Manager, Academic Support & Volunteer Engagement

Scarborough, ON, Canada

Full Time

Education Programs

Manager/Supervisor

Who we are

YouthLink believes in the potential of every youth, and we are dedicated to providing them with the support, guidance and opportunities they need to make positive life choices. We provide youth with brief and ongoing counselling, in-home wraparound support, shelter, housing, educational support, and safe drop-in spaces.

Guided by our mission and inspired by the potential to make a profound impact, YouthLink works closely with youth, families and partners in our community. We come together to highlight and develop strengths, aspirations and positive actions that improve the health and well-being of all who live, work, study and play in our community. As a service delivery organization, we leverage data-driven decision-making and grassroots engagement with youth advisory councils to create an inclusive, innovative, and responsive agency that provides the best fit and most needed services for our communities.

If you are seeking a meaningful opportunity and want to play a key role in bringing our vision for a stronger Scarborough where all youth and families thrive, join us.

Who we need

Reporting to the Senior Manager, Pathways to Education, we are looking for a Manager, Academic Support & Volunteer Engagement. You will be responsible for organizing, managing and supporting the academic support components of the Pathways to Education program in Scarborough Village. You will coordinate and support daily evening academic sessions, staff, volunteers, and engagement activities, ensuring seamless delivery. You will play a critical role in building strong community and educational partnerships to grow volunteer resources, secure program spaces, and advance academic goals. As the Manager, Academic Support & Volunteer Engagement, you will be responsible for the whole volunteer lifecycle, including recruitment, engagement, training, scheduling and evaluation.

This is both a leader and do-er role, ideal for someone who thrives bringing programs to life and takes professional pride in the accomplishments of their team and participants.

This is an on-site role based at our Scarborough Village location and local community centre. Hours are M-Th 11:30–7:30 and F 9–5 with some flexibility. Weekly travel to the head office, as well as occasional travel throughout the GTA for recruitment events, is required.

What’s in it for you

Impact. You want to contribute to high-impact, community-rooted academic programming and help us reach our 2024/25 goal of 92% of participants graduating and pursuing post-secondary education. You will play a vital role in creating a safe, structured, and empowering space where youth feel a sense of belonging and receive academic encouragement.

Success. You will join a passionate team aligned with our award-winning, nationally recognized Pathways to Education program. You will work with dedicated volunteers and colleagues committed to equity, collaboration, and youth success, fostering a culture where everyone lifts each other up and thrives.

Growth. You will grow your team-leadership, partnership-building, and community-engagement skills in a uniquely grassroots yet established organization. You will gain valuable insights and knowledge working within an organization that values innovation, continuous improvement, and professional development, with opportunities to expand your expertise and advance your career in this program, or, if you meet the academic requirements, other areas of YouthLink.

How you will make an impact:

Lead and execute. You will coordinate academic programming, plan Homework Club and academic support sessions, and ensure alignment with youth needs. You will develop and implement a volunteer recruitment strategy, define required competencies, and create training modules to ensure consistent, high-quality program delivery.
Recruit and engage volunteers. You will build relationships with post-secondary institutions, community organizations, and corporate partners. You will promote opportunities at GTA events and use social media to maintain strong volunteer engagement.
Support volunteer integration. You will orient teams to the Pathways to Education model and agency policies. You will onboard volunteers, resolve concerns, and provide constructive feedback aligned with agency policies. You will model organizational values that promote a healthy, safe, and motivating environment. You will address emerging issues early and support risk mitigation plans.
Build community partnerships. You will expand access to space, volunteers, and resources through strong relationships with community, private, and public partners. You will collaborate on strategies that strengthen academic support and remove barriers for youth.
Participate in leadership activities. You will contribute to operational planning and continuous improvement at team and manager meetings. You will embed equity principles into program operations in collaboration with ABR leadership. You will support committees and projects aligned with YouthLink’s Strategic Plan.
Support programming, funder applications and reporting. You will contribute to the development of logic models, indicators, funding opportunities, and budgeting processes. You will prepare reports for internal stakeholders and funders. You will monitor internal and external factors affecting programs and assess emerging trends.

What you bring:

The education and experience. You have an undergraduate degree in a relevant field and experience planning and executing events or programming. Ideally, you have experience engaging youth in community events. You have culturally sensitive insights and experiences working in and engaging racially diverse and underserved communities. A second language (Tamil, Urdu, Farsi, Creole, French, or Spanish) is an asset. Access to a vehicle and a valid G licence are assets.
The leadership. You bring experience supervising staff or coordinating volunteers. You have recruited, trained, and supported staff, student placements, or volunteers. You can build strong partnerships across youth, community, and service-oriented groups, creating a network you can draw from. You have the organizational and analytical skills to support program or event development.
The engagement skills. You think creatively about supporting teams and participants, as well as volunteer engagement strategies. You have strong facilitation and presentation skills in both in-person and virtual formats. Ideally, you bring experience supporting youth academically and understand barriers such as learning disabilities, special needs, learning gaps, and the challenges of English Language Learners.
The commitment to equity. You stay current on Equity, Diversity, and Belonging best practices and work collaboratively with ABR leadership to embed these principles. You embrace reflective growth and understand systemic oppression—including colonization, racism, transphobia, classism, misogyny, moralism, and ableism—and its impact on youth.
The integrity. You navigate ethical considerations thoughtfully, adapt your decision-making to diverse situations, and manage challenging interactions with diplomacy and professionalism. You maintain high standards of accountability, welcome feedback, and demonstrate consistent respect.
The communication skills. You may speak additional languages relevant to Scarborough communities. You have exceptional listening skills and adapt your communication to ensure clarity and trust across diverse groups.

Compensation: $71,000 per year

Join us.

YouthLink's core values define what we stand for and how we operate, helping us to work together in the most fulfilling ways.

We value leadership, acting in ways that exemplify what we expect of each other and our clients. We work together, bringing out the best in each other and creating strong working relationships. Our professional ethics are evident in all the work we do and the decisions we make.

We value humanity and show consideration for people, their abilities, skills, diversity and perspectives. We create an inclusive workplace that celebrates individual differences and, through our actions, demonstrates empathy, goodwill and honesty.

We value innovation, demonstrating flexibility and changeability in adapting to our work and community dynamics. We show courage in developing service initiatives that will improve the well-being of our clients and their families.

We value respect for people for who they are and for their knowledge, skills and experience as individuals and team members. We treat clients with respect and fairness and encourage the same in return.

We value excellence, demonstrating competence and accountability in delivering client services. We display clear judgment and exhibit clear thinking and reasoning in all situations. We continually strive to accomplish all tasks and provide an outstanding service for our clients.

Benefits

At YouthLink, we understand the nature of our work and the deep commitment every team member offers. We strive to provide a rewarding compensation and benefits package to support our people. This includes:

Comprehensive health and dental coverage for you and your family, with 100% of the premiums fully covered.
Annual vacation with pay at 1.66 working days for each calendar month to a maximum of 20 working days per year.
5 ‘authorized absence’ days for family illness or emergency circumstances that prohibit employees from reporting to work.
5 paid management days, which can be used throughout the calendar year
3 paid agency days every calendar year after 3 calendar months service.
Maternity / parental /adoption leave top-up payments (to top-up Canadian government unemployment benefit payments).
100% premium cost for long-term disability coverage paid by employee.
Eligibility to participate in the pension plan after 2 years of continuous service with a generous matching employer contribution.

What you can expect from our hiring process:

A virtual interview with a Talent Advisor to discuss your interest in joining the company and in the role. The conversation will be recorded using BrightHire, an AI-powered video interview tool. More details will be shared when you are invited to interview.
An interview with the hiring manager to share your experience and discuss how you would apply your experience to actively building trust and nurturing a community-based learning environment and safe space through an anti-Black racism lens.
A Vulnerable Sector police check and references will be conducted before an offer of employment.

Apply now.

We welcome applications from candidates who reflect the communities we serve, particularly candidates from Black communities, Indigenous communities, racialized people, persons with disabilities, members of diverse gender identities and people with lived experiences.

We are seeking candidates who demonstrably operate and practice from an equity and trauma-informed lens. We encourage applications from passionate professionals who will help us dismantle systemic barriers and embrace working outside of Euro-centric practices.

If you meet 70% of the qualifications we are looking for and share 100% of our passion and commitment to supporting youth and their families, please submit your application. We can’t promise to hire you; we can promise to review your lived and learned experiences fully.

We are committed to providing equitable employment opportunities and a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. We are equally committed to providing an inclusive and accessible workplace. If you require accommodations at any stage of the interview process, please email us at [email protected].

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Help us maintain an inclusive culture.

We want anyone, anywhere to have the same chance and opportunity to build a life they love and that they are proud of. We are proactive in creating a belonging environment that anyone can be a part of. Thoughtful, data-driven decision-making is core to this success. We ask these questions to strengthen our practices by using data to identify and mitigate unconscious bias in our hiring process.

If you choose to answer them, the responses are ONLY used in aggregate to help us identify areas for improvement in our processes. Your responses, or your choice to prefer not to say, will not be associated with your application and will not in any way be used in the hiring decision. For one, that’s illegal, and we’re really not into breaking the law. Keep being awesome, and thank you for considering work at YouthLink.

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8.) This is an on-site role based at our Scarborough Village location and local community centre. Hours are M-Th 11:30–7:30 and F 9–5 with some flexibility. Weekly travel to the head office, as well as occasional travel throughout the GTA for recruitment events, is required. Are you comfortable with this work arrangement?*

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