Careers
Want to play an essential role in empowering Chicago’s youths through sports and play? We’d love to have you on our team
Current Openings
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Director of Community Engagement
UI seeks a Director of Community Engagement to lead its work to expand play equity through neighborhood-focused networks to ensure young people and families in neighborhoods that have been on the margins of traditional access and power have expanded access to the power of play. This strategy prioritizes three goals at a neighborhood level: 1) Collaborative Network; 2) Local Access; and 3) Coach Pipeline. For the 2024 and 2025 school years, UI is focused on this work with four Chicago neighborhoods, while developing a playbook for future expansion/iteration of this work with additional neighborhoods.
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Recess Coach
The Recess Coach is responsible for implementing the recess schedule for all K-8 school-age youth, expanding SEL knowledge school-wide, and being a proactive team member within their school environment. Recess schedules include but are not limited to, structured play, transitions, and lunchroom support.
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Resource Coordinator, CSI
The Resource Coordinator is responsible for managing and expanding out-of-school time programming for Community School’s Initiative, a nationally recognized and federally funded program in Chicago.
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Program Manager, Recess
Program Managers dedicate their time to managing high-quality and impactful Urban Initiatives programs at their assigned school sites. They oversee the implementation and goal achievement of Recess programming at 7 partner schools, providing day-to-day management to Coaches and Associates who implement these services and collaborating with administrators to ensure school satisfaction and school-based staff support.
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Substitute Coach
The Substitute Coach is responsible for providing substitute coverage for our recess and out-of-school time programming for K-8th grade youth, expanding SEL knowledge school-wide, and being a proactive team member within their school environment.
Why Work At Urban Initiatives
We Use the Power of Sport and Play to Empower Chicago’s Youth
Want to work at a mission-driven organization enabling lasting change in the city? Join the Urban Initiatives team. We value collaboration.
Great Mission
The Urban Initiatives way allows kids to learn, practice, and succeed. It’s an incredibly worthwhile mission for kids and the people who support them.
Great Impact
We’re helping kids who might not otherwise have an opportunity like this. UI participants come from families who qualify as low income.
Great Perks
We offer a variety of perks to support you in your personal and professional development. See below for a listing of things we provide.
Great Diversity
We work hard to embrace diversity and inclusion and encourage everyone at Urban Initiatives to bring their whole selves to work every day.
Invest in quality coaches
Invest in quality coaches
Invest in quality coaches
Invest in quality coaches
Invest in quality coaches
Enlist support from diverse networks of families, schools, and community members
Enlist support from diverse networks of families, schools, and community members
Enlist support from diverse networks of families, schools, and community members
Develop social-emotional learning through play
Develop social-emotional learning through play
Develop social-emotional learning through play
Use our network to help students build social capital
Use our network to help students build social capital
Use our network to help students build social capital
Company Benefits
A Great Mission and a Great Place to Work
Urban Initiatives is preparing to scale program operations to have a significantly greater impact across Chicago. Our programs support social-emotional learning (SEL) and demand for these services is greater than ever.
Working at Urban Initiatives puts YOU in the middle of making an impact that will shape generations of Chicago youth. We are coaches by trade and we bring this expertise into our work environment. You can expect us to deliver ample learning opportunities, growth mindsets, a culture of feedback and transparency, and fun as a core value. Are you ready to put passion into action to build a stronger Chicago?
We offer these benefits.
- Health, dental, and vision insurance premiums are paid 100% by Urban Initiatives (for employees and for their children)
- Life, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance paid 100% by Urban Initiatives
- Option to contribute to a 401K with up to a 3% match of your salary after one full year of employment
- Flexible schedule and work-from-home environment
- 120 hours of paid time off (PTO), accrued monthly (PTO may be prorated based on start date.)
- Paid holidays (Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve through New Year’s Day)
- Comp time
Empowering Youth
Urban Initiatives uses the power of sport and play to empower Chicago’s youth to achieve academic success, develop social-emotional skills, and build social capital. Our work is in its 20th year of changing lives.
Making an Impact
We believe that play has the power to make Chicago safer, more equitable, and more connected. See students, coaches, and parents share why they think play is serious. We’re growing to meet needs for more of the city’s youth.
