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Tenacity Inc., Summer Program Dir.
Position Description
July 2015
Page 1 of 5
Organization
Title
Location
Type:
Reports:
Tenacity, Inc.
Director of Tennis/Fitness
Boston, Massachusetts
Full Time
Chief Operating Officer
Compensation:
Based on experience.
OVERVIEW OF TENACITY:
Founded in 1999, Tenacity’s mission is to improve the scholastic, character, and physical
development of urban youth through a combination of academic instruction and tennis
instruction/competition with a focus on life skills. Over the last ten years Tenacity has evolved from
its original after-school model to become an active participant in school reform. Tenacity’s programs
offer a Pathway to Post-Secondary Success and together serve 5500 youth annually. In 2012,
Tenacity launched an Elementary School Program to extend the pathway by two years, starting in
4th grade. This program will help identify “right fit” youth as we extend our reach into the city’s
middle and K-8 schools for Tenacity’s pathway programs, introducing college success as a goal
while providing academic and tennis instruction. The Middle School Academy (MSA) is an
intensive three year program consisting of academic, study/life skills and tennis enrichment. The
MSA currently serves over 275 at-risk middle school students at five Boston Public School sites
approximately 4 days/week for 3 hours/day, with program time equally split between academics and
tennis. The pathway continues with the College Prep/Alumni Program which serves 280 high
school students, graduates of the MSA providing academic support and mentorship, including a
“Right-Fit” High School selection process, comprehensive college prep programming, to ensure
success in high school and in post-secondary education. Our College Prep/Alumni Program
extends its support to youth who have enrolled in college so that they successfully complete their
education. The Summer Reading & Tennis Program serves 5000 youth ages 6-16, providing
literacy, tennis and wellness programming in July and August, preventing summer reading level
loss.
Tenacity’s three school-year pathway programs work in concert to engage youth and their families
year-round for nine or more years of their lives; literally changing the trajectory of their futures. Over
its ten+ year history, Tenacity has maintained a 95% high school graduation rate among students
who have completed the MSA, with 80% going on to higher education (compared to the overall
Boston Public School graduation rate of 70% with 35% going on to higher education).
Tenacity currently employs a full-time MSA staff of 19, with more than 200 seasonal employees and
250 volunteers, including 28 Tenacity Fellows. Tenacity’s current operating budget is over $4.8
million and is expected to grow to an operating budget of $7 million+ by 2019.
Tenacity Inc., Summer Program Dir.
Position Description
July 2015
Page 2 of 5
POSITION: Director of Tennis/fitness
The Tennis Director has two primary responsibilities:
1. Overseeing the tennis/fitness components for our school year pathway programs which
includes:
a. Organizing and overseeing our Elementary school Intro to Tennis and Tenacity
program.
b. Collaborating with the Middle School Academy Program Director to refine, improve
and seamlessly integrate a progressive tennis/fitness program and curricula for our
Middle School Academy program.
c. Working with our College Prep/Post-Secondary Services Program Director to offer
ongoing, regular, robust high school tennis/fitness experiences to our Middle School
Academy graduates ensuring tennis opportunity continuity upon completion of their
MSA years. Further, identifying and/or creating development opportunities for
advanced/strong players to become either high school varsity tennis players or play
competitive matches.
2. Manage the Summer Tennis and Reading Program. This includes hiring over 120 summer
staff that provide free, enriching and enjoyable summer tennis, fitness and reading
experiences to over 5,000 Boston city residents between the ages of 6 – 16 at over 25 parks
in Boston and Worcester.

PATHWAY PROGRAM RESPONSIBILITIES:
o
Develop Overall Strategic Direction


o
Working with COO, program directors and external experts to refine the
overall strategy for Tennis/Fitness at Tenacity
Develop overall program metrics with the COO and status report on bi-weekly
basis.
Program Implementation and Evaluation:

Review and refine a tennis/fitness progressive development curricula for MSA
6th, 7th and 8th graders.

Working with the MSA Director, review and revise Tenacity’s tennis/fitness
MSA program strategies, structure, and curricula to ensure that it is a fully
integrated component of our literacy and life skills curricula.

Working with the College Prep Program Director to develop a high school
tennis and fitness program that will attract a significant number of our program
participants.

Create or identify advanced tennis opportunities for strong players both in
MSA and College Prep.

Work with the MSA Director and Data analyst to develop and review metrics of
impact of tennis/fitness on student achievement.
Tenacity Inc., Summer Program Dir.
Position Description
July 2015
Page 3 of 5

o
Oversee Tennis assistant in managing logistics, equipment inventory, team
tennis and tennis events calendars.
Staff and Volunteer Management:

Work with the MSA Director to recruit, hire and retain strong MSA
tennis/fitness coordinators.

Provide a training plan for our MSA tennis/fitness staff and AmeriCorps
members to ensure development of both their tennis and program execution
skills.

Provide regular and ongoing feedback to the MSA Program director on areas
of tennis/fitness program and execution improvement for each site.

o

Observe sites on a regular basis to assess progress and provide
immediate feedback.

Create the training and development plans for tennis/fitness coordinators and
AmeriCorps members based on the observation and feedback provided.

Develop a cadre of p/t and volunteer tennis instructors to complement the fulltime staff.

Work with the Site staff to provide them with ongoing feedback and
development opportunities.

Oversee tennis assistant in administering p/t tennis instructors time reporting,
Facilities

Collaborate with Operations staff in identifying and securing appropriate
recreation space for programming

Evaluate school space
SUMMER TENNIS AND READING PROGRAM RESPONSIBILITIES
o
Working with Tennis Assistant and HR to recruit summer program staff and
volunteers, exploring all available outreach strategies to ensure the highest
competency and greatest diversity.
o
Provide overall supervision to a diverse team of Sector and Site Leaders, reading
coordinators, senior and junior staff, as well as volunteers, work-study tutors, and
other part-time instructors.
o
Working with MSA tennis and academic coordinators, oversee the development and
execution of Summer tennis curricula and reading plans
o
Provide orientation training for summer staff in preparation for program.
Tenacity Inc., Summer Program Dir.
Position Description
July 2015
Page 4 of 5

o
Supervise, along with the tennis assistant, summer site preparation – tennis and
fitness inventory, reading materials, first aid kits, documentation materials, banners,
flyers, registration materials etc.
o
Work with Tennis Assistant and Operations to ensure summer database is ready for
online registration, administration of rosters and attendance.
o
Work with Tennis Assistant to ensure timesheets and attendance rosters are accurate
and delivered in a timely manner.
o
Manage the relationship with City of Boston.
o
Working with MSA director to identify potential new school year program students
from summer participants.
o
Run the Mayor’s Cup Tournament.
OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES
o External Relations:

o
Develop/sustain and grow relationships with the city of Boston and tennis
organizations.
Fund raising/marketing Activities:

Work with the CEO and VP of Advancement to organize and run occasional
tennis events for funders.

Identify, facilitate and coordinate tennis events for Tenacity students to
participate in.
Experience Level: Significant experience managing large youth sports programs.
Personal Qualifications
 Passion for Tenacity’s mission

Experience coaching and training youth 12 – 18.

Expertise and experience working with youth of color

Competitive College level tennis playing experience.
o
o
NTRP level 4? a plus
USPTR Certified Professional? a plus

Experience training other coaches.

Sense of Humor

Multi-tasker

Strong organizational skills

Attention to detail
Tenacity Inc., Summer Program Dir.
Position Description
July 2015
Page 5 of 5
Education: College degree required. Advanced degree in youth development or youth sports would
be a definite plus.
TO APPLY:
Send a resume and cover letter to [email protected]. Please include “#101 –
director of tennis/fitness” in the subject line of your email.
Tenacity will not discriminate toward individuals on the basis of age, race, gender, color, national origin, religion,
marital status, or sexual orientation. Tenacity seeks to nurture diversity among its many employees. When requested,
Tenacity will make reasonable accommodations for individuals with a permanent or temporary disability.