Intern (Chicago Youth Works) - Youth District Advisory Council

Since 1911, City Colleges of Chicago has been connecting students from across Chicago’s neighborhoods to economic opportunity. By offering a quality education at an unprecedented value, City Colleges provides our students and alumni with a pathway to upward mobility. City Colleges of Chicago is the city’s most accessible higher education engine of socioeconomic mobility and racial equity—empowering its students to take part in building a stronger and more just city. As Illinois’ largest community college system, City Colleges is comprised of seven colleges and five satellite sites across Chicago.

Chicago Youth Works is the City of Chicago’s signature youth employment initiative, bringing together government institutions, companies, and community-based organizations to offer employment and internship opportunities to youth and young adults ages 14 to 24. Youth participants gain valuable paid work experience, develop new tools for success, and make a difference in their communities.

The Youth District Advisory Council is a unique opportunity to address community concerns in neighborhoods across Chicago. This is a partnership with the Chicago Police Department that provides mentorship to students and highlights career opportunities with their scope. Internship hours may vary due to duties outside of traditional program hours with a max of 20 hours a week for youth participants and is designed to develop and contribute to the overall community policing efforts. This role is designed to build upon engagement strategies that encourage positive community interactions, youth mentoring and engagement programs with young adults ages 18-24 and police officers.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

The Chicago Youth Works initiative encourages students to gain experience in their prospective fields by placing them in areas and departments aligned with their area of study whenever possible. Students are able to use their wages towards educational and living expenses.

Chicago Youth Works jobs are available in areas such as academic departments, laboratories, libraries, administrative offices, student centers and off-campus locations.

YDAC’s ultimate goal is to build a better relationship between youth & police. This opportunity will allow interns to help youth develop a voice within CPD, prepare youth leaders for tomorrow, equip youth with tools to build safer communities through youth organizing, and community conversations to address community violence.

Participants will work towards creating a mini community resource booklet for youth, photo collage, power point presentation, video presentation, art display or other project to highlight their experience in the program and propose ideas for positive change in the community.

DEPARTMENT LOCATIONS

• Chicago Police Department (students will be assigned to one of the 22 Chicago Police districts)

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

• Assists at reception desk, greeting students, faculty and staff entering office.
• Assists staff in the day-to-day functions of the office.
• Provides support on various projects and assignments as needed.
• Provides general administrative support including but not limited to maintaining digital and physical records, preparing documents, faxing, photocopying, and data entry.
• Assists with timekeeping and tracking daily attendance for YDAC leadership participants.
• Encourages participants to develop leadership skills and engage as active members of their community
• Supports YDAC leadership participants in developing a final project that reflects their six-week program experience.
• Adheres to the City Colleges of Chicago Customer Services Excellence Standards.
• Performs other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

Eligibility Requirements:

• Applicants must be 18 years or older, have work permit consent, and be eligible to work in the United States
• Applicants must be a City of Chicago resident
• Applicants must be current City Colleges of Chicago students who were or are enrolled in at least one semester of the current academic year
• Applicants must not be current Full or Part-time employees of the City Colleges of Chicago
• All positions are “employment at-will”
• Applicants must complete the Chicago Youth Works application

Minimum Qualifications:

• Available to participate in the program from late June through late July. Dates may vary based on the needs of the department or partner organization.
• Excellent verbal communication skills
• Excellent customer service skills
• Good interpersonal skills with a positive attitude, professionalism, and initiative
• Ability to serve as a positive role model and represent City Colleges of Chicago in a professional manner
• Demonstrate emerging leadership skills, including organization, critical thinking, and self-motivation
• Experience with Microsoft Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams)