Youth Advancement Specialist

About Covenant House New York

Join a Legacy of Hope and Empowerment at Covenant House New York!

For over 50 years, Covenant House New York (CHNY) has been at the forefront of transforming lives by providing comprehensive shelter, housing, and wrap-around support services for vulnerable homeless, runaway, and exploited youth. As the largest provider of these essential services in New York City, CHNY impacts the lives of over 1,500 young people aged 16-24 every year.

At CHNY, our doors are open to all young people in need, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression. Our dedicated team offers various services, including shelter, housing, education, employment, health, mental health support, youth development, and anti-human trafficking initiatives. We operate with harm reduction and trauma-informed principles to ensure the best care for our youth.

But our mission goes beyond immediate support. We are passionate advocates for systemic change, influencing public policy, and raising awareness of the critical issues surrounding youth homelessness. Our ultimate goal is to provide a safe refuge and empower young people to build a brighter future founded on compassion, unconditional love, and absolute respect.

Join us in making a difference in the lives of countless young people. Join a team that inspires long-term transformation and hope.

About the role

The Youth Advancement Specialist performs activities designed to assist Covenant House youth of various backgrounds and skill levels with finding employment and / or suitable vocational training, post-secondary education, or certificate training opportunities.

The Youth Advancement Specialist will establish and maintain relationships with employers and community organizations to develop placement opportunities as well as quality vocational, technical, or other learning programs.

This position requires independent judgment and proactivity as the support agent for youth advancement will be working substantially in the field, making home visits regularly and otherwise assisting the youth to make community connections for long-term success. The Youth Advancement Specialist must also be comfortable in building and maintaining rapport with youth, Flexibility, a willingness to be available by email or phone, and excellent communication and problem-solving abilities are critical to successfully fulfilling the requirements of this position.

The Youth Advancement Specialist will coordinate day-to-day activities such as orienting youth to the services CovWorks provides and tracking placement data for youth enrolled in the HUD funded programs, Transitional Housing and Rapid Re-Housing.

What you'll do

(Responsibilities to include but not limited to the following)

• Establish and maintain temporary /seasonal, full-time, and part-time job bank
• Develops at least one new vocation/technical training linkage per quarter that meets the needs and interest of CovWorks youth
• Assist youth in identifying positions in their field of interest; assist in the development of resumes, cover letters and applications, help youth explore alternative employment options
• Organize tours of local training programs, community partners offering vocational and certification trainings, and other educational institutions
• Develop and foster professional relationships with employers, placement agencies and temporary agencies to ensure consistent contact for job leads within the community
• Communicate with employers and ensure placements are entered into ETO system once appropriate verification documentation has been received
• Coordinate recruitment days and targeted job fairs
• Organize onsite events with local career technical training and credentialing institutions
• Provide retention services to ensure youth success and employer satisfaction
• Collaborate and work closely with the Transitional Housing and Rapid Rehousing program staff to ensure that outcomes measures are met to support housing stability
• Write detailed case notes and track program required statistics
• Support clients with accessing support services utilizing Single Stop benefits program platform
• Program outcomes will be set base funding and population metrics
• Goals will be clearly outlined and communicated with YAS
• Works as a collaborative team member ensuring all youth have access to high quality services and are living in a safe setting.

• Participates in and facilitates regular case conferences. Ensures team members are fully apprised of information regarding youth as needed.

• Participates in staff team meetings and trainings, individual supervision meetings, and meetings with youth.
• Assists with audit preparation and dry and live audits of the program

Management and Leadership

• Participates in all required training, either in-person or via CHNYs online Learning Management System (Relias).
• Actively participates in the training and implementation of evidence-based and other proven models.
• Embraces a data-driven culture that is outcomes-oriented and creatively responsive to programmatic challenges.
• Promotes a healthy, inclusive, and equitable organizational culture and a thriving, engaged staff.
• Promotes child protection within the program and is diligent about the safety of clients and fellow staff members.
• Always upholds CHNYs mission, vision and principles, standards of conduct, policies, and procedures.

Qualifications

• Bachelors Degree in related fields of study and/or 5(five) years of experience in youth engagement, disadvantaged youth, or at-risk population.
• Demonstrated experience working with youth who have barriers in achieving self-sufficiency, developmentally or physically disabled adults, or at-risk populations
• Experience working with diverse populations-familiar with cultural competency

Knowledge/Skills

• Knowledge of job market and current employer contacts and job bank required
• Fluency in Spanish preferred
• Proficient in Microsoft Office [Word, Excel, and PowerPoint]

INITIATIVE AND JUDGMENT/ATTENDANCE AND RELIABILITY

• Independently recognizes and performs duties that need to be done without being directly assigned.
• Establishes priorities; organizes work and time to meet them
• Recognizes and responds to emerging priorities, accepts changes and new ideas
• Has insight into problems and the ability to develop workable alternatives.
• Responds to supervision, coaching and constructive criticism in a positive manner.
• Adheres to attendance and punctuality requirements per policy. Provides proper notification for absences and tardiness. Takes corrective action to prevent recurring absences or tardiness.
• Observes all policies governing conduct while at work (e.g., telephone and computer use, electronic messaging, smoking regulations, breaks and other related policies).
• Ability to professionally communicate and relate well with all levels of personnel (individuals, peers, customers and related professionals).
• Dedicated to the mission of Covenant House.

Benefits

Covenant House New York offers a rich package of benefits, including but not limited to:

• Medical
• Vision
• Dental
• Life & Supplemental Life Insurance
• Short-term and Long-term disability insurance
• Eligibility for medical benefits begins on the date of hire
• PTO includes three weeks of vacation in the first year, ten holidays, 13 sick days, five personal days, and birthday days off
• 403b with employer contribution after 12 months

The pay range for this role is:

23.32 - 23.32 USD per hour (FTELEY)