Youth Advocate II

Hillside Childrens Center•Rochester, NY

About The Position

The Youth Advocate II for Hillside Work Scholarship Connection (HWSC) provides support and mentoring to an assigned caseload of youth, using education and youth-development best practices to help students achieve positive academic outcomes, graduate from high school, develop life skills, and complete successful employment experiences. The role also mentors Youth Advocate I staff and may represent HWSC at new schools or lead projects and groups. The position maintains an additional caseload of 36–40 students in connection with these responsibilities. The Youth Advocate II works with students, families, school personnel, community services, and employment or college-and-career partners. The role supports academic progress, graduation planning, postsecondary transitions, youth employment preparation and placement, and accurate program documentation. The position requires travel among work and school sites and may include transporting students. Work schedules may vary and include evenings and weekends.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED, and at least 3 years of relevant work, volunteer, or higher-education experience in human services, childhood or youth development, student mentoring, coaching adolescent youth, or a related field; OR an associate degree in a relevant field and at least 1 year of relevant experience; OR a bachelor's degree in a relevant field and at least 1 year of relevant experience.
Unrestricted, valid New York State driver's license held for at least 1 year, a clean driving record, and minimum insurance coverage that meets agency standards.
Knowledge of and ability to apply services available through school sites and community resources.
Knowledge of adolescent development and positive youth development, including recognizing signs that students may be at risk and addressing 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.
Intermediate group-facilitation and project-management 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 described physical demands, including lifting up to 50 pounds and carrying up to 55 pounds, as well as required mobility and manual-dexterity tasks.
Ability to use required protective clothing or equipment, including close-toed shoes, protective shields, universal-precaution PPE, and gloves for toileting and food preparation.

Responsibilities

Represent HWSC at new schools, or serve as a mentor or group leader for new Youth Advocate I staff.
Participate in projects and additional responsibilities, including a regular additional caseload of 36–40 students.
Build, lead, and maintain relationships with school principals, administrators, and teachers in the absence of the HWSC Supervisor to support program fidelity, continuity, and sustainability.
Identify and select youth with characteristics suited to successful participation in the HWSC program.
Maintain an active student caseload by recruiting new students and retaining existing students in accordance with enrollment targets.
Meet regularly with students in academic settings to review grades, attendance, social skills, and future plans.
Connect students who do not meet established GPA or core-subject grade expectations with tutoring services.
Teach students strategies for becoming self-sufficient, including balancing school, work, and friendships and planning for college.
Help students develop habits that support transition after high school to employment, military service, college, vocational school, or trade school.
Develop Individualized Graduation Plans (IGPs) with assigned students and family support; use the plans to gauge progress and revise them biannually.
Build relationships with students and families to understand or identify home issues that may impede school, work, or postsecondary success, and refer families to community support services as necessary.
Inform parents or guardians of service goals and confirm their agreement through monthly home visits and/or phone calls.
Partner with core-subject teachers and school counselors to help students arrive on time and prepared to learn.
Lead, coordinate, and facilitate evidence-based coursework, service-learning projects, and social-life activities, including pre-employment readiness training.
Transport HWSC students using a personal vehicle and/or agency vans to tutoring, enrichment activities, and field trips.
Complete program documentation and reports accurately, in the required format and within required timeframes; enter information into and create reports from Efforts Towards Outcomes (ETO) as needed.
Maintain accurate records of work time and travel.
Help college-bound seniors develop transition plans, monitor progress in weekly meetings, and track plan progress in ETO.
Apply state and local high-school graduation requirements and postsecondary planning processes 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 Academics, Attitude, 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 the employment and/or college and career team to resolve employment-partner challenges or issues.
Perform other duties as assigned.