Most Important Skills For A Project Director Upward Bound At An Education Nonprofit
Lidia, a Project Director III, emphasizes the critical importance of "people skills" in her role, highlighting the need for strong communication and collaboration with staff, community partners, students, and families to effectively manage resources and create impactful programs. The ability to facilitate trainings and connect with individuals on both one-to-one and group levels is vital for success and making a positive impact.
Communication, Project Management, Teamwork, Problem-Solving, Leadership
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Lidia Alfaro Chavez
Project Director III, Upward Bound
Education Non-Profit
UCLA, 2014
Pepperdine University, MA Social Entrepreneurship & Change, 2017
Anthropology, Sociology
Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Operations and Project Management
Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Greek Life Member, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Excellent communication skills are crucial for interacting with staff, community partners, students, and families.
2. Critical thinking is essential for effective resource allocation and program development.
3. Strong training and facilitation abilities are valuable for staff development and student engagement.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
People skills. It sounds a little silly to say, but people skills are a big part of my job. If I'm not able to interact really well with my staff, the community partners I collaborate with, and the students we work with, and the families they're from, we're really not able to do our job.
I'm not able to do my job successfully. So, being able to work with people, communicate, collaborate, and think critically about how we're utilizing our funds and the resources we have is important.
They may be limited, but understanding how we can best put all the little puzzle pieces together to create a really amazing picture and program for the students and the youth that we serve is key.
I oftentimes jump in and facilitate trainings for either my staff or other staff as part of a professional association or conference. I'll be part of that as part of my job, and even with the students too.
I find that having the ability to really communicate, both on a one-to-one level and in a larger group setting, is really important to the work that I do. I certainly wouldn't be able to continue with that work and make the impact that I hope to make if we're not able to have that connection and build that rapport with the people I serve.