Opportunity Youth Coach & Employment Specialist, Nashville

Martha O'Bryan Center

Nashville

Family Services/Human Services/Behavioral Health

Position Description / Responsibilities

As part of MOBC’s Opportunity Youth (OY) Re-Engagement Hub and the Family Success Network, OY Coaches and Employment Specialists work directly with individuals aged 17 – 24 in a collaborative process to help each reach their individualized goals. Using Family Centered Coaching and comprehensive case management, OY Coaches and Employment Specialists strive to keep participants in the driver’s seat, viewing the young adult as the expert of their own strengths and perceived challenges ahead. OY Coaches and Employment Specialists provide direct foundational skills instruction, employment coaching, and professional growth training, while regularly taking part in MOBC’s trauma-informed care coordination as they engage with MOBC support systems as well as community partners to help client excel. The OY Coach and Employment Specialist is often the primary contact for the opportunity youth, and is responsible for connecting with the client, assessing client needs, guiding the client in goal setting around core areas of service, referring family to needed partners or providers in the community, and updating progress notes.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Regularly recruits, enrolls, and engages a cohort of Opportunity youth. Completes relevant assessments and oversees participants intake process. Ensures all documents submitted on behalf of a participant are valid.
• Creates Individualized Action Plans based on participants needs and preferences and implements an individually and developmentally appropriate program of activities in line with this plan, the mission of MOBC, and the goals of the Re-Engagement Hub and Family Success Network.
• Directly connects and refers Opportunity Youth to employment, educational and supportive services that will help the client reach their individual goals.
• Prepares and facilitates employment training sessions in work readiness and professional growth, integrating core educational supports and cognitive skills development, as well as critical skills in communication, attitude, self-management, teamwork, resilience, and conflict management.
• Leads Opportunity Youth in MOBC’s Trauma Informed Care Coordination, helping build a team of support that surrounds each client and guides them towards their self-identified goals.
• Monitors a cohort of participants and maintains clear documentation of the progress of each participant.
• Meets with the client on a regular basis for 12-24 months on average.
• Implements regular outreach as necessary when participants appear to disengage from services and provide timely interventions.
• Conducts home visits as needed.
• Actively makes effort to seek out and to maintain meaningful relationships with partnering agencies and community partners.
• Works with OY Program Director to engage with business, government, and non-profit community and develops work opportunities and/or work experiences (shadowing, informational talks) for OY.
• Contacts employers regularly in effort to create trusting and collaborative relationships with goal of job placement for Opportunity Youth.
• Works closely with Peer Support Workers to help provide guidance and professional development, and insure they possess social, emotional and workforce skills necessary to successfully mentor and engage peer participants.
• Utilizes data systems and analysis to improve and adapt programming.

Position Requirements

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Social Services, Mental Health, Management, Public Administration, Project Management, or related field.
• Two or more years of related experience.
• Background in social work, mental health and/or therapeutic settings preferred.

The above qualifications express the minimum standards of education and/or experience for this position. Other combinations of education and experience, if evaluated as equivalent, may be taken into consideration.

Knowledge and Abilities:

• Passion for working with older youth and young adults.
• Knowledge of inner-city human service needs and methods of service delivery.
• Strong interpersonal skills; excellent customer service skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Maintains credibility through sincerity, honesty, and discretion.
• Builds and maintains positive relationships with internal and external constituents.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Strong time management skills; uses time effectively; consistently meets deadlines.
• Strong project management skills.
• Maintains a high level of confidentiality regarding sensitive information.
• Documents regularly, thoroughly, accurately, and completely.
• High level of detail and accuracy.
• Exercises good and consistently fair judgment, courtesy, and tact in dealing with the staff and public in giving and obtaining information.
• Ability to look at numbers, trends, and data, and come to conclusions based on findings.
• Ability to find, manipulate, and interpret data effectively to inform programming decisions.
• Ability to translate data into understandable documents/presentations.
• Ability to communicate complex ideas.
• Computer literate including familiarity with word processing, spreadsheet, database, desk top publishing software, email and the internet. Knowledge of Google Suite and Microsoft Office.

Special Demands:

The special demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a staff member to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

• Regular local travel (50%).
• Current, valid driver’s license.

Application Instructions

Click HERE to apply.