Employment Counselor

Wake County Government•Raleigh, NC

4d•$27 - $33•Onsite

About The Position

The Employment Counselor is a member of Wake County's Work First Employment Services Team, which helps families avoid or transition off welfare and move toward employment. The role empowers clients to pursue self-sufficiency through counseling, advocacy, employment planning, and referrals. The counselor gathers and reviews information about participants and their families, assesses job readiness, and works with participants to develop and update realistic employment-focused plans. The position documents activities and supportive services, explains work-focused activities, and uses participants' work histories to coordinate present and future service needs. The position is based at HSC Swinburne in Raleigh, North Carolina. The selected candidate must work in person for the first six months and meet a 95% quality-assurance accuracy rating. Wake County provides mandatory, intensive face-to-face new-hire training, normally lasting two months; attendance of at least 95% is expected, and testing in some areas requires a passing grade, normally 80%. Employees may also be required to support emergency preparedness and response, which can involve temporary changes to responsibilities, work hours, or work location.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree; equivalent education and experience are accepted.
Two years of job-related experience; equivalent education and experience are accepted.
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services, including assessing customer needs, meeting service quality standards, and evaluating customer satisfaction.
Ability to use office equipment and relevant technology, software, and systems to meet business needs.
Ability to negotiate with customers to develop a plan toward self-sufficiency.
Work in person for the first six months.
Meet a 95% quality-assurance accuracy rating.
Attend at least 95% of mandatory new-hire training and achieve passing grades on required tests, normally 80% upon completion.
Provide all prior work experience on the application and resume.
Be prepared to participate in emergency response operations, which may involve temporary changes to duties, hours, or location.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Social Work or Sociology.
Two years of job-related experience.

Responsibilities

Gather information about participants and their families, including household composition, employment skills, interests, and barriers.
Review participant information to determine job readiness.
Discuss participants' routes to employment and the specific steps needed to achieve their goals.
Develop flexible, realistic, employment-focused plans with participants to promote self-sufficiency.
Update and revise participant agreements as circumstances change.
Prepare and maintain written narratives of participants' activities and supportive services to help them transition to long-term employment.
Educate participants about and disseminate employment- and work-focused activities.
Use participants' prior work history and activities to arrange current and future service needs.
Empower participants to make decisions that advance their self-sufficiency goals.
Use NCFAST and NCWorks Online to document services and provide referrals.
Conduct interviews as required by program rules.
Participate in department emergency preparedness and response activities, including relevant exercises and training when required.