YOUTH EMPLOYMENT COUNSELLOR (STEP)
Division:Employment and Training Services
Work Status: Full-Time
Location: Durham Region (all offices and community as required)

Posting Date: December 18, 2024 - re posted

Posting End Date: January 5, 2025

Employment Group: CUPE 2936.13

Salary Grid Rate: $23.32 per hour

Standard Weekly Hours: 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday with the ability to flex hours when needed

Additional Benefits: Extended Health, Dental, LTD, Life, Accident, RRSP, Mileage

Start Date: As soon as possible

End Date: February 11, 2028

John Howard Society of Durham Region Mission Statement:

To reduce the impact of crime and its causes by providing a spectrum of effective prevention and intervention programs.

About the Role:

TheSkillsTraining forEmployment andPost-Secondary(STEP) programis a project funded through the Youth Employment Skills Strategy (YESS). This initiative is the Government of Canadas commitment to help youth overcome barriers to employment, develop a broad range of skills and knowledge to participate in the current and future labour market and to promote education and skills training as being foundational to labour market participation. These barriers include but are not limited to challenges faced by youth involved in the criminal justice system, youth with disabilities, recent immigrant youth, Indigenous youth, and youth who are involuntarily not in employment, education, or training.

Working in theSTEPprogram, the Youth Counsellor will work with youth who face complex barriers to employment. The goal is to achieve long-term employment, meaningful careers, further educational or vocational opportunities and success in their future working lives. Working within a team, the Youth Counsellor will case manage and deliver effective and qualityEmploymentSkillsTraining andQualityEmploymentOpportunities to participating youth. This includes assessment and intake, service plan development and planning, advocacy for and linking and coordinating all wraparound supports, monitoring, and follow-up activities.

Youll be working on things like:

Service User Support

• Determine youth eligibility and suitability for program, along with their general employment and service needs
• Conduct participant intake and assessment to gather background information, clarify career and employment goals, identify factors that affect the individuals ability to succeed in program, and determine individuals interpersonal skills and motivation
• Work with and exhibit sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse racial, ethnic, disabled, sexual orientation, and cultural populations of youth
• Use Cognitive Skills counselling or other counselling models to evaluate job readiness, negotiate readiness for change and develop a suitable action plan (where required)
• Development of action plan that includes an individuals activities, services, and supports based on their employment and employability needs and career goals
• Provide case management and general support
• Mentoring activities that support the development of interpersonal and relationship-building skills, soft skill that are the foundation of workplace interactions
• With the team, deliver and evaluate relevant and current workshops or activities that support life stability, fundamental job readiness skills, career development/exploration, personal management (life) skills, job attainment skills, employment-related skills, and job maintenance and career advancement skills
• Work with the team todevelop and support Quality Employment Opportunities for participating youth
• Support vulnerable youth through the process of post-secondary application
• Implement job coaching and job retention strategies

Case Management/Documentation

• Maintain up-to-date case notes, progress reports and client files with clear rationale for methods and intervention used, and statistical documentation in accordance with the program requirements
• Monitor and maintain financial tracking where required
• Operate office equipment including computers and supporting software applications.
• Achieves all services outcomes and targets as developed by the funder and agency
• Meets all required deadlines.
• Maintain monthly performance related statistical reports
• Liaises with other Employment and Training staff to ensure coordination of services and utilization of available resources.

Community, Administration & Other

• Provide education and work transition support to bridge transition from the program to employment or further education
• Make follow-up contact to program participants after completion of program, at appropriate intervals
• Contributes to the program strategy by evaluating client and program performance: participate in developing and implementing program improvements
• Maintains up-to-date case notes, progress reports and client files with clear rationale for methods and intervention used, and statistical documentation in accordance with the program requirements.
• Must meet Documentation Quality Standards and provide accurate and timely data entry and filing procedures to the database.
• Partner with community organizations and in-house JHS programs that service youth with complex employment barriers, such as OW, ODSP, schools, CAS, the courts, DRPS, probation etc. for the purposes of referral and recruitment.
• With the team, establish relationships with employers or sector associations in Durham Region to determine job opportunities and advocate for participant job placement.
• Make referrals to community agencies as deemed appropriate
• Representing the agency in the community when required.
• Establish and maintain positive relationships with other community services agencies and employers
• Attend workshops, meetings and seminars as requested

Qualifications

• Must possess post-secondary education such as social service worker, social work, employment counsellor etc.
• Willing to remain current in the field of career counselling and training services, employing new practices and tools as appropriate
• Group facilitation/instruction, employment, and general counselling experience.
• Extensive knowledge of pre-employment support methods, retraining opportunities and labour market information and resources.
• Work with and exhibit sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse racial, ethnic, disabled, sexual orientation, and cultural populations of individuals by treating individuals with respect and considers the impact of their actions.
• Must have high proficiency working within all Microsoft office applications.
• Experienced in using Zoom to host/co-host meetings, including using polls, breakout rooms, annotation mode, etc.
• Strong knowledge of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Hootsuite and Wordpress
• Strong self-management skills to achieve project goals within short timelines
• Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills
• Able to take initiative and work as part of a team
• Able to work in an environment that requires the ability to collect and gather statistical information, meet deadlines and targets.
• Hold valid Class G drivers license or can navigate to any JHS office as well as meet with employers across the Region of Durham
• Work effectively and collaboratively with all JHS in-house services and programs to ensure coordination between programs and utilization of available resource
• Candidate should have a solid knowledge of community services in the Durham Region to be able to refer and link individuals to these services as required.
• Achieve all services outcomes and goals as developed by the agency
• Ensure that all services are provided within the standards of service maintained by JHS and consistent with the agencys philosophical beliefs.

Application Instructions: Submit a letter of interest and your resume which outlines your skills, education, experience and fit for this position through this link: https://jhsdurham.bamboohr.com/careers/377

About Us

TheJohn Howard Society ofDurhamRegion(JHSD): We are a non-profit, social service agency dedicated to serving allindividuals, families, youth and adultsin programs in areas such as Community Justice, Employment and Training and Housing/ Residential Services.