Friends Life Community
Performing Arts Empowerment Specialist
Friends Life Community
Job Summary
Embark on a Journey of Empowerment with Friends Life Community!
At Friends Life Community, we believe in the boundless potential of every individual, with and without disabilities. We are on a mission to create opportunities that empower adults with intellectual disabilities to discover their unique talents and find their place within the community and the world. Together, we are building a more fulfilling life for our Friends and bringing peace of mind to their families.
Our Core Values: Belonging, Self-Advocacy, and Innovation
At the heart of our organization lies a commitment to our core values:
Belonging: We believe that everyone deserves to be seen, respected, and celebrated for their unique qualities. We create an inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated, and everyone is excited to be a part of the community.
Self-Advocacy: We empower the Friends to know their rights and responsibilities, encouraging them to use their voice to advocate for themselves in a proactive and engaged manner.
Innovation: We never settle for the status quo. Committed to constant evolution, we continuously improve our programming and methods to provide better opportunities, education, employment, and quality of life for the IDD community.
Your Purpose: Performing Arts Empowerment Specialist
As a Performing Arts Empowerment Specialist, you will play a vital role in supporting the daily operation of our programs, assisting in curriculum delivery across all program areas, with a focus on our Advocacy Through The Arts department. Your mission is to positively impact the organization and its clients through the support of classes and activities that enhance self-advocacy, self-expression, active participation, and social and employment skills.
Your role will represent the mission of Friends Life Community, incorporating its core values into daily curriculum and program execution. Working directly with clients, you will contribute to skill-building and support, help them decrease dependency, and work to achieve client and programmatic goals.
Job Responsibilities
Expectations:
We expect you to bring excellence to program implementation, demonstrating sound judgment, decision-making, communication, and organizational skills. Your active collaboration with co-workers and volunteers will result in clients learning valuable skills, increasing socialization, improving self-advocacy and independence, and enhancing Friends Life Community’s positive community reputation.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Program Implementation:
- Create content and curriculum to build skills and empower individuals, maximizing potential outcomes. Your performing arts perspective will empower individuals to tell their stories in groundbreaking ways.
- Infuse curriculum with performance and innovation to teach skills in self-advocacy, confidence, daily living skills, and storytelling.
- Maximize collaboration with coworkers and volunteers to orchestrate classes that engage and produce final products that participants are proud to showcase.
- Demonstrate best practices, inclusion, empathy, communication, and relationship-building with clients.
- Create legacy projects with clients that spark activism and drive change.
- Support clients using performance to connect with the larger community and break through social barriers that lead to greater inclusion and equity.
Event Support:
- Represent FLC in a professional manner and increase positive awareness of its mission and brand.
- Demonstrate and increase awareness of the Friends Life Community brand as experts in the field of disability services and leaders in innovation.
- Support staff specialists at events to showcase client work and increase community engagement.
- Support evening/weekend activities such as Social Club Events, Friends’ Treat Truck events, Dinner Club, etc.
- Collaborate with team members to advertise, execute, and meet event objectives.
Client and General Program Support (as assigned):
- Support each client by informing individuals of goals and reporting progress on goals.
- Provide individualized adaptations to meet goals.
- Build support systems around individuals to sustain success within programming and ensure skills are transferred successfully to the community and home.
- Create and implement action plans for assigned program classes, groups, and individualized coaching.
- Work closely with all team members to support successful program implementation.
Other Duties:
- Champion FLC’s brand as a trailblazer in disability services, igniting change through innovation and creativity.
- Support fellow team members in overall organizational goals.
- Fulfill organizational policies and procedures.
- Transport clients throughout the community in company-owned vehicles, including minivans and minibusses.
- Mentor and coach co-workers and volunteers in organizational culture, values, and policies with positive attitudes and hold coworkers accountable for exceptional service delivery and professional program implementation.
- All duties assigned by the supervisor.
Qualifications
If the opportunity to blend your expertise in the arts with providing support and opportunities to adults with disabilities excites you, you may be the candidate we are looking for!
- Belief in the organization’s mission and the willingness to share the FLC brand script with others.
- At least 1 year of experience working with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities is preferred but not required.
- Proven ability to teach and impart skills that inspire growth.
- An enthusiasm for guiding and motivating others towards program goals.
- Bachelor’s degree preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to teach skills.
- Ability to give direction and feedback to others to accomplish program goals.
- Willingness to learn and receive feedback.
- Demonstration of core values: innovation, community, inclusion.
- Ability to execute programming and projects with a team.
- Active demonstration of professionalism and good judgment throughout all work.
- Ability to be flexible and adapt to necessary changes to support daily activities as well as benefit the organization.
- Bi-lingual in English and Spanish preferred
- Experience and enthusiasm for performing, directing, or creating original works of art and the understanding of how to tell a compelling story.
- Understand and demonstrate policies and procedures, safety procedures, and sustain CPR and First Aid certification.
Additional Information
Benefits
Working Conditions:
This position is hourly and may be full- or part-time. This position is at the heart of our mission and the front lines of changing the lives of our participants and their families, requiring the employee to be onsite and in direct service with the clients. Transportation in company-owned vehicles is necessary, and participation in training, events, and other activities after normal program hours may be required.
This is a person-centered position, working directly with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The position requires moderate physical activity to conduct programming, including lifting up to 50 lbs and remaining on your feet for 3+ hours at a time. The work schedule might extend into training, events, and extracurricular activities for the benefit of those we serve.
The physical and mental requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to perform the essential functions of this job successfully. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
Friends Life Community focuses on safe work environments by using best practices with participants. All employees must be willing and able to use de-escalation techniques, positive behavior supports, and redirection to ensure that all management styles support a safe environment where clients can continue learning.
We work to create a supportive environment and team that encourages self-care and collaboration to sustain the level of energy required to provide transformative programming.
Compensation Package
This full- or part-time position offers a starting rate of $18-$22/hour, dependent on experience and qualifications.
Full-time benefits include:
- Medical (lowest premium option is 80% employer paid)
- Dental/Vision (50% employer paid)
- Life ADD (employer paid)
- Simple IRA (3% employer match)
- PTO and Sick Leave accrual
- 18 paid holidays (including two five-day summer and winter breaks that are left to the discretion of our Board of Directors)
How to Apply
Join Our Inclusive and Empowering Community!
At Friends Life Community, we are dedicated to fostering a culture of belonging, self-advocacy, and innovation. If you are ready to be a part of a team that brings joy and fulfillment to the Friends and their families, we invite you to join our journey of inclusion and empowerment. Together, let’s make a positive impact in the lives of our Friends and the community!
Applicants should send a cover letter, resume, and 2-3 references to admin@friendslife.org. Position open until filled.
Details
- Date Posted: February 7, 2024
- Type: Full-Time
- Job Function: Programs and Service Delivery
- Service Area: Arts / Culture
- Salary Range: $18-$22/hr
- Working Hours: 20hrs/wk part-time, 40hrs/wk full-time; occasional nights and weekends required