Youth Advocate II

Hillside•City of Utica, NY

7d•$20 - $23

About The Position

The Youth Advocate II for Hillside Work Scholarship Connection (HWSC) provides support and mentoring to an assigned caseload of youth. The role applies 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 Youth Advocate II also mentors Youth Advocate I staff and may represent the program at new schools, lead groups, or take on additional projects and caseload responsibilities. The position works with students, families, schools, community services, and employment partners. It supports students’ academic progress, graduation planning, post-secondary transitions, employment readiness, and participation in the Youth Employment Training Academy (YETA). The position requires travel among work and school sites, including transporting students in a personal vehicle and/or agency van. Work schedules may vary and include evenings and weekends. Hillside provides community-based services, education, and residential treatment in partnership with youth and families who have experienced trauma. Its programs serve nearly 10,000 youth, adults, and families each year across Central and Western New York and Prince George’s County, Maryland.

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’s 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 meeting agency standards.
Demonstrated Hillside Professional Competencies in effective communication, personal excellence, cultural competence, building and leveraging relationships, and optimizing decision-making.
Knowledge of and ability to apply services available through school sites and community resources.
Knowledge of adolescent 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 track and accurately record interactions and activities.
Intermediate group facilitation and project management skills.
Ability to work a variable schedule that may include evenings and weekends and drive between multiple work and school sites during a shift.
Ability to meet the stated physical demands, including lifting up to 50 pounds and carrying up to 55 pounds.

Responsibilities

Represent HWSC at new schools, or act 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 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 success in the HWSC program.
Recruit new students and retain existing students to maintain an active caseload based on 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 balancing school, work, friendships, and college planning, and support development of self-sufficiency.
Help students develop habits that support transition after high school to employment, military service, college, vocational school, or trade school.
Develop Individualized Graduation Plans with students and family support, use the plans to gauge progress, and revise them bi-annually.
Build relationships with students and families to understand or identify home issues that may affect school, work, or post-secondary success.
Refer students to community support services as needed.
Keep parents or guardians informed of and in agreement with service goals 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 students to tutoring, enrichment activities, and field trips using a personal vehicle and/or agency vans.
Complete required program documentation and reports accurately and on time; 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 progress in ETO.
Apply state and local high school graduation requirements and coordinate post-secondary planning with guidance counselors, 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 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 challenges or issues with employment partners.
Perform other duties as assigned.