Youth Engagement Specialist

Youth Engagement Specialist

10 Feb 2024
Alaska, Anchorage / mat-su 00000 Anchorage / mat-su USA

Youth Engagement Specialist

Vacancy expired!

Position Summary:

The Youth Engagement Specialist (YES) provides and ensures high quality trauma informed service delivery in many aspects of youth care at the Youth Engagement Center (YEC) through direct supervision, management, and program development. The YES will build intentional relationships with youth, engage them in a variety of programming and work through their stages of change in order to drive toward long term positive outcomes.

Essential Functions:

•Understand, practice, and promote the vision, mission, and five principles of Covenant House Alaska

•Youth Engagement Specialist is expected to have actual, intentional contact with every assigned participant throughout the course of each shift.

•Provide face to face support and intervention in multiple settings including, but not limited to the Youth Engagement Center.

•Relentlessly show up and be present in young people's lives, especially through times of relapse and crisis.

•Engage youth in appropriate educational, vocational, and life skill programming.

•Work with team to plan, implement, and support engagement activities facilitated by internal staff and external partners.

•Maintain a positive and professional working relationship with the general public, including placement agencies and families of the youth we serve.

•Maintain a high level of ethical standards.

•Demonstrate an enthusiastic commitment to the job and the Agency.

•Ensure the safety and whereabouts of youth seen by CHA at all times.

•Provide security of the building, including the surrounding area.

•Commit to engage in personal and professional growth and competence development to increase capacity to serve youth every day.

•Keep supervisor fully informed at all times.

•Perform other duties as assigned.

General Responsibilities:

•Familiarity with community resources and social services agencies.

•Maintain Efforts to Outcomes (ETO) data base through data entry of all work with participants on a daily basis.

•Provide trauma-informed, individualized services to youth in residence: ◦Build intentional, positive relationships and engage assigned youth to ensure they are fully supported throughout the shift

◦Document in youth files or as dictated by program need

◦Working with the YES Lead, assist Youth in taking steps to accomplish agreed upon goals outlined in collaborative Success Plans.

◦As directed by the YES Lead, establish and maintain contact with family members, as needed and as outlined on the Success Plan

◦As directed by the YES Lead, establish and maintain contact with all community agencies as outlined in the Success Plan

•Performs intakes, discharges, answers the telephones, and assists in the operating needs of the Youth Engagement Center or other program elements.

•Participates in team, shift change, and staff meetings.

•Participates in staff trainings and other opportunities for professional development

Education:

High School Diploma required; further education in Human Services, Social Work, Psychology or a related field preferred.

Experience:

Experience working with adolescent or disadvantaged populations, preferably in a residential setting; life, volunteer, internship will be considered.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Required:

•Basic understanding of adolescent development and behaviors; demonstrate enjoyment of and ability to relate to at-risk youth and exhibit empathy with the joys and pains of others.

•Strong ability to relate effectively with a diverse group of staff, youth, and community agencies;

•Is approachable, builds rapport well and practices attentive and active listening.

•Knowledge of adolescent development, family dynamics, crisis intervention;

•Understand and comply with all Agency policies and procedures; including Child Protection Policies.

•Understand and comply with all principles of Culture of Care and Trauma Informed Services;

•Utilize Motivational Interviewing in conversations with youth.

•Ability to address conflict well and manage difficult youth in a supportive and non-threatening manner; able to respond quickly and safely and serve as a settling influence in crisis situations and emergencies;

•Ability to work with people of varied cultural backgrounds and tolerate differences in behavior.

•Support equal and fair treatment and opportunity for all; tolerant of people and processes;

•Ability to work independently, using good judgment and common sense.

•Able to make good decisions consistently based upon a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience and judgment;

•Maintain confidentiality and presents the straightforward truth.

•Self-motivation, initiative, sound judgment, and commitment to ongoing learning are essential;

•Proficient with standard computer operating systems.

•Excellent oral and written communication skills including organizational skills;

•Ability to prioritize multiple tasks.

•Willingness and ability to work outside of normal business hours, and Holidays and/or weekends as needed;

•Able to physically accommodate a wide range of strenuous physical activity, including but not limited to walking long distances, moving up and down stairs, lift bags/boxes up to 50 pounds, driving a minivan and physically managing youth if necessary.

•A current state of Alaska Driving License is preferred;

•Pass federal, state and local background investigation.

Shift Specific Job Duties:

Day Shift - The Day Shift operates from 7:30am - 3:30pm.

The staff on day shift help the youth get ready for their day. This can include, but is not limited to wake-ups, facilitating morning meetings, completion of breakfast and lunch chores, and reviewing youth's Success Plan goals and expectations for the day with assigned youth. Depending on the youth's Success plan, youth could be going to school, work, or participating in various employment, life skills, or other programming options. The day shift YES staff check in with youth to review goals, provide reminders of appointments, review tasks in need of completion, communicate with social workers, probations officers, and other entities involved with the youth, and complete engagement notes and data entry. YES staff are also encouraged to facilitate groups and activities with youth that are fun, educational, and engaging as opportunities to build relationships with youth.

Evening Shift - The Evening Shift operates from 2:30pm - 10:30pm

The YES staff on the evening shift maintain the same level of youth interaction as the day shift with similar responsibilities such as facilitating evening meeting, completion of dinner chores, reviewing assigned youth's Success Plan goals and expectations for the evening, and completing required paperwork and data entry. Additionally, evening shift staff facilitate family meetings. The evening shift offers increased opportunity for youth engagement as the majority of youth are in house during the evening shift hours. Engagement opportunities include artistic and cultural experiences, exercise, music, movies, games, educational endeavors, activities designed to enhance life skill development, off-site field trips, and more. The evening shift YES lead works with the YEC Program Coordinator to schedule groups and activities facilitated by either internal staff or external guests from the community. The evening staff prepare youth to go upstairs for the evening to get ready for bed, do bedroom/upstairs chores, and laundry.

Overnight Shift - The Overnight Shift operates from 10:00pm-8:00am (4 day a week, 10 hr. shift)

Due to the nature of the overnight shift, staff may have limited interactions, but there are still many opportunities that are essential to building meaningful relationships with youth. During the overnight shift, youth come in for overnights, sack lunches, and intakes, and other services. All overnight staff are expected to deliver the same level of service to youth. The overnight shift's primary functions include, data entry into ETO and HMIS, maintaining the clothing room and sorting donations, making copies of important documents for other shifts, keeping a stock of ready file folders for new intakes, and the filing and maintenance of archived youth files. The overnight shift update and distribute the nightly census document to facilitate communication between shifts.

Please visit our website to apply - http://ak.covenanthouse.org/Employment-opportunities

Submit your application, resume, cover letter, and list of references to the attention of:

Human Resources Generalist, Covenant House Alaska

Covenant House is an Equal Opportunity Employer

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