Life Skills Instructor - Education

Lifeworks•Austin, TX

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

LifeWorks of Austin, TX is looking for a Life Skills Instructor to join our Life Skills team! A Life Skills Instructor works with a variety of youth populations by facilitating both in-person and virtual life skills classes to prepare youth to live independently as adults. The Instructor addresses identified core life skills through classroom facilitation, presentations, community collaboration, experiential field trips, and enrichment activities. Core life skills include health and safety, housing and transportation, job readiness, financial management, life decisions/responsibilities, and personal/social relationships.

Requirements

Requires a Bachelor’s degree in Education, Social Work, Psychology, or a related field; and 2+ years of related teaching or training experience with transition age youth; or Equivalent combination of education and experience.
Bilingual in English and Spanish required.
Experience with databases; proficient level experience with Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, and Outlook.
Must possess or be able to obtain a valid driver's license and provide proof of valid insurance.
Must possess or be able to obtain Standard First Aid and Infant, Child, and Adult CPR Certification within 6 months of start date.

Nice To Haves

Client Focus - Builds transformational relationships with clients and delivers mission-centered solutions.
Collaborates and Adapts - Builds partnerships and works collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives and fulfill our mission; adapts one’s approach and demeanor to meet the shifting demands of different situations.
Honors Differences - Embraces different perspectives, cultures, and backgrounds by being open to others’ opinions, ideas, and experiences; develops an inclusive culture that creates solutions to meet the needs of our clients.
Nimble Learning - Actively learns from successes, failures, and others’ experiences, and shows a willingness to pivot and try new things.
Builds Trust - Gains the confidence and trust of others through integrity, dependability, and authenticity.
Action Oriented - Takes initiative, shows resourcefulness, and directs focus and energy on mission-critical opportunities, challenges, and changes.

Responsibilities

Facilitates life skills classes for youth during daytime and evening hours, ensuring engaging and developmentally appropriate instruction.
Establishes and maintains standards of student behavior needed to provide an orderly, inclusive, and welcoming classroom environment for all students.
Maintains timely, professional, and quality communication with funders, community partners and staff members.
Initiates contact with caregivers and referral sources to coordinate assessment
Maintains up-to-date class and assessment waitlists and enters referrals and authorization forms in the Agency database by given deadline.
Develops, updates, and refines life skills curriculum to ensure content is relevant, culturally responsive, and aligned with program goals and youth needs.
Responsible for conducting Casey Life Skills Assessments (CLSAs) and facilitating a discussion about the results of the CLSAs for both the youth and their caregivers in their home, in the community, or in a classroom setting as needed by contract holders.
Applies de-escalation techniques to situations as needed to reduce tension and promote safety for clients, staff, and community.
Communicates timely with all contract holders about teaching locations and referred youth within required timeframe.
Responsible for recruiting youth to Life Skills classes, and leads classroom instruction, discussion, activities, and field trips.
Also responsible for recruiting guest speakers to present on community resources.
Compiles and prepares required reports and assessments for all contract holders to ensure timely completion.
Maintains timely, complete, and accurate program documentation related to contractor assessments, reports, youth surveys and client data entry in Agency database.
Develops and maintains positive working relationships with community contacts, such as referral sources, community site and residential treatment staff, juvenile justice staff, and other service providers and contract holders.
Completes Independent Study Guides (ISGs) as needed and required for contract holders.
Refers youth to client services with community agencies as needed.
Responsible for the primary supervision of youth engaged in services.
Meets with individual clients to establish a safe, healthy relationship for learning, problem-solving, and participating in community activities, as needed.
Transports clients as needed.
Other duties as assigned.