Position: Manager, Early Childhood and Family Engagement

Department: SOLA Special Olympics Latin America

Location: Panama

Supervisor: Organization Development Director

Organization Summary:

Founded in 1968, Special Olympics is a global movement to end discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities. We foster acceptance of all people through the power of sport and programming in education, health, and leadership. With nearly four million athletes and Unified Sports® partners and one million coaches and volunteers in more than 170 countries, Special Olympics delivers more than 30 Olympic-type sports and nearly 50,000 games and competitions every year. Learn more at SpecialOlympics.org

Position Summary:

The Regional Program Development Manager – Early Childhood and Families is SOLA’s liaison to Latin America National Programs for promoting inclusive and supportive communities for our athletes and youth development by training, empowering and engaging athletes, youth and family members using as platforms our initiatives of Young Athletes, Families and Volunteers.

Developing alliances with new partners that will serve to ensure new resources for the development of these initiatives.

Responsibilities:

Regional Strategy Development: Develop and execute a regional strategy for Young Athletes, Families and Volunteers, ensuring alignment with SOLA’s overarching objectives.

• Coordinate with other colleagues and departments in the SOLA Region, and SOIHQ to support engagement of Young Athletes, Families, Volunteers as part of a cross-functional and integrated approach to developing Special Olympics programming.
• Collaborate with existing SOLA Region and global committees and working groups regarding Young Athletes, Families, volunteers to allow a fully integrated and meaningful approach involving different stakeholders on national and international level
• Oversee the development of Young Athletes:

• Train and engage Young Athletes Coordinators from across the Region
• Develop new partnerships that will serve to ensure new resources for the development of this initiative.
• Promote meaningful experiences for the Young Athletes in coordination with the Sports and Health Department.

• Oversee the development of Families.
• Train and engage Families Coordinators from across the Region to organize Families Train-the-Trainer Courses for National Programs
• Establish alliances and work with community organizations on organizing family forums and other strategies for recruiting new family volunteers.

• Oversee the development of Volunteer
• Lead/support implementation, documentation, evaluation, budgeting and planning of related Volunteer, grants, workshop or forums, etc.
• Train and engage Volunteer Coordinators from across the Region
• Establish alliances and work with Youth and Schools organizations.

• Mentorship and supervise: Provide guidance and support to Managers and Coordinators across the region, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Project Management: Oversee large-scale projects involving multiple departments and partners, ensuring deadlines are met and quality standards are maintained.

• Grant management: of Young Athletes, Families and Volunteer
• Develop and implement strategies: for securing new partners to ensure resource and technical support for the expansion of Young Athletes, Families and Volunteers
• Partner Relations: Maintain and strengthen relationships with existing partners and identify and establish new strategic partnerships that support the mission of Special Olympics.
• Program Evaluation: Oversee the evaluation of existing programs, identifying areas for improvement, and ensuring programs meet quality and efficacy standards.
• Search, advise, analyze and apply SOLA staff and National Programs on available SOI and other external grants/opportunities related to leadership, early child development, human right, local development; and the procedures for applying for these grants; oversee, help facilitate and monitor the development and execution of these grants.
• Analyze National Program Plans, support and advise SOLA staff and National Program Leaders on the continued development of Young Athletes, Families and Volunteers .

Additionally

• Participate in internal and external committees, forums and conferences regarding Athlete Leadership, Young Athletes, Families, Volunteers and Youth Engagement.
• Submit periodic reports.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• A bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience plus Three to Five years of relevant work experience. Experience and/or coursework in the area of sports sciences, education, psychology or with Special Olympics is a plus.

• Project and/or event coordination experience including stakeholder support, reporting and budget administration
• Experience in developing and coordinating educational, sports, youth and/or community work
• Knowledge of Special Olympics and/or work with youth with/without intellectual disability
• Fluent in speaking and writing English
• Strong skills in innovation, collaboration, problem solving, teamwork, and vision
• Sound planning, organization, coordination skills
• Diplomacy skills and familiarity with a variety of cultures
• Excellent communications skills, both verbal and written
• Excellent ability to use MS Office applications
• Able to travel internationally with work on weekends as needed

Desired Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in international relations, education, social or sports sciences or similar
• Experience as volunteer in Special Olympics (Youth leader or Unified player and/or coach) or the non-for-profit area

Special Olympics provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

**Special Olympics is an E-Verify Employer**