Employment Counselor

County of Wake, NC•Raleigh, NC

5d•$27 - $33•Onsite

About The Position

The Employment Counselor is a member of Wake County’s Work First Employment Services Team, which helps families stay off welfare or transition from welfare into employment. The counselor empowers clients to move toward self-sufficiency through counseling and advocacy. The role gathers information about participants and their families, assesses job readiness, and works with participants to develop and update realistic employment-focused plans. It also documents participant activities and supportive services, provides employment-related education and referrals, and conducts interviews as required by program rules. The position requires in-person work for the first six months and a 95% quality-assurance accuracy rating. New hires receive mandatory, intensive face-to-face training, normally lasting two months, with testing in some areas, a typical passing-grade expectation of 80%, and an attendance requirement of at least 95%. Wake County employees may also be assigned emergency preparedness and response duties that temporarily change responsibilities, 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 customer and personal service principles and processes, including customer needs assessment, meeting service quality standards, and evaluating customer satisfaction.
Ability to use office equipment and relevant technology, including software and systems, to meet business needs.
Ability to negotiate a plan with customers that works 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 meet testing requirements, normally including an 80% passing-grade expectation.

Nice To Haves

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

Responsibilities

Gather information about clients’ and families’ household composition, employment skills, interests, and barriers.
Review information to determine job readiness.
Discuss participants’ routes to employment and the specific steps needed to reach their goals.
Develop flexible, realistic, employment-focused plans with participants that promote self-sufficiency.
Update and revise participant agreements as circumstances change.
Prepare and maintain written narratives of participant activities and supportive services to support transition to long-term employment.
Educate participants about and disseminate employment- and work-focused activities.
Use participants’ previous work history and activities to arrange current and future service needs.
Empower participants to make decisions that promote self-sufficiency.
Use NCFAST and NCWorks Online to document services and provide referrals.
Conduct interviews as required by program rules.