Vocational Counselor

Housing Works • Queens, NY

7d • $25 - $28

About The Position

In collaboration between Housing Works Inc. and the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ), the Emergency & Transitional Housing (ETH) Program will provide individuals involved in the criminal legal system experiencing housing insecurity, or chronic homelessness, with transitional housing placement and reentry support services with the goal of providing assistance with more permanent housing solutions. This housing program operates utilizing hotels across NYC boroughs and offers medical, behavior health, reentry support services, connection to additional health and wellness services and housing placement assistance to residents enrolled to promote positive reintegration to the five borough communities, reduce recidivism and build stronger, safer communities. Reporting to the Director of Workforce Development Services, the Vocational Counselor will be responsible for conducting vocational program intakes, creating resumes and cover letters, facilitating work readiness workshops, provide individual vocational counseling sessions, referring clients to continued education or specialized employment trainings and conducting employment retention activities. This position will provide vocational support services to program participants across the three ETH Program sites located in Corona, Fresh Meadows and Long Island City Queens.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree required in social services, psychology, social work or other related field.
• Minimum 1 year experience providing vocational counseling or workforce development services.
• Experience working with individuals with previous involvement in the criminal legal system or history of mental health or substance use challenges.
• Knowledge of city, state and federal workforce related regulations and legislation.
• Strong written documentation and communication skills
• Good problem-solving skills and ability to work autonomously
• Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel, required
• Experience utilizing EMR systems.
• Ability to frequently travel within the boroughs via public transportation.

Nice To Haves

• Preferably bi-lingual in Spanish.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Excellent or proficient technical skills to perform tasks related to Microsoft Office, email and case management systems.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively with the team.
• Dependability and reliability to arrive and depart timely for scheduled shift.

Responsibilities

• Conduct vocational programming intakes with participants across the three ETH Program sites.
• Co-develop employment and education-related goals with participants and include in their individualized service plans.
• Assist clients with developing and creating resumes and cover letters.
• Provide individual vocational counseling to participants assigned to caseload.
• Facilitate group level interventions relating to work readiness and career training.
• Coordinate and refer participants to specialized job training, hard skills trainings or continuing education services.
• Assist participants with applying for employment opportunities in their desired career sectors.
• Provide participants with interview and other vocational appointment reminders.
• Follow up with participants for employment retention services when employed for 30, 60 and 90 days.
• Assist the overall Justice Initiatives Workforce Team with developing and maintaining relationships with NYC employers to create career opportunities for the client community.
• Actively participate in supervision, team meetings and agency meetings.
• Attend and participate in case conference meetings as needed.
• Complete data entry and program outcome tracking in accordance to contract deliverables.
• Promotes Housing Works’ core values in day to day activities.
• Performs other tasks as assigned by supervisor.
• Provide culturally competent services in accordance to Housing Works policies and practices.
• Attend and participate in advocacy efforts as outlined in Housing Works’ and the Justice Initiatives Department policies.
• Promotes Housing Works core values consistently.
• Ability to work with clients with diverse clients with varying levels of service needs.
• Works collaboratively with other team members within the Justice Initiatives Department and cross-agency.
• Responsiveness to emails, texts and phone calls.
• Ability to adapt and successfully uphold job functions in a full remote workforce or hybrid in-person remote workforce environment.

Benefits

• We have three comprehensive healthcare plans to choose from based on your priorities and budget. Housing Works covers most of the plan; you pay a portion, based on your salary.
• Staff begins accruing PTO immediately for a total of up to 30 days earned in the first year.
• We offer employees an educational benefit. This money is available for tuition loan reimbursement, tuition costs, and text books.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level