Employment Specialist

Quest Inc.•Tampa, FL

15h•Onsite

About The Position

Quest, Inc. is dedicated to enriching the lives of individuals with disabilities by fostering independence, community inclusion, and empowerment. For over 60 years, Quest has provided compassionate, quality support services to nearly 600 people daily. The mission is to help people with developmental disabilities experience a full life, guided by the vision to provide lifelong services. This full-time Employment Specialist position is based in the Tampa region, working with clients in various community settings. The role involves actively pursuing employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities through business development, acting as a liaison with Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors, families, and guardians, and advocating for disability employment. The specialist will facilitate all aspects of initial employment, including training, transportation, and paperwork, and provide on-site support to ensure job retention and resolve employment issues.

Requirements

Four years’ experience or employment in a public vocational rehabilitation program; experience in job placement, job coaching, or counseling; or other related experience working with persons with disabilities OR
A bachelor’s degree in a related field such as rehabilitation, counseling, social work, psychology, education, human resources, business administration, or economics, and one year of experience as described above OR
A master’s degree in a related field and six months’ experience OR
An associate’s degree and two years’ experience
Valid Florida Driver’s License with clean driving record at all times
Able to work in the US and not require Visa Sponsorship now or in the future

Responsibilities

Pursues employment for individuals with disabilities by various business development efforts. Including pursues job leads, monitoring open positions they have available and what the requirements/qualifications are for those open positions and attending job fairs.
Acts as liaison with Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors to facilitate appropriate services and supports to individuals served.
Acts as liaison with the individual’s family, Support Coordinator, group home or guardian when appropriate and helps guide them in their role of finding and maintaining employment for the individual with a disability.
Advocates for the employment of individuals with disabilities and the mission of Quest by providing disability awareness training/guidance and benefits to potential/current employers.
Facilitates and participates in all aspects of initial employment for the individual with a disability, including but not limited to, travel training or transportation options, work schedules, employer paperwork, pre-hire requirements (i.e., drug testing, background screening, etc.) and new hiring training.
Provides on-site training and support to the individual after their new hiring training to ensure the individual’s acquisition and retention of job duties. Develops appropriate, customized, training tools to assist individual in their new position. Negotiates and acts as a mediator with the individual’s manager, when appropriate, to resolve skill or employment issues and maintain individual’s employment.
Facilitates transition of individuals hired from Employment Services (VR) to Follow Along Services (APD) as appropriate.
Completes required documentation including progress notes, service notes and all contact with the individual with the disability and others related to individual’s case.

Benefits

Medical Coverage: HRA, FSA, premium discounts, wellness credits, free virtual and Minute Clinic visits, free imaging, and surgery
Dental and vision coverage
Company paid life, short- and long-term disability insurance
401(k) with up to 2.5% match
Tuition assistance and reimbursement, employee assistance program, and more!
For part-time and part-time on-call employees: 401(K) with company match and EAP
Voluntary accident and hospitalization coverage available
Flexible spending accounts (FSA)
Confidential Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Tuition assistance and tuition reimbursement