Job Details
Description
I. Position Summary
Workforce development professional that interacts with employers, service providers, and neighborhood residents. The Career Coach leads the employment component of the Family Hub at Chicago Commons by (1) identifying employment sectors and employers able to hire people from target neighborhoods, (2) helping families to connect with employment or skills training to advance to a better job. The Career Coach advises and provides information and guidance about career choice, employment training, and further education opportunities to clients, including adults, young people, job or career changers, the unemployed, and college students. This position will identify skill gaps and assist with finding options for suitable careers.
The Career Coach will also be responsible for expanding entrepreneurship sessions into a robust program that will assist HUB clients with starting or growing a new business. This program will include initiatives that propose practical career management plans which support client career building.
II. Education & Certification Requirements
- Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology, Social Work, Public health, or related field.
- 3-5 years or more experience working in/for non-profit organization(s)
III. Experience & Training Requirements
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.
- Self-starter and team member
- Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously
- Have considerable knowledge of employment and entrepreneurship strategies
- Must be comfortable speaking to and/or teaching small groups
- Demonstrate understanding that everyone is on a unique path to their own career or educational pursuit.
- Utilize motivational strategies to support overall employment and education attainment
- Proficient in Microsoft Office, data analysis, and curriculum development
- Candidates must regularly operate a word-processing system and, therefore, must be able to read, produce and transmit data on such a system.
- Exceptional verbal, non-verbal and written communication skills
- Must be organized and detail oriented
- Work closely with external partnerships, coach and train as needed on career focused objectives which include aiding with completing documentation, registration, and job searches.
- Strong facilitation skills
- Excellent time management and organizational skills
- Clear understanding of the culturally sensitive needs of the community
- Ability to communicate proficiently in English (written and oral)
- Intense focus on Customer Service
- Flexibility to work offsite at locations throughout Chicago
- Availability to work some evenings and weekends
IV. Desired Outcomes
Position Is Tied To Programmatic Outcomes Of
- Coordination and implementation of at least 12 workshops a year
- Planning 1 series on job development, readiness, and persistence annually
- Developing a calendar of activities 4-6 months in advance
- Increasing number of families receiving one on one services
- Increasing number of families attending series or workshops with at least 4 focused on child-parent activities
- Increasing clients placed and retained in jobs at 30,60, 90,180 and 365 days
- Developing an entrepreneurship program to include 3 events annually. This will include ongoing program initiatives that propose practical career management plans which support client career building activities quarterly.
V. Essential Job Requirements & Duties
- Outreach includes clients served by the Early Childhood and Senior Services departments.
- Recruit high-quality instructors/consultants to provide complementary workshops/classes.
- Identify growing employment sectors and potential employers along with analyzing client interests and capacities.
- Develop relationships with employers in order to understand their business and the job requirements of positions they seek to fill.
- Work with employers to identify specific skills they are seeking, document these skills and experience requirements in data system and develop a process for clients to acquire those skills.
- Deliver workshops on career and educational activities including resume and interview preparation, job search strategies, and professional networking.
- Work as a member of a cross-functional team providing services to families served by the Family Hub, sharing information, participating in team meetings, and helping to track and report progress and outcomes.
- Research best practices and create 2-Gen’ programs that engage children and their caregiver(s)
- Providing job and career coaching, follow up, and job retention services to Family Hub participants.
- Interface with neighborhood service providers as needed, with an emphasis on developing relationships with organizations that provide job readiness and job training services of benefit to Family Hub participants.
- Advocate for hard-to-employ residents such as Limited English Proficiency, disabled and ex-offenders.
- Assisting with organizing job fairs for neighborhood residents where new job opportunities are presented.
- Analyze reasons why people are not hired or are fired and fine tuning the recruitment and preparation process so people remain employed.
- Analyze the data, process, and results and improve the process as necessary.
- Provide reports and data on a timely basis as needed by project partners and funders.
- Monthly documentation of job openings, neighborhood applicants, and an analysis of outcomes.
- Manage data entry and documentation in Salesforce system and assist Manager with reporting and documentation requirements.
- In conjunction with the Senior Program Manager, the Director of the Family Hub and Marketing facilitate the process to integrate monthly career related updates into the CCA newsletter and other social media platforms.
- Represent the organization in the community-wide meetings.
- Other duties as assigned.
Physical Requirements
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to speak and read English proficiently. The employee is frequently required to stand, walk, reach with hands and arms, and stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 15 pounds.
Employment Conditions
This job description is to ensure that essential functions and basic duties have been included. It is intended to provide guidelines for job expectations and the employee’s ability to perform the duties as described. This job description is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all functions, responsibilities, skills, and abilities. Additional functions and requirements may be assigned as deemed appropriate commensurate to the position. This document does not represent a contract of employment, and Chicago Commons reserves the right to change this job description and /or assign tasks deemed appropriate.
Working Conditions
(The unavoidable, externally imposed conditions under which the work must be performed, and which create hardship for the incumbent including the frequency and duration of occurrence of physical demands, environmental conditions, demands on one’s senses and mental demands.) None known.
Chicago Commons is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, marital or parental status, sexual orientation including gender identity, gender expression, military discharge status, physical or mental disability, or any other status or characteristic protected by law. In addition, Chicago Commons provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and applicable state and local laws (including during the application or hiring process).
