The Police Athletic League (PAL) of New York City is an independent youth development nonprofit organization and has been a vibrant and vital institution, serving as an effective, critical bridge between police and communities across all five boroughs of the City since 1914. PAL operates diverse programs for children as young as 2 years old to young adults. Programs include Head Start, after-school programs and summer day camps for elementary, middle and high school youth, and summer Playstreets. PAL also runs evening teen centers and college readiness programs, youth employment, and juvenile justice programs. Staying true to PAL’s roots, a cornerstone of our youth development strategy includes offering competitive and recreational sports for children of all ages. At PAL, we’re devoted to empowering communities and building the best places to work, and that goes for our own teams too.
In its 110th year, PAL continues to reimagine the agency’s leadership structure to ensure the next 110 years are nimble, strategic, responsive, and efficient. We are looking for COMPASS School Program Directors to elevate our out-of-school programming embedded within a New York City public school or PAL Center. Locations may serve Elementary through High School youth through SEL, STEM, Literacy, Sports, Arts, Mental Health, and College and Career Access Programming.
This position reports to the Program Supervisor.
Elementary Afterschool Program Directors are key on-site supervisors managing all programming as well as relationships with youth, parents, school community, and the community at large. Directors must be creative programmers, skilled supervisors, and skilled talent developers. Familiarity with SACC regulations and DYCD funding requirements is a plus. Directors will partner with the NYPD, DOH, DYCD, NYCPS, and local community organizations. We are looking for individuals who can listen, problem solve and build bridges to partnerships that expand opportunities for NYC’s youth. As such:
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Candidates must be dedicated to learning and implementing Best Practices in the field of youth development.
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Candidates must be able to support programming that happens during the day, evenings, and weekends.
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Candidates must support the ideas and opportunities of the youth, staff, and community.
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Candidates must possess excellent communication and listening skills.
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Candidates must work together as a team to support PAL’s programming throughout the entire City.
Major Duties & Responsibilities
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Foster social and emotional competencies and mental and physical well-being in a safe, welcoming, inclusive, and nurturing environment.
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Manage all aspects of PAL Elementary School Afterschool Programming including overseeing the implementation of mental health support and inclusion coordination, identifying resources to support youth with special needs. Use identified resources to support youth with special needs and/or mental health needs, complete mental health referrals, and/or activate DYCD’s inclusions resources.
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Recruit, hire, and provide excellent supervision and support to all part time Group Leaders and Activity Specialists, Administrative Assistants, and Content Specialists.
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Ensure the program is aligned to strategic objectives of PAL, policies and procedures, agency programming calendar, SACC regulations, and the contractual obligations of government and private funding sources including fire safety certification.
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Develops a strong Youth Development culture within the Center ensuring voice, growth, and advancement for all youth and staff. Train, conduct observations, and coach across all programs ensuring SEL, mental health, and inclusion policies are being implemented as designed.
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Coordinates with the Principal, Director, Regional Director, SYEP Director, and Head Quarters staff to grow creative programming opportunities unique to the Site.
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Collects program data, analyzes and drives PAL forward with data driven recommendations.
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Ensure strong reciprocal partnerships with NYPD, NYCPS school partner, DYCD, DOH and other Community partners aligned with PAL’s mission.
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Plans and coordinates various citywide programs, activities, and special events.
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Assists in the development of future funding grants and requests for proposals.
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Provides mediation and troubleshooting for on-site issues.
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Respond appropriately when time-sensitive mental health services are needed such as suicide prevention, grief, and loss due to death or incarceration of a family member.
What You Bring:
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An associate's in child development, education, physical education or recreation or related and two years of direct experience working with youth under 13 OR a NYS Children’s Program Administrator Credential and 2 years of experience working with youth under 13 OR a SACC Credential and 2 years of experience working with youth under 13 OR two years in college with 18 credits in child development, education, physical education or recreation or related and two years of direct experience working with youth under 13.
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A minimum of 4 years of demonstrated successful experience in a supervisory position providing services to youth that includes program management and staff supervision with at least three years in a leadership capacity.
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Demonstrated skills in program planning, implementation, and evaluation.
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Open to learning and growing. All staff will be learning mental health, SEL, and special needs inclusion skills and expected to integrate them into programming.
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Knowledge of DYCD Connect preferred. Microsoft office skills are required.
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Strong verbal and written communication skills and ability to work collaboratively. Bi-lingual in Spanish, French, or Chinese preferred.
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Able to travel to any PAL location in the 5 Boroughs for training.
Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, 10:00-6:00pm with weekends and nights as needed.
Compensation: The salary for this role is $68,000-70,000 annually.
Benefits: PAL offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes health insurance, flexible spending account options, an employee assistance program, tuition reimbursement, pet insurance, life insurance, retirement savings options, a generous paid time off policy, training and more!
Location: PS 136 Roy Wilkins 201-15 115 Avenue, Queens, NY 11412
Tentative Start Date: August 3rd, 2026
At the Police Athletic League, we seek people who are talented, creative and passionate to help create a more inclusive city and better futures for our youth. We’re devoted to empowering communities and building the best places to work, and that goes for our own teams too.
The Police Athletic League is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected characteristic including, but not limited to, an individual’s sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy
Employment with PAL is contingent upon successful completion of all the Agency’s lawful pre-employment checks, which may include a background check.
Skills Required
- Associate's in child development, education, physical education, recreation or related plus 2 years direct experience working with youth under 13 (OR alternative credentials listed)
- NYS Children's Program Administrator Credential plus 2 years direct experience working with youth under 13 (alternative credential option)
- SACC Credential plus 2 years direct experience working with youth under 13 (alternative credential option)
- Two years of college with 18 credits in child development, education, physical education or recreation and 2 years direct experience working with youth under 13 (alternative credential option)
- Minimum of 4 years demonstrated successful experience in a supervisory position providing services to youth, with at least 3 years in a leadership capacity
- Demonstrated skills in program planning, implementation, and evaluation
- Ability to support programming during days, evenings, and weekends
- Knowledge of SACC regulations and DYCD funding requirements (familiarity noted as a plus earlier but alignment with compliance is required in duties)
- Microsoft Office skills
- Knowledge of DYCD Connect
- Strong verbal and written communication and listening skills; ability to work collaboratively
- Bilingual in Spanish, French, or Chinese
- Able to travel to any PAL location in the five boroughs for training
- Willingness to learn and integrate mental health, SEL, and special needs inclusion skills into programming
- Successful completion of pre-employment checks, which may include a background check
What We Do
The Police Athletic League of New York City (PAL) is a non-profit organization that supports and inspires New York City youth to realize their full individual potential as productive members of society. With the support of committed staff and NYPD officers, it provides over 30,000 young people in underserved neighborhoods access to academic adventures, sports, arts, job training, and mentoring.
