging applicants of all backgrounds and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.

We encourage people of color and Caldera community members to apply.

Position Summary:

This position develops lasting relationships with and provides direct, project-based instruction to middle school students. Creative projects led by mentors build creative and social-emotional skills and drive personal growth and cultural, social change in their communities. Mentors deliver a triangulated system of community-building, mentorship, and skills-based instruction, occasionally in partnership with teaching artists and environmentalists. As part of the program team, mentors work closely with other departments and serve all facets of the organization, giving just as much enthusiasm to overall organizational and administrative work as they do to youth work. The ideal candidate for this position will be a skilled youth-worker and facilitator with a solid understanding of how art and environmental project-based learning can impact individuals, their communities, and the world.

The responsibilities of this position require working on a computer, communicating over the phone, and driving a car. Reasonable accommodations will be made upon request.

Specific Responsibilities:

Mentoring & Program Administration (70%)

• Recruit and maintain relationships with at least 50-100 youth and their families (with potential to grow) who attend programming consistently
• Cultivate mutually beneficial relationships with schools and community partners to support overall student success and project activities through regular meetings, community event attendance, active recruitment, and devising collaborative projects
• Provide individualized support to youth as needed (i.e. goal setting, connecting to resources, advocating with school and other Caldera staff)
• Plan and implement sequential curriculum that enables discovery of different creative practices
• Submit detailed weekly lesson plans in approved format that fit into a larger project-based curriculum that supports Caldera’s Social-Emotional learning and/or Connected Arts Learning framework
• Partner with teaching artists, environmental specialists, and community partners to plan and implement project-based programming
• Collaborate with artists in residence to provide guest class visits
• Own responsibility of holding youth accountable to participation and behavioral expectations, including obtaining permission forms
• Support program logistics such as food, transportation, and supply coordination
• Help plan and facilitate additional youth events such as intensives, field trips, overnight trips, etc.
• Determine ways to center and incorporate youth voice into program ideation and decision-making
• Regularly collaborate with other staff to tell the stories of Caldera’s impact
• Manage partnership logistics such as space rental and any necessary payments
• Track attendance and youth progress, as well as conduct evaluative surveys and interviews
• Maintain accurate student records, track and input attendance for each event
• Manage allocated program budget and submit monthly approved reimbursement requests
• Create and distribute advance event communication and track rsvps
• Purchase and organize supplies for events and workshops in collaboration with programs coordinator, following financial policies
• Administer surveys and support overall evaluation efforts
• Participate in artist residency application review and selection as requested
• Support artists in residence to refine youth workshop and other community engagement proposals and ensure youth participation
• Recruit youth for Caldera programs and events including workshops and public events.
• Participate in outreach events in collaboration with other Programs staff
• Contribute to program ideation and development for both youth, alumni, and artist-facing programming
• Attend school and community events such as back to school nights and other public events

Summer Program (20%)

• Hire, train, and supervise a team of seasonal staff during Caldera’s annual, residential summer program
• Reside and work on site in Sisters for the duration of summer program (5-8 weeks with breaks)
• Continue mentorship duties during Caldera’s annual, residential summer program
• Assist with recruitment, with particular focus on getting Central Oregon middle schoolers to camp

Administrative & Organizational Duties (10%)

• Participate in weekly staff meetings and periodic retreats
• Reply to all emails, phone calls, and other inquiries within 48 business hours
• Participate in ongoing learning and professional development
• Collaborate with Advancement Team to provide reporting information, document youth work to help communicate our impact
• Welcome and host other staff and supporters at youth events
• Work collaboratively and interdepartmentally to problem-solve and achieve personal, departmental, and organizational goals
• Take responsibility for upholding and practicing Caldera’s core values to establish a cohesive team environment that honors the contributions of all staff members
• Attend and serve as an ambassador in various roles at organizational events such as fundraisers and public programs

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum of 3 years engaging youth in an educational setting
• Strong lesson planning and facilitation skills
• Experience planning sequential curriculum for youth and working collaboratively with others to implement
• Proven ability to build relationships with youth, families, partners, supporters, and colleagues
• Ability to travel and bring supplies to various program sites throughout the Central Oregon region, with roughly five overnight Portland trips during the school year and residing at Caldera’s Arts Center in Sisters, OR for 5-8 weeks during residential summer program
• Excellent organizational and time management skills and ability to rapidly change focus
• Ability to work effectively and efficiently to meet deadlines with minimal supervision
• Strong Google Suite and database skills and/or ability to adapt quickly to new technology
• Ability to communicate effectively with cultural responsiveness and agility
• Ability to keep precise, detailed records
• Creative problem-solver with strong initiative
• Strong belief in the importance of art and environmental education and its role in social change
• Commitment to ongoing learning with a curious, solution-seeking mindset
• Must pass a background check. Caldera considers systemic injustices when investigating findings

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working within communities of color and other historically underserved communities
• A demonstrated commitment to racial equity
• A background in the arts or environmental science
• Spanish bilingual highly valued

To Apply: Submit, via Paylocity, a cover letter, resume, and sample lesson plan OR curriculum overview that demonstrates a creative, environmental, or social-emotional objective by 11:59 pm on August 30.