Community Opportunities Professional

Community Link, Inc. • Breese, IL

5d

About The Position

The Community Opportunities Professional supports individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in increasing independence, building skills, participating in volunteer opportunities, and pursuing integrated employment goals through discovery. The role works alongside participants in community settings to promote inclusion, self-determination, relationship building, and active participation in community life. It helps individuals explore interests, develop skills, navigate community resources, and achieve personal goals through individualized, person-centered services.

The position develops and enhances curricula, lesson plans, and learning activities; teaches practical skills for community engagement and employment readiness; and helps participants navigate the community safely. It also supports participants in exploring and maintaining community-based employment, including individualized on-site and follow-along support. The professional implements individual plans, documents services and progress, communicates with the team, and collaborates with the Employment and Inclusion Coordinator. There are no supervisory responsibilities.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a human services field, including psychology, sociology, special education, or rehabilitation counseling; alternatively, a High School Diploma or GED with at least one year of experience or training related to supporting individuals with developmental disabilities.
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as participant program plans and procedure manuals, write routine reports, and present information effectively in one-on-one and small-group situations.
• Ability to perform basic arithmetic using whole numbers, common fractions, decimals, and units of money.
• Ability to solve practical problems, handle concrete variables with limited standardization, and interpret and carry out written, oral, diagrammatic, or scheduled instructions.
• Effective communication skills and ability to adapt to changing program needs.
• Genuine interest in participants’ welfare and competent knowledge of behavior principles.
• Basic computer-operation skills for participant data tracking, incident reporting, and other processes required by supervisory staff.
• Must pass the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) with a score of 80% or higher.
• Must be able to drive agency vehicles.
• Must be able to stay awake during the work shift.
• Must be able to provide assistance to individuals as needed, including maneuvering wheelchairs and assisting with ambulation and transfers.
• Must meet the stated physical demands, including frequent standing, walking, and sitting; occasional bending, stooping, squatting, crawling, climbing, reaching, crouching, kneeling, balancing, and pushing or pulling; and lifting up to 10 pounds continuously and 11–50 pounds occasionally.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and continually enhance curricula, lesson plans, and learning activities supporting community engagement, employment readiness, self-advocacy, independence, and other person-centered outcomes.
• Teach social, communication, self-advocacy, problem-solving, safety, technology, and workplace-readiness skills with real-world application.
• Teach safe community navigation, including public transportation use, route planning, use of natural supports, and access to community resources.
• Help participants identify, pursue, and maintain community-based employment by supporting job exploration, applications, interviews, onboarding, and job retention.
• Provide individualized, on-site, and follow-along support as needed to promote participants’ successful integration into competitive, integrated employment aligned with their interests and goals.
• Implement individualized plans, track progress, accurately document services, and communicate regularly with the team while maintaining person-centered and compliant practices.
• Collaborate with the Employment and Inclusion Coordinator to develop and implement plans connecting participants’ interests, preferences, and goals with meaningful community opportunities and needs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time