Senior Employment Assistant - Harrisonburg, VA

Church World Service•Harrisonburg, VA

About The Position

The Senior Employment Assistant is responsible for providing employment services to eligible participants of the CWS Employment Program, including: identifying eligible clients; promoting programs with employers; offering support and employment services to refugees to help them reach financial self-sufficiency in the U.S.; compiling data to submit to contractor; completing monthly, quarterly, and annual reports to the office director, contractor and partners; and provides support and training to other employment staff.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in social work; related field or equivalent experience in lieu of degree.
Minimum 3 years of previous work experience in refugee resettlement or other direct social services. Cultural sensitivity is essential.
Superior written and verbal communication skills are required. The successful candidate must be computer literate, with proficiency in MS Office (Excel and Word) and internet applications required.
Valid drivers’ license, clean driving record and suitable vehicle for transporting clients required.
The job will require reference checks, standard criminal background checks, and motor vehicle background checks.

Nice To Haves

Experience with job development, human resources, community outreach, and/or public speaking is a plus.
Fluency in a current refugee caseload language is preferred but not required (Spanish, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Arabic).

Responsibilities

Work with staff, employers, and key stakeholders in the local community to ensure that eligible clients reach the goals of self-sufficiency in a timely manner.
Identify employers in area served through current contacts, local Chambers of Commerce and outreach to other business and manufacturing organizations.
Conduct outreach regarding the CWS Employment Program to employers through educational materials, presentations, one-on-one contact, cold calls and letters.
Work with clients to remove barriers to employment and realize the goal of family self-sufficiency. Connect clients to in-house support and make referrals to external service providers. Identify support services that may assist clients in becoming self-sufficient, such as ESL, transportation, legal services, and childcare.
Provide individualized job development and job placement services to program participants. Develop plan of action and counsel clients in areas such as job interview skills, expected behavior on the job.
Identify job opportunities suitable for clients, assist in filling out applications, set up interviews with potential employers, accompany clients to interviews, and follow up with employers until decisions are made. Negotiate job advancements when warranted.
Follow-up with employers and clients after job placements to offer additional support as needed.
Assist clients with identifying training programs related to their career goals and make referrals.
Document all contacts and services in client case files and maintain case note logs. In addition to documenting all services, record clients’ employment-related progress in case file, including compliance, job offers, all placements, job retention, public assistance usage, follow-up on placements, and possibilities of upgrades. Complete all required reports.
Address emergency situations as they arise and mediate conflict as necessary.
Conduct regular reviews of client case files to ensure quality in service provision and fulfillment of documentation requirements.
Assign cases and oversee other employment specialists at CWS.
Coordinate with the Employment Services Coordinator to provide training and ongoing hands-on, in-the-field coaching to other employment staff.
Responsible for collecting data and submitting required monthly, quarterly and annual reports to contractor.
Collect relevant data and report to Employment Services Coordinator on a monthly basis.
Participate in writing grant proposals and attend trainings and conferences as requested by supervisor.
Engage in on-site monitoring visits conducted by CWS/IRP national staff and/or federal and state partners.
Keep informed about refugee and immigrant issues, and available services to refugees, using current information to better identify and serve refugee clients.
Advocate on behalf of refugees, and refugee-serving voluntary agencies. Meet regularly, collaborate, and cooperate with other local refugee service coalitions.
Represent the program at meetings and speaking engagements relevant to the responsibilities of the position.
Undertake other duties as assigned, including client assessments, job counseling, job placement and follow-up.
Work varied hours, including some night and weekend work.
Valid drivers’ license, clean driving record and suitable vehicle for transporting clients required.