Assistant Director of Playspace - Homeless Children LLP : Job Details

Job DetailsLevel: ManagementJob Location: Roxbury - Roxbury, MAPosition Type: Full TimeEducation Level: 4 Year DegreeSalary Range: $86000.00 - $86000.00 SalaryJob Shift: DayJob Category: Nonprofit - Social ServicesDescription

Title/Position:

Assistant Director of Playspace

Location:

Roxbury, MA

Reports to:

Chief Advancement Officer

FLSA Class, Status:

Full time/Exempt

Position Grade:

Assistant Director/Director

Starting Salary:

$86,000

Date Written:

June 2025

Our Mission:

Horizons for Homeless Children is a Boston-based non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of young children experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts. We help their families succeed by providing high-quality early education, opportunities for play, and comprehensive family support services. Our advocacy efforts extend our impact and advance our vision of ending homelessness among families with young children.

Playspace Program Summary:

The Playspace Program is based on the belief that play is essential for child development. Our Playspace Program ensures that children living in homeless shelters in Massachusetts have the opportunity for developmentally appropriate play. We build age-appropriate, child-friendly, and educational Playspaces in shelters and stock them with books, developmental toys, and art supplies. Playspaces are staffed by trained volunteers, called Playspace Activity Leaders (PALs), who commit two hours weekly for at least six months. In addition to facilitating the play crucial for children's development, PALs enable parents to participate in activities like parenting groups, budgeting classes or job searches.

Summary of Position:

The Assistant Director of Playspace is responsible for managing the logistics of running a complex network of volunteers, including ensuring accurate and up-to-date records are maintained on our database. The Assistant Director of Playspace assures that the Playspaces are developmentally appropriate and trauma informed places to play. The Assistant Director is responsible for supporting the onboarding and supervision of Playspace Program Specialists in the daily facilitation of Playspace services with shelter partners by sharing knowledge of how to work with young children who have experienced the trauma of being homeless, coordinating volunteer and shelter correspondence promptly, and by proactively ensuring that assigned volunteer shifts are running effectively.

Responsibilities:

• Supervise a team of Playspace Specialists to ensure successful facilitation of volunteer shifts and early childhood play experiences
• Supervise Playspace Specialists who are responsible for the day-to-day management of the shelter-based programs ensuring the successful management of 700+ volunteers, including recruitment, training, placement and retention
• Ensure the program has an appropriate scheduling process for daily volunteer coverage and that the Playspace Specialists are successfully managing daily and weekly shifts
• Work with Playspace Specialist team to implement effective volunteer and shelter partner communication protocol
• Track KPI's and use data to drive programmatic goals
• Oversee budgeting and quality control of Playspaces
• Manage data collection of child and volunteer attendance in QuickBase for ongoing funding support
• Coach and mentor the Playspace Specialists using Horizons core competencies as a guide
• Partner and collaborate with Early Childhood and Family Program staff for seamless implementation of organizational and departmental goals
• Partner with the Senior Director of Playspace Development and Early Childhood Partnerships to coordinate the successful buildout and launch of new Playspaces and the rollout of curriculum and training initiatives.

Workspace

This is a 40-hour-a-week, full-time position. The work you will perform is somewhat active, taking place at desk, in a cubicle in an office setting working alongside others. You will also on occasion travel to the shelters to support supervisees. This position requires a driver's license as well as a dependable vehicle.

You can expect to work onsite 4 days in the office and 1 days traveling to shelters. There will be occasional evening or weekend events with advanced planning and notice. There is a large staff room with an indoor and outdoor space for breaks as well as a designated quiet room. Our beautiful office space is located: Edgerley Family Horizons Center at 1785 Columbus Ave, Roxbury, MA.

This position requires the employee to comply with all applicable federal, state, local and company policy concerning immunizations, employment physical/screening, Background record check and health and safety training.

Starting salary range, compensation, and benefits

$86,000 is the starting salary for our Assistant Director level roles. Your starting salary will fall within that range depending on your competencies, experience, and skillset.

Your total compensation package includes the following benefits:

Health coverage options designed to be as comprehensive and affordable for you as possible, with Horizons covering between 70-75% of premiums (a value that ranges from an additional $8,000 – 20,000 per year based on your enrollment choices).

While you have a choice between an HMO and PPO plan for medical coverage, most employees pay $99.89 for individual, $199.79 for 2-person, or $314.21 for family coverage per biweekly paycheck and never pay more than $300 for individual or $600 for 2-person/family toward deductibles.

Visit The Benefits of Working at Horizons for more details on the rest of our benefits package

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging

We recognize the value of looking within to ensure our policies, practices, and culture are aligned with Horizons' vision. Creating a more equitable world has always been at the center of Horizons' mission, but in the last several years we've recommitted to the role Horizons plays in rectifying some of the problems we see and wish to address. Visit our DEI page to learn more about what that looks like at Horizons.

As such, we are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.

For more information about Horizons, please visit www.horizonschildren.org

Qualifications

Education & experience:

• Bachelor's degree required
• Early Education experience preferred
• 10+ years' experience supervising and mentoring staff and volunteers

Qualifications:

• Highly organized
• Experience with setting up mid and large-scale database systems to track program efficiency
• Experience developing dashboards and reporting on metrics
• Skilled at working in matrixed organizations and partnering with other critical functional areas – Early Education, Family Partnership Program, development
• Basic understanding of child development preferred
• Experience working with at-risk populations preferred
• Some experience presenting at the board level preferred

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Enthusiasm and creativity
• Excellent communication and high-level organizational skills
• Able to lift 50 lbs.
• Ability to work flexible hours which will include weekday evenings
• 4 days working on site at our Roxbury, MA location and 1 day WFH or at a shelter location
• Knowledge of current Windows operating system (Micro soft Word, Outlook, Excel)
• Knowledge of QuickBase
• Valid driver's license and reliable car and availability to travel statewide occasionally

Horizons for Homeless Children is committed to diversity and is an AA/EEO employer.

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