PROGRAM MANAGER
Who We Are
Old Skool Cafe is a faith-based, violence prevention program, providing marketable employment skills in the restaurant industry to at-risk, formerly incarcerated and foster care youth aged 16-22. Old Skool Cafe offers more than just employment; we provide the supportive environment needed to help our youth maintain their employment and be successful in all areas of life.
We seek team members who align with our core Christian faith values of dignity, excellence, accountability, and compassion. Staff are expected to create an inclusive, respectful environment where all youth feel safe and valued.
Position Overview
The Program Manager leads Old Skool Cafe's youth development program. The Program Manager is responsible for ensuring youth move successfully through program levels, meet benchmarks, and receive high-quality coaching while contributing meaningfully to a high-stakes hospitality environment.
The Program Manager operates as the organizational integrator across coaching, restaurant operations, and community partnerships, balancing youth crises, restaurant service demands, staff supervision, and partner communication in real time.
The youth development program has real foundations: passionate staff, established practices, and institutional knowledge built over time. But those pieces have not been fully implemented or unified into a coherent, metric-driven system. This role is being hired to build that infrastructure: layering what exists into what can still be built, and driving the implementation needed to make it operational.
This position provides the leadership, coordination, and operational discipline that keeps the youth development program aligned, accountable, and moving forward. The Program Manager is responsible for ensuring that commitments become actions, plans become outcomes, and that no youth or staff member falls through the cracks of organizational complexity.
Key Responsibilities
1. Cross-Departmental Coordination & Accountability
● Serve as the central point of contact across coaching, restaurant operations, and external partnerships, ensuring clean handoffs between departments.
● Track commitments and deadlines across the coaching team, GM, Chef, and Director of Communications, driving them to resolution or escalating as needed.
● Review cross-departmental priorities and unresolved issues during weekly leadership meetings, driving decisions to resolution or escalating barriers as needed.
● Track youth enrollment, program readiness, and capacity indicators, and bring data-backed analysis and recommendations to the Head of Operations on cohort size, intake timing, and program capacity.
2. Coaching Supervision & Program Quality
● Provide direct supervision to the coaching team, including responsibility for staff development, workload management, coaching quality, benchmark progress, documentation, performance accountability, and maintaining a healthy, productive work environment.
● Hold weekly one-on-one supervision meetings with each coach to provide feedback, remove barriers, align priorities, support professional development, and address performance concerns promptly, escalating unresolved issues in accordance with OSC personnel policies.
● Support coaches by removing operational obstacles and providing professional development, recognizing that coaches do their best work when they are supported, developed, and held to clear expectations.
● Build upon the program structures, practices, and institutional knowledge already in place, while developing and implementing the systems, benchmarks, and progression frameworks still needed - layering what exists into what can still be built.
● Develop and implement a program roadmap for each level, building on existing practices to create clear, defined, metric-oriented progression across all program levels.
● Implement and maintain the OSC Playbook workbook across youth, coaches, and staff, establishing sustainable documentation systems and accountability practices that endure despite individual staff turnover.
● Lead quarterly Individual Plans of Success (IPS) reviews with youth and adult teams.
● Identify systemic coaching gaps, including inconsistent documentation, benchmark tracking, coaching practices, or youth engagement, and implement corrective actions.
● Lead implementation of new program processes and operational improvements, guiding staff through change while maintaining consistency in youth experience and organizational standards.
3. Youth Development & Restaurant Integration
● Organize and oversee the quality of youth recruitment interviews and screening conducted with coaching staff, ensuring consistent eligibility standards across the team.
● Monitor youth progress across key milestones, addressing gaps and holding staff accountable in follow-through directly with youth and staff.
● Partner with GM and Chef to integrate youth workforce training into daily restaurant operations.
● Maintain an active presence during restaurant service to observe, coach, and reinforce workplace behaviors, helping youth and staff translate life skills into real-time hospitality practice.
● May carry a small direct caseload as capacity allows, using experience as a firsthand source for identifying systemic gaps in coaching quality, documentation, or program design.
4. Crisis Response & Staff Training
● Develop, plan, and facilitate ongoing staff development in Trauma-Informed Care, Motivational Interviewing, Restorative Communication, Mandated Reporting, and related topics based on program needs and emerging trends.
● Lead incident response for youth crises, disclosures, or safety concerns, and identify early indicators of youth safety or wellbeing risk to intervene proactively rather than only responding after disclosure.
● Serve as mandated reporter; ensure staff understand reporting obligations.
● Make referrals and facilitate connections to therapists and community support.
● Coordinate with probation officers, foster care workers, and mental health providers as needed.
● Maintain strict confidentiality in accordance with policies and applicable laws.
5. Partnerships & Community Resources
● Develop, strengthen, and steward relationships with education, workforce development, life skills, and community partners that expand opportunities for youth.
● Ensure externship placements support youth development and meet host organization expectations.
● Cultivate existing partnerships and proactively develop new community relationships that support youth development, workforce opportunities, and organizational impact.
Success Metrics
● 100% of youth receive weekly coaching, with documented outreach and follow-up for missed engagements.
● OSC Playbook used consistently by youth, coaches, and staff; quarterly IPS reviews completed on time.
● Life Coaches demonstrate ≥95% adherence to coaching and documentation standards.
● Partners consistently refer candidates and report positive program outcomes.
● Program data is accurate, current, and readily available for reporting and continuous improvement.
● Program and operational gaps are identified within two weeks of discovery and either resolved or escalated with documented action plans.
Role Evolution
Within the first year, the Program Manager will collaborate with the Head of Operations to review and update this job description so it accurately reflects the systems, structure, and leadership responsibilities established through the role's implementation.
Requested requirements for the role:
● Bachelor's degree in Social Work, Education, Nonprofit Management, or related field; or 8+ years relevant experience with at-risk youth.
● Demonstrated success leading complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives requiring coordination across multiple teams.
● Demonstrated experience supervising, coaching, and developing professional staff while fostering accountability and continuous improvement.
● Experience designing, improving, or implementing organizational systems, workflows, or program processes in a dynamic environment.
● Comfortable navigating between existing structure and open space — able to build upon what's already in place without dismissing it, while developing the systems and frameworks still needed to make the program fully operational.
● Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret program data, identify trends, and drive operational improvements.
● Demonstrated ability to influence outcomes and drive accountability without relying solely on formal authority.
● Independent, self-directed problem solver who builds systems and structure without needing to be handed direction, exercising sound judgment even when doing so requires making difficult or unpopular decisions.
● Valid CA Driver's License; pass background check aligned with youth safety policies.
● Emotional maturity, empathy, and strong professional boundaries.
● Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to facilitate difficult conversations and build trust across diverse populations.
All life experiences matter! If you feel your experiences make you a good fit for our organization, please send us a cover letter with your resume sharing your perspective.
Old Skool Cafe’s Compensation Policy
OSC’s compensation program is designed to deliver Total Direct Compensation (based on role, level, and experience) that is at or above market. The range of annual base salary for full-time employees for this position is below. Please note that base pay offered may vary depending on factors including, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.
$80,000 - $100,000 USD
Benefits
Old Skool Cafe offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:
Medical, dental, and vision insurance
401(k) retirement plan with up to 3.5% employer match
10 days of paid sick leave annually
Two weeks of paid time off
The opportunity to do meaningful, mission-driven work alongside a passionate, tight-knit team dedicated to transforming young lives through the power of hospitality and mentorship
Equity and Inclusion
At OSC, we welcome everyone regardless of their background, race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, etc. We depend on the diverse and unique cultural and life experiences of our team to demonstrate examples of success for our youth. We are committed to increasing diversity across our team and ensuring that OSC is a place where people from all backgrounds can make an impact, and all of our youth have mentors and leaders who represent examples of success that they can see themselves in.
Accommodations
Old Skool Cafe is an inclusive work environment, and we are committed to ensuring equal opportunity in employment for qualified persons with disabilities. Please email accessibleinterviewing@oldskoolcafe.org or click here if you require any reasonable accommodations throughout the recruiting process.
Application Process
Applications, which will be reviewed as received, must include a cover letter describing your interest and qualifications, and your resume in Word or PDF format. Please send to matthew@oldskoolcafe.org or click here with “Program Manager” in the subject line.
Position open until filled. No telephone calls, please.
