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Employment Specialist
Help make Greater Madison the Best Place in the Midwest to live, learn, and work!
Madison, WI
Job Description
Supervisor: Senior Director of Workforce & Economic Development Services
Department: Workforce Development Services Full Time Equivalent: 1.0 FTE
ORGANIZATION & DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW
The mission of the Urban League of Greater Madison is to ensure that African Americans and other community members are educated, employed and empowered to live well, advance professionally and contribute to the common good in the 21st Century. The three strands of our empowerment agenda include: (1) Educate – learning and enrichment programs for youth; (2) Employ: career-pathway job training, placement, and coaching services for parents and other low-income adults and; (3) Empower: community engagement, advocacy, partnerships and coalition building initiatives. These services are delivered by a team of __ that includes Employment Specialists, Training Specialists, and others.
The Employment Specialist is part of the ULGM’s Workforce Services Team. The ULGM’s Workforce Services include an array of job training, placement, and coaching services designed to help unemployed and under-employed adults with employment barriers prepare for, secure, and retain jobs – particularly career pathway, family supporting jobs. Our current array of demand-driven career pathway training and coaching services includes: targeted outreach to under-served populations; work readiness assessment; individualized employment planning & career advising; individualized and modularized foundational job preparation training; innovative, short-term, employer-focused, career-pathway training academies in health care administration, customer service and sales, information technology, construction trades, and food service; special support and fatherhood development programming for non-custodial fathers; individualized and group job search and job placement assistance: job retention and advancement coaching and case management; engagement of employers through both a local and national network; featured employer seminars; and leadership on region-wide workforce diversity initiatives.
EMPLOYMENT SPECIALIST POSITION SUMMARY
The primary role of the Employment Specialist is to help job seekers find and retain new or better jobs. This includes providing individualized assessment and counseling to help job seekers identify short and long term career goals and the pathway to achieve those goals; engagement with employers to identify job opportunities and ensure successful matches with job seekers; ongoing coaching and case management to ensure that individuals maintain their jobs and are advancing towards their career goals.
SPECIAL FOCUS AREAS: This Employment Specialist position will have two special areas of focus. (1) Construction Trades: This Employment Specialist will focus on serving job seekers who have expressed an interest in jobs in the construction trades and related industries. (2) Support & Development of Fathers: This Employment Specialist will provide employment assistance, parenting skills development, and help managing child support obligations for fathers at risk of incarceration due to child support arrearages.
Enrollment, Career Exploration, Job Readiness, and Coaching: Conduct one-on-one intake interviews with job seekers to determine their short and long term employment goals, and understand their strengths, weaknesses, skills, and qualifications; Ensure job seekers complete all required paperwork to participate in the program; Help job seekers articulate their goals and create an Individualized Employment Plan to guide the learning and development needed to realize their career goals; Help job seekers become work ready by defining and setting clear goals; identifying areas of character, skill, and behavior development; and eliminating unproductive habits that hinder their ability to achieve stable employment; Guide job seekers as they implement their employment plans; Empower job seekers to take ownership of their employment goals, and be accountable for taking the action steps to achieve their goals; Help job seekers connect with resources to help them accomplish their employment goals.
Job Development: Initiate and maintain contact with a variety of business and industry representatives to identify and understand their workforce needs and to promote the placement of job seekers; Utilize cold-calls, Internet job databases, newspapers, job placement agencies, and other resources to generate job leads; Collect data from employers related to job orders including job requirements and skills and other employer needs; Follow-up with employer at pre-determined intervals and as needed to ensure candidate success.
Job Placement: Set clear expectations of the job seeker in finding and obtaining employment; Be a match-makers between graduates of Urban League training programs and local employers seeking candidates for job openings; Helping job seekers identify and apply for jobs that are consistent with their employment plans; Providing professional references for job seekers when appropriate; Be an advocate for job seekers as they navigate employers’ hiring processes; Follow-up with employer at pre-determined intervals and as needed to ensure candidate success.
Job Retention Coaching: Stay in contact with individuals that have obtained employment; Help troubleshoot obstacles to job retention such as transportation, childcare, illness, etc; Help identify opportunities to advance in the organization or industry in which they are employed; Cultivate relationships with employers.
Support and Development of Fathers: Connect appropriate job seekers with Child Support Agency Case Managers; Facilitate positive relationship between participants and Child Support Agency staff; Help participants navigate the Child Support system, and serve as an advocate when needed; Provide referrals to counseling and other support services as needed; Facilitate peer support with other fathers.
Administrative Duties: Gather and compile data for internal and external reports accurately and timely; Keep meticulous records of interactions with job seekers and employers.
Other duties as assigned by supervisor
Education: Bachelor’s degree in HR Management, Social Work, Business, Industrial Relations or a related discipline. OR At least two years of paid experience in workforce development or related role which demonstrates ability to perform the duties as described such as job placement in private or public agency.
Knowledge of: methods and techniques of job development and job placement; current practices in workforce development and vocational education; Dane County child support system; career exploration/advising tools; local labor market trends and employment opportunities in both the private and public sectors in the Greater Madison region; needs of low-income populations; available community resources and services; basic Internet research techniques; standard office software applications; various types of filing systems; English grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
Skill and Ability to: effectively represent the Urban League’s mission and values and meet the needs of diverse populations; be innovative and entrepreneurial; market and represent the Urban League to job seekers and to employers; communicate effectively in both oral and written form; plan and make presentations to small groups including potential employers, business representatives, and program participants; assess the interests and aptitudes of participants; operate a variety of office equipment; use of Windows and Microsoft Office to prepare documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, maintain various databases, and search for jobs and other information on the Internet; utilize time management techniques to organize and prioritize work; work independently and be accountable to meet goals and timelines; adapt quickly to change; understand systems; coordinate a variety of projects simultaneously; interpersonal skills to work cooperatively and effectively with individuals and teams; interact individuals from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds; provide instruction and make presentations on resume preparation, job seeking, job retention, and interview skills; read, interpret, and apply rules and procedures.
Other: Possession of a valid Wisconsin driver's license.
Department: Workforce Development Services Full Time Equivalent: 1.0 FTE
ORGANIZATION & DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW
The mission of the Urban League of Greater Madison is to ensure that African Americans and other community members are educated, employed and empowered to live well, advance professionally and contribute to the common good in the 21st Century. The three strands of our empowerment agenda include: (1) Educate – learning and enrichment programs for youth; (2) Employ: career-pathway job training, placement, and coaching services for parents and other low-income adults and; (3) Empower: community engagement, advocacy, partnerships and coalition building initiatives. These services are delivered by a team of __ that includes Employment Specialists, Training Specialists, and others.
The Employment Specialist is part of the ULGM’s Workforce Services Team. The ULGM’s Workforce Services include an array of job training, placement, and coaching services designed to help unemployed and under-employed adults with employment barriers prepare for, secure, and retain jobs – particularly career pathway, family supporting jobs. Our current array of demand-driven career pathway training and coaching services includes: targeted outreach to under-served populations; work readiness assessment; individualized employment planning & career advising; individualized and modularized foundational job preparation training; innovative, short-term, employer-focused, career-pathway training academies in health care administration, customer service and sales, information technology, construction trades, and food service; special support and fatherhood development programming for non-custodial fathers; individualized and group job search and job placement assistance: job retention and advancement coaching and case management; engagement of employers through both a local and national network; featured employer seminars; and leadership on region-wide workforce diversity initiatives.
EMPLOYMENT SPECIALIST POSITION SUMMARY
The primary role of the Employment Specialist is to help job seekers find and retain new or better jobs. This includes providing individualized assessment and counseling to help job seekers identify short and long term career goals and the pathway to achieve those goals; engagement with employers to identify job opportunities and ensure successful matches with job seekers; ongoing coaching and case management to ensure that individuals maintain their jobs and are advancing towards their career goals.
SPECIAL FOCUS AREAS: This Employment Specialist position will have two special areas of focus. (1) Construction Trades: This Employment Specialist will focus on serving job seekers who have expressed an interest in jobs in the construction trades and related industries. (2) Support & Development of Fathers: This Employment Specialist will provide employment assistance, parenting skills development, and help managing child support obligations for fathers at risk of incarceration due to child support arrearages.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Enrollment, Career Exploration, Job Readiness, and Coaching: Conduct one-on-one intake interviews with job seekers to determine their short and long term employment goals, and understand their strengths, weaknesses, skills, and qualifications; Ensure job seekers complete all required paperwork to participate in the program; Help job seekers articulate their goals and create an Individualized Employment Plan to guide the learning and development needed to realize their career goals; Help job seekers become work ready by defining and setting clear goals; identifying areas of character, skill, and behavior development; and eliminating unproductive habits that hinder their ability to achieve stable employment; Guide job seekers as they implement their employment plans; Empower job seekers to take ownership of their employment goals, and be accountable for taking the action steps to achieve their goals; Help job seekers connect with resources to help them accomplish their employment goals.
Job Development: Initiate and maintain contact with a variety of business and industry representatives to identify and understand their workforce needs and to promote the placement of job seekers; Utilize cold-calls, Internet job databases, newspapers, job placement agencies, and other resources to generate job leads; Collect data from employers related to job orders including job requirements and skills and other employer needs; Follow-up with employer at pre-determined intervals and as needed to ensure candidate success.
Job Placement: Set clear expectations of the job seeker in finding and obtaining employment; Be a match-makers between graduates of Urban League training programs and local employers seeking candidates for job openings; Helping job seekers identify and apply for jobs that are consistent with their employment plans; Providing professional references for job seekers when appropriate; Be an advocate for job seekers as they navigate employers’ hiring processes; Follow-up with employer at pre-determined intervals and as needed to ensure candidate success.
Job Retention Coaching: Stay in contact with individuals that have obtained employment; Help troubleshoot obstacles to job retention such as transportation, childcare, illness, etc; Help identify opportunities to advance in the organization or industry in which they are employed; Cultivate relationships with employers.
Support and Development of Fathers: Connect appropriate job seekers with Child Support Agency Case Managers; Facilitate positive relationship between participants and Child Support Agency staff; Help participants navigate the Child Support system, and serve as an advocate when needed; Provide referrals to counseling and other support services as needed; Facilitate peer support with other fathers.
Administrative Duties: Gather and compile data for internal and external reports accurately and timely; Keep meticulous records of interactions with job seekers and employers.
Other duties as assigned by supervisor
QUALIFICATIONS
Education: Bachelor’s degree in HR Management, Social Work, Business, Industrial Relations or a related discipline. OR At least two years of paid experience in workforce development or related role which demonstrates ability to perform the duties as described such as job placement in private or public agency.
Knowledge of: methods and techniques of job development and job placement; current practices in workforce development and vocational education; Dane County child support system; career exploration/advising tools; local labor market trends and employment opportunities in both the private and public sectors in the Greater Madison region; needs of low-income populations; available community resources and services; basic Internet research techniques; standard office software applications; various types of filing systems; English grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
Skill and Ability to: effectively represent the Urban League’s mission and values and meet the needs of diverse populations; be innovative and entrepreneurial; market and represent the Urban League to job seekers and to employers; communicate effectively in both oral and written form; plan and make presentations to small groups including potential employers, business representatives, and program participants; assess the interests and aptitudes of participants; operate a variety of office equipment; use of Windows and Microsoft Office to prepare documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, maintain various databases, and search for jobs and other information on the Internet; utilize time management techniques to organize and prioritize work; work independently and be accountable to meet goals and timelines; adapt quickly to change; understand systems; coordinate a variety of projects simultaneously; interpersonal skills to work cooperatively and effectively with individuals and teams; interact individuals from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds; provide instruction and make presentations on resume preparation, job seeking, job retention, and interview skills; read, interpret, and apply rules and procedures.
Other: Possession of a valid Wisconsin driver's license.
Special Notes/Instructions
Apply through JobsInMadison.com. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. No phone calls please.
Job Summary
Start Date
1/1/2015
Employment Term and Type
Regular, Full Time
Hours per Week
40
Work Hours (i.e. shift)
8:30 AM to 5 PM
Salary and Benefits
$32,000 to $35,000
Health insurance: choice of Physicians Plus or Group Health Cooperative HMO with 85% percent paid by employer. Paid vacation, paid holidays, and paid sick time. Flexible Spending Plan for insurance premiums, out-of pocket medical & dental costs, and dependent care costs. Optional dental plan. Other benefits discussed upon hire.
Required Education
Bachelor's Degree
Required Experience
2+ years
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