Youth Career Specialist - Case Manager

Larimer County•Fort Collins, CO

8d•Hybrid

About The Position

The CareerRise Team at Larimer County Economic & Workforce Development (LCEWD) is hiring a Youth Career Specialist to join their skilled, collaborative, and service-oriented team. This individual will be working within the CareerRise Team and will primarily provide direct, intensive case management services to a caseload of WIOA inCompass Program youth and young adults ages 16–24 who face significant challenges to employment and/or education. This position will primarily be supporting participants residing in Southern Larimer County (Loveland, Berthoud, etc.) and will be expected to meet in person in shared community spaces within these communities in addition to our Fort Collins office. The case management activities for this position include determining and documenting program eligibility, providing one-on-one employment/career-related counseling, working with program participants to remove employment barriers and build support through community-based referrals, planning, and education. Direct, individualized counseling utilizing Motivational Interviewing and related techniques will be a regular part of supporting these young people. The ability to provide services both in person and through virtual platforms while building meaningful relationships with youth and young adults is essential to success in this role. In addition to the case management of WIOA Youth, the CareerRise team shares the commitment of serving all youth, ages 14–24, who may have general inquiries and requests for assistance with employment seeking and other related topics. This team commitment includes participation in rotating team phone and email responsibilities, school presentations, group workshop facilitation, and other various outreach activities or events. LCEWD carefully recruits staff to build on our existing culture of collaboration, respect, inclusiveness, and innovation. We value all types of diversity, and we value the journey and recognize skills can be demonstrated through a variety of professional and personal experiences. We believe in having purpose and balance in life and support employee flexibility. Our department is passionate about serving people, businesses, and our community.

Requirements

Have direct experience working with youth and young adults in a case management, counseling or mentoring capacity.
Have the ability to work with a wide range of individuals with varying socio-economic backgrounds, skills, education, and interests.
Have exceptional organizational skills, strong attention to detail, ability to prioritize, and accurately meet deadlines while adhering to policy and procedure.
Comfort in working both independently and as a part of a team, ability to work with a cross-functional team within a department.
Understand and stay current on the fundamentals and trends of employment counseling i.e. resume, interviewing, and networking
Be empathetic and have conflict management skills.
Have the ability to be flexible and adapt to changes.
Have digital literacy i.e. Google, Zoom, Excel, Jot, Adobe, etc.
Demonstrated knowledge of professional boundaries, with the ability to maintain them and make appropriate referrals for additional support.
Communication/Coordination with both internal and external partners.
Two (2) years of experience in a related field or in the performance of similar duties and responsibilities is required.
High School Diploma or GED, required.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, Human Services or related field or the equivalent of direct case management experience, preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide one on one case management services to an assigned caseload of youth & young adults enrolled in the WIOA inCompass program that face challenges to employment/education.
Perform digital file maintenance by maintaining accurate case documentation, service records, and data entry in compliance with LCEWD, CDLE, WIOA, and confidentiality standards
Connect youth participants to High School Diploma/Equivalency/GED opportunities, internships, and/or assist them in bridging to post-secondary education.
Work in partnership with youth participants on career exploration activities and in counseling to identify pathways of interest including potential training paths.
Provide employment support and guidance on job search strategies including resume development, interviewing skills, and identifying internship or employment opportunities.
Work in partnership with other youth & young adult community services providers to ensure continuity of care, facilitating community referrals as appropriate.
Support CareerRise events and initiatives, including the Spring Employment Event (Teen Job Fair), Jump Start Your Job Search Series, Young Entrepreneur Tournament, seasonal internship programs, and other youth-focused programming.