Skills and Employment Coordinator

Job Title: Skills and Employment Coordinator 

Initiative: The West/Southwest Employment Tour

Pay: $20-$25 per hour

FLSA Status: Part-time, no benefits.

Schedule: Flexible, up to 24 hours per week

Travel: Local travel may be required

Details: This position is slated to start January 2, 2023

 

Summary: Youth Empowerment for Advancement Hangout (YEAH) is a Black-led, community-based non-profit supporting teens and young adults in West and Southwest Philadelphia ages 15 to 24 who are impacted by violence. YEAH works to create safe and authentic hangout spaces by providing culturally relevant engagement and implementing teen led interventions to address the root causes of violence. Utilizing teen action through peer led mediation and conflict resolution, community engagement, and economic opportunities, YEAH interrupts the cycle of youth community violence. YEAH acknowledges teens and young adults as the experts of their own lives and prioritizes pushing back against oppressive systems and addressing structural barriers that often lead to violence. 

 

The West/Southwest Employment Tour is a program component within YEAH that focuses on helping young people ages 16 to 24 obtain long-term skills or paid work experience for sustainable employment. The main goals of this initiative include:

• Providing supportive services to young people related to skill building and employment opportunities.  
• Assisting young people with obtaining vital documents and other necessary needs related to opportunities.
• Providing community and wrap-around services and connecting young people to a training program, job opportunity, certification program, classes etc. based on their individual goals or interests.
• Providing one on one support and reducing barriers that may prevent a young person from following through with skills or employment opportunities (transportation, food, uniforms, stipends, resume creation etc.). 
• Providing progress updates and checking in with young people as needed.
• Build a solid network and collaborate with local employers and organizations to help train, hire, and retain young people. 

 

Essential Duties & Responsibilities: The skills coordinator will identify networks of internship and employment opportunities for young people in West and Southwest Philadelphia while working to create new and maintain existing relationships with potential and current partners and sites. The coordinator will maintain a rotating caseload of up to 20 teens and young adults to provide case management and community support services to assist with reducing barriers to long-term skill building, internships, or employment opportunities. Supportive services include helping to obtain vital documents (birth certificates, social security cards, IDs), background checks for employment, connection to training or employment opportunities, driving permits etc.. Additionally, the skills coordinator will work with individuals on a case-by-case basis to connect them to identified training, skills, or employment opportunities, support in the aftermath, and complete all necessary paperwork associated with the individual. This position will be responsible for conducting site visits at internship sites, workshops related to life skills, completing eligibility/intake assessments and progress documentation following each young person. E.g notes, weekly progress forms, and documentation of outcomes. 

 

Job Requirements: Philadelphia residency within 6 months and valid PA driver’s license required. High school diploma or GED required. Candidates should be detail oriented, know how to take initiative, have some life and professional experience with providing intensive community and wrap around support services related to advocacy, social work, or human services; a strong interest in social justice and the ability to grasp concepts around violence, race, and systems; excellent verbal and written communication skills; and good organizational skills. Candidates should have strong networking and interpersonal skills. Candidates who identify racially or ethnically as Black or Brown and have been personally impacted by the criminal justice system or violence (directly or indirectly) are strongly encouraged to apply.

 

Primary Responsibilities:

• Create and maintain relationships and identify opportunities with potential and current internship and employment sites. 
• Meet with teens and young adults interested in training, internships, or employment and develop an individualized plan to connect them to identified opportunities.  
• Assist teens and young adults with obtaining necessary vital documents and other identified needs associated with being successful in their skills or employment opportunity. Supportive services may include providing financial assistance for transportation, groceries, stipends etc. 
• Conduct workshops at least once per week related to life skills, track individual goals and community service hours, and participate in weekly community events as needed. E.g food and resource giveaways. 
• Provide community support and coordination services after teens and young adults are connected to opportunities to reduce barriers to be successful and follow through with the opportunities.
• Complete eligibility forms, conduct intakes, and necessary documentation such as progress notes, etc.
• Work with leadership to ensure payment of necessary fees, stipends, etc. are part of an individual’s plan for success.
• Create and maintain relationships with local employers or training organizations and evaluate whether they are a good fit for working with young people.
• Maintain documentation and follow up with young people to help ensure success before, during, and after their connection to identified opportunities.

 

To apply, please email resume/CV to teens@yeahphilly.org and use Skills Coordinator as the subject line. In your cover letter, please discuss your professional experience working with Black communities, helping young people identify and prepare for employment, and working to dismantle systemic racism. Qualified candidates will be contacted for an in-person interview. Based on organizational capacity, unqualified applicants or those providing an incomplete application will not be contacted.

 

Youth Empowerment for Advancement Hangout (YEAH) is an equal opportunity employer committed to assembling a diverse, broadly trained staff. Women, minorities, people with lived experience, disabilities and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. In compliance with applicable laws and in furtherance of its commitment to fostering an environment that welcomes and embraces diversity, YEAH does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and parenting status), disability, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status or genetic information in its programs or activities, including employment, admissions, and educational programs.

 

The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Employees will follow any other instructions and perform any other related duties as assigned by their supervisor.