Career Coach WIOA

The primary responsibilities of the Career Coach WIOA is to provide participants with training and counseling to ensure they obtain employment.  In this role, you nurture employer relations by equipping participants with the professional soft skills necessary to attain and keep employment, facilitating presentations and workshops to teach these employability skills, assisting with networking events and other employment related job fairs or presentations.  As a Career Coach, your primary function is to ensure program participants ages 16-24 and WIOA eligible enroll in work experiences and seek employment and educational credentials in order to flourish personally and professionally as they transition into gainful, year-round employment.

Associate’s Degree or 3+ year of experience in workforce development.  Bachelor’s degree preferred. Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation. Ability to travel throughout New England and nationally for job-related activities and trainings. Ability to work evenings and some weekends as needed. Bilingual skills encouraged, not required. Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination.

Career Navigation and Coaching. Work closely with Managers to become an expert using the MassHire Hampden county Regional Board required Signal Success career readiness curriculum to prepare participants for work experience. Learn sector-specific requirements and established career pathways to promote new employment opportunities participants may not be aware of. Assist with the educational component of the program by entering participants in the Anywhere Learning Program and assist with tutoring as needed. Develop and implement career goal setting with specified by WIOA Contract, qualified participants in all phases of career planning, job search and training or educational study. Counsels, guides, and develops employment plans that are comprehensive and delineate clear steps towards goals. Provide career coaching to enrolled participants through career development supports, including but not limited to: conducting mock interviews, providing transportation to and from interviews, developing resumes and cover letters, and introducing participants to Skills Smart. Use self-assessment tools such as MassCIS or others to assist program participants in setting career goals. Develop and deliver presentations, career advising presentations to a wide range of audiences, including traditionally and non- traditionally aged students, adults and employer partners. Cultivate and strengthen relationships with employers and other key partners in order to have 4 guest speakers present to participants. Recruitment and Outreach. Develop and execute with support from the Workforce Manager outreach and recruitment strategies to obtain job shadowing and/or work experience opportunities for WIOA participants. Present program information to local agencies, schools, and organizations in order to recruit participants for the program. Liaise with the local MassHire Career Centers to enroll participants and share information on available workshops. Track enrollment of participants who are enrolled in workforce development programs in close collaboration with Workforce and Education Managers to ensure work is not duplicated but rather enhances data collection efforts across programs. Maintain updated electronic and paper files for each participant. Document all case management activities in the program files. Ensure all documentation is free of errors, including misspellings and other common mistakes. Ability to work with a team of employees from diverse social, economic and cultural backgrounds. Liaise with workforce staff and supervisors to ensure participants are fulfilling their educational and/or employment goals. Ability to seek appropriate supervision and guidance when needed. Meet weekly with Youth Programs Manager. Abide by Partners for Community Personnel Policies and Procedures. Other duties as necessary.