Coalition Coordinator

The Partnership for Ontario County / Ontario Cares

JOB DESCRIPTION: Coalition Coordinator

Job Type: Full Time, 37.5 hours/week, Non-Exempt

Location: Geneva, Bloomfield, and Canandaigua, NY, with travel to partner sites countywide

Wage band: $22-$26 per hour

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION:

The Partnership for Ontario County (Ontario Cares) has been a center of support in the Finger Lakes since 1998, offering programs that strengthen families and communities. Programs include the Community Support Center, EPIC Zone Youth Clubhouses (Geneva and Bloomfield), the FLX Unity Center (co-located with EPIC Zone Geneva), Ontario County Youth Court, the Hope and Healing Network of Ontario County, Veterans Coalition, and a monthly pop-up food pantry.

PURPOSE OF JOB:

Ontario Cares is seeking an energetic, organized, community-minded Coalition Coordinator for the Hope & Healing Network of Ontario County, funded by a five-year federal Drug-Free Communities (DFC) grant. The Hope & Healing Network of Ontario County coalition's mission is to prevent and reduce mental distress, substance misuse, and suicide by engaging youth and strengthening pathways to hope and healing through community action. Its DFC work focuses on preventing youth alcohol and cannabis use in Geneva and Bloomfield. The Coordinator will play a central role in turning that mission into action.

OVERVIEW:

The Coordinator is the coalition's key connector and day-to-day staff lead. You will engage representatives from 12 community sectors, including youth, parents, schools, law enforcement, healthcare, government, businesses, media, and civic organizations. You'll help partners find meaningful ways to participate and keep the work moving between meetings.

This role moves between people and administration. You'll spend much of your time on outreach and on engaging youth and the community, while also maintaining the systems, timelines, documentation, and follow-through needed to make community-level progress and manage a federal grant successfully.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

Be the Connector

• Build genuine relationships with youth, families, schools, community organizations, businesses, and public agencies, serving as a visible, approachable face of the coalition.
• Learn partners’ needs and interests, and recruit new members, especially from those not yet at the table.
• Help members turn their strengths and connections into prevention action, connecting people, resources, and ideas.

Engage and Empower Youth

• Build relationships with young people through the community, schools, EPIC Zone Youth Clubhouses, Youth Court, and other youth-serving organizations.
• Create opportunities for youth to shape coalition priorities and to lead events, peer education, outreach, and prevention activities.
• Help coalition members and partners engage youth authentically in community change.

Bring Prevention Into the Community

• Coordinate outreach and prevention activities in Geneva and Bloomfield, including school and community events, health fairs, farmers markets, and youth activities.
• Help coalition members and youth leaders become effective prevention ambassadors.
• Coordinate the coalition’s work with alcohol retailers, cannabis dispensaries, and law enforcement on youth access prevention and underage sales compliance
• Connect youth and families with positive activities, services, and community resources.

Manage Grant Progress, Deliverables, and Reporting

• Coordinate day-to-day implementation of the DFC annual work plan and five-year strategy, moving priorities forward between meetings.
• Track coalition activities, grant deadlines, reporting requirements, and partner commitments, following up so tasks are completed and documented on time.
• Maintain complete, organized grant files, and keep coalition leadership and partners informed of DFC requirements and deadlines.

Use Data to Guide Action

• Work with the contracted evaluator and coalition members to collect and organize quantitative and qualitative data aligned with the logic model and grant objectives.
• Monitor progress toward short-term, intermediate, and long-term outcomes, and flag areas needing attention or corrective action.
• Coordinate translating data and evaluation findings into clear, accessible information for the community, and help build findings into ongoing planning.

Build Sustainability

• Help the coalition develop the relationships, resources, and organizational capacity to sustain prevention efforts beyond the grant.

WHO YOU ARE

You make things happen. You see an opportunity, make the connection, and figure out what comes next. You know coalition work is built on relationships, whether that’s a conversation over coffee, a follow-up call, or showing up consistently, and you build trust easily with people from all backgrounds, from youth to parents to school staff to law enforcement. You have a genuine interest in youth development and bring a strengths-based, youth-centered approach to your work.

You’re equally comfortable leading a group of partners and working independently. You’re organized. You communicate clearly in writing and in person, can facilitate meetings, trainings, and community conversations, and are curious and eager to learn more about prevention, public health, and environmental change.

WHY THIS ROLE IS DIFFERENT

You’ll be the person helping a community come together, working in schools, youth programs, and community spaces, where you’ll help young people have a real voice in decisions that affect their lives. You’ll also have real room for initiative: if a key partner isn’t at the table, reach out; if youth tell you something isn’t working, bring that back to the coalition.

This work changes the conditions in a community so young people have stronger connections, more positive opportunities, and fewer pathways to substance use. Across Geneva and Bloomfield, you’ll help shape a growing coalition built to last beyond the grant.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's degree in youth development, social work, human services, education, public health, community development, nonprofit management, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience considered.
• Experience working with youth, families, schools, community organizations, and cross-sector partners preferred.
• Experience with DFC, SAMHSA's Strategic Prevention Framework, evidence-based prevention, or coalition work is a plus, but we are most interested in the right energy, relationship-building skills, initiative, and commitment to youth and community.
• Regular travel between Geneva, Bloomfield, and other Ontario County locations; valid driver's license and reliable transportation required.
• Availability for occasional evenings/weekends required
• Successful completion of applicable background checks and organizational requirements.

This is a grant-funded position contingent on continued grant funding.

The Partnership for Ontario County is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating a welcoming environment for all employees.

Pay: $22.00 - $26.00 per hour

Work Location: In person