Youth Advocate I

Hillside•City of Syracuse, NY

26d•$19 - $22

About The Position

The Youth Advocate I for Hillside Work Scholarship Connection (HWSC) provides support and mentoring services to an assigned caseload of students. The position uses education and youth-development best practices to help students achieve positive academic outcomes, graduate from high school, develop life skills, and complete a successful employment experience. The Youth Advocate recruits and retains students, monitors their academic and personal progress, and works with students, families, schools, community resources, and employment partners. The role supports graduation and post-secondary planning, facilitates program activities and training, and maintains accurate student records and reports. It also includes transporting students to program activities and working variable schedules, including evenings and weekends.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED and at least 2 years of relevant work, volunteer, or higher-education experience in human services, childhood or youth development, student mentoring, adolescent-youth coaching, or a related field; OR an associate's degree in a relevant field and at least 1 year of relevant experience; OR a bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
Unrestricted, valid New York State driver's license held for at least 1 year, a clean driving record, and minimum insurance coverage meeting agency standards.
Knowledge of and ability to apply services from school sites and community resources.
Knowledge of adolescent development and positive youth development, including the ability to recognize signs that students may be at risk and address them with appropriate interventions.
Proficiency with software applications and ability to learn new applications, including internet tools, ETO, Parent Connect, and Microsoft Office, to accurately track and record interactions and activities.
Basic group facilitation skills.
Ability to work a variable schedule, including evenings and weekends.
Ability to drive to and from multiple work and school sites during a work shift.
Ability to meet the stated physical demands, including lifting up to 50 pounds and carrying up to 55 pounds, with daily lifting and carrying of 10–15 pounds.
Manual dexterity, including frequent grasping with both hands and continuous fine manipulation with both hands.
Ability to change positions as needed.
Ability to climb stairs as necessary and transport students to community events or home sites that may expose the employee to cigarette smoke, cleaning supplies, recreational marijuana, or pets.
Demonstration of Hillside Professional Competencies: Communicates Effectively, Personal Excellence, Cultural Competence, Builds and Leverages Relationships, and Optimizes Decision Making.

Responsibilities

Assist in identifying and selecting youth who have the personal characteristics to become successful HWSC participants.
Maintain an active student caseload by recruiting new participants and retaining existing students in line with enrollment targets.
Meet regularly with assigned students in academic settings to review grades, attendance, social skills, and future plans.
Connect students who do not meet GPA or core-subject grade expectations with tutoring services.
Teach students strategies for becoming self-sufficient and balancing school, work, friends, and college planning.
Help students develop habits that support their transition from high school to employment, military service, college, vocational school, or trade school.
Develop Individualized Graduation Plans (IGPs) with assigned students and family support, use them to monitor progress, and revise them bi-annually.
Build relationships with students and families to understand or identify home issues that may impede school, work, or post-secondary success.
Refer students to community support services as needed.
Inform parents or guardians of, and seek agreement on, service goals through monthly family home visits and/or phone calls.
Partner with core-subject teachers and school counselors to help students arrive on time and prepared to learn.
Facilitate evidence-based coursework, service-learning projects, social-life activities, and pre-employment readiness training.
Transport students using a personal vehicle and/or agency vans to tutoring, enrichment activities, and field trips.
Complete program documentation and reporting accurately, in the required format and timeframes; enter information into and create reports from Efforts Toward Outcomes (ETO) as needed.
Maintain accurate records of work time and travel.
Help seniors planning to attend college develop transition plans, monitor progress during weekly meetings, and track progress in ETO.
Apply state and local high school graduation requirements and coordinate post-secondary planning with each student's guidance counselor, including FAFSA, SAT/ACT and/or Accuplacer testing, college applications, workforce preparation, and job placement.
Monitor student progress against Academic, Attitude, and Attendance (AAA) standards to determine Youth Employment Training Academy (YETA) eligibility.
Support and encourage students completing YETA and the job-search process.
Monitor the placement and progress of students employed by an employment partner.
Partner with employment and/or college and career teams to resolve employment-partner challenges or issues.
Perform other duties as assigned.