Career Navigator (Community Housing)

Northern Virginia Family Services•Falls Church, VA

26d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Career Navigator joins Northern Virginia Family Services’ Community Housing team in the Rental Subsidy & Services Program (RSSP). The role supports individuals and families eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in achieving meaningful employment, economic stability, and long-term self-sufficiency. Through individualized career coaching, employment-readiness support, and connections to education, training, and community resources, the Career Navigator helps clients address employment barriers and pursue sustainable work. The position provides career assessments and planning, job-search assistance, ongoing coaching, community-resource referrals, and coordination with employers, training providers, community organizations, and NVFS teams. It also supports workshops and outreach, determines and documents TANF eligibility, maintains confidential client records, tracks outcomes, monitors client progress, and ensures services comply with program requirements and NVFS guidelines. The position is hybrid, has a starting salary in the low 50s, and may require work beyond normal working hours and travel to designated community locations for client meetings as needed.

Requirements

At least 2–3 years of related experience in coaching, adult education, workforce development, or demonstrated success building relationships.
Experience serving people facing significant barriers, low-income or vulnerable populations, non-English-speaking individuals, or adults with limited literacy skills; qualifying experience may include volunteer, internship, or personal lived experiences.
Demonstrated ability to build trusting relationships with people from diverse backgrounds while maintaining professional boundaries.
Experience using customer-management or case-management systems, such as Apricot.
Oral and written fluency in English.
Successful completion of background checks upon hire.
Reliable transportation to visit designated community locations for client meetings as needed.

Nice To Haves

Bilingual fluency in Spanish, Amharic, Arabic, or other client languages.
Certification in workforce development or resume writing.
Familiarity with government-funded programs.

Responsibilities

Conduct individualized assessments of clients’ skills, interests, employment readiness, career goals, and barriers to employment.
Develop personalized employment plans with goals, milestones, and action steps.
Assist clients with resumes, cover letters, job applications, interview preparation, and job-search strategies.
Provide ongoing coaching on workplace professionalism, confidence, self-advocacy, and job retention.
Connect clients to employment, education, workforce training, and credentialing opportunities.
Build trusting relationships and provide individualized guidance to support clients’ employment and career goals.
Identify barriers to employment, including transportation, childcare, housing, financial challenges, and technology access.
Connect clients with community resources, including financial counseling, education, childcare, housing, and transportation.
Collaborate with employers, training providers, community organizations, and internal NVFS teams to expand employment opportunities and coordinate services.
Coordinate and facilitate career-readiness and employment-skills workshops based on client needs.
Represent NVFS at community outreach events to increase awareness of workforce-development services.
Determine and document TANF eligibility during intake and outreach in accordance with program guidelines.
Explain program expectations, participation requirements, and available services to clients.
Maintain accurate, timely, and confidential client records, employment plans, and required program documentation.
Track client engagement, employment placements, job retention, credential attainment, and other program outcomes.
Monitor client progress and adjust employment plans as needed.
Ensure services comply with TANF regulations, funding requirements, and NVFS guidelines.