Youth Advocate I

Hillside Family of Agencies · Syracuse

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**WE ARE OFFERING A $1,500 SIGN ON BONUS FOR YOUTH ADVOCATES **

Job Summary

The Youth Advocate I for Hillside Work Scholarship Connection (HWSC) provides support and mentoring services to an assigned caseload of students in the HWSC program. This position utilizes best practices from education and youth development models to assist students in achieving positive academic outcomes including high school graduation, attaining life skills, and completion of a successful employment experience. 

Essential Job Functions

• Assist in the identification and selection of youth who have the personal characteristics to become successful participants in the HWSC program. 
• Maintain an active caseload of students based on enrollment targets by recruiting new students and retaining existing students.
• Meet regularly with assigned students in the academic environment to review grades, attendance, social skills, and future plans.
• Connect students who do not meet established expectations for GPA and/or core subject grade with tutoring services. 
• Teach student strategies for becoming self-sufficient (juggling/balancing school, work, friends, planning for college).
• Support the development of good habits by students that enable a successful transition from high school to a variety of pathways post-graduation, including full-time employment, military, 2 or 4 years of college, vocational, or trade school.
• Develop Individualized Graduation Plans (IGPs) for assigned students with family support and use the IGP as a guide to gauge student progress and revise IGPs bi-annually.
• Develop strong relationships with students and their families to understand and/or identify home issues that might impede school, work, and post-secondary success.
• Provide referrals to community support services as necessary. 
• Ensure parents and/or guardians are informed of, and in agreement with, the service goals established for their child during monthly family home visits and/or phone calls.
• Partner with core subject teachers and school counselors to ensure assigned students come to class on time and are prepared to learn.
• Facilitate all evidence-based course work, service-learning projects, and social-life activities (i.e. pre-employment readiness training, evidence-based course work facilitation, etc.). 
• Provide transportation services (using personal vehicle and/or agency vans) for HWSC students attending tutoring services, enrichment activities, and field trips.
• Accurately complete program documentation and reporting on assigned students in the required format and in accordance with required timeframes. Inputs into and creates reports from Efforts Toward Outcomes (ETO) as needed. 
• Maintain accurate records of own work time and travel information.
• Assist seniors planning to attend college in developing a transition plan and monitor student progress against the plan during weekly meetings, track plan progress in ETO.
• Apply State Department of Education high school graduation requirements and local school specific requirements, as well as necessary post-secondary planning processes (FASFA, SAT/ACT and/or Accuplacer testing, college applications process, work force preparation, and job placement) with each student’s guidance counselor for graduation success and post-secondary success for assigned students.
• Monitor student progress against Academic, Attitude, and Attendance (AAA) standards to determine Youth Employment Training Academy (YETA) eligibility.
• Provide support and encouragement to students completing YETA, and the job search process.
• Monitor placement and progress of students employed by an employment partner.
• Partner with the employment and or college and career team to resolve employment partner challenges/issues.
• While this job description covers many aspects of the role, employees may be required to perform other duties as assigned.

Education & Experience

• High school diploma or GED required.
• Minimum 2 years of relevant work, volunteer or higher education experience in human services, childhood or youth development, student mentoring, coaching adolescent youth, or related field required.

OR

• Associate's Degree in a relevant field and minimum 1 year of relevant experience required.

OR

• Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field required.

Special Requirements

• Unrestricted, valid NYS driver’s license for minimum of 1 year with a clean driving record and minimum insurance coverage that meets agency standards. 

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

In addition to demonstrating the Hillside Professional Competencies of Communicates Effectively, Personal Excellence, Cultural Competence, Builds and Leverages Relationships, and Optimizes Decision Making, the following occupational competencies must be demonstrated:

• Knowledge of and ability to apply services from the school site and community resources.
• Knowledge of and ability to apply theoretical and practical adolescent development and positive youth development and recognize signs and symptoms of students heading at risk (decisions, patterns of behavior, negative peer relationships) and ability to address with appropriate interventions for student.
• Knowledge of and proficiency with software applications and ability to learn new applications (internet, ETO, Parent Connect, Microsoft Office) to track and accurately record all interactions and activities.
• Basic group facilitation skills.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Must be able to work a variable scheduling including evenings and weekends
• Must be able to drive to and from multiple work/school sites during your work shift 
• The following physical demands are required:
  • Occasional sitting (up to 4 hours)
  • Occasional standing (up to 1 hour)
  • Occasional walking (up to 2.5 hours)
  • Occasional driving (up to 8 hours)
  • Continuous balancing (up to 8 hours)
  • Occasional balancing, bending, stooping, climbing, kneeling, pushing, pulling, reaching forward or down, reaching overhead, running, and twisting (up to 2.5 hours)
  • Lifting up to 50 lbs. (staff may be required to move and lift desks, set up tables, large screens, backdrops, etc.), 10-15 lbs. on a daily basis
  • Carrying up to 55 lbs. approximately 10-100 ft., 10-15 lbs. on a daily basis
• Manual dexterity is required, including the frequent ability to grasp in both hands and continuous use of fine manipulation skills in both hands (approximately 1-2.5 hrs.)
• Occasional exposure to dust, fumes, gases or chemicals is apparent. 
• Protective clothing or equipment required: Close toed shoes; Protective Shields, Universal Precaution PPE, Gloves for toileting and food preparation
• Ability to change positions as needed

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

• May be required to climb stairs as necessary
• May be required to transport students to community events or home sites that may occasionally expose employee to cigarette smoke, cleaning supplies, recreational marijuana, pets etc.

$18.50 Minimum pay rate, $22.00 Maximum pay rate, based on experience. A rate exceeding $22.00 may be considered for highly experienced candidates.

At Hillside, we believe that healthy youth and strong families with opportunities to succeed are the foundation of any thriving community. Guided by this belief, we provide community-based services, education, and residential treatment to positively impact lives, in partnership with youth and families who have experienced trauma. From locations across Central & Western New York and Prince George’s County, Maryland, our programs serve nearly 10,000 youth, adults, and families each year.

Partnering with families and communities, we deliver high-quality, evidence-based services, in the appropriate settings — whether on residential campuses or in schools, homes, or the workplace. By measuring the impact of our work, we endeavor to deliver ever better outcomes every day.

Equal Opportunity Employer: Hillside is committed to equal opportunities for all, supporting a diverse workforce, creating development opportunities for our people. Hillside is an equal opportunity employer; individuals from underrepresented and/or marginalized identities, Veterans, and disabled persons are encouraged to apply. Upon request, reasonable accommodations will be provided for the disabled.

Total Rewards: We offer a competitive benefits package to include generous paid time off, paid holidays, comprehensive medical, dental and vision coverage, flexible spending account, 403(b) retirement savings plan with employer match, and Employee Assistance Plan – just to name a few of the amazing benefits at Hillside! World changers and change makers join our talent community every day. Apply online, get on board, and grow your career with us!

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