Career Advancement Specialist (B)

Overview

Triangle has an immediate opening for a Career Advancement Specialist for our Day Services. The qualified candidate will equip adults with disabilities to achieve their career and personal goals by maximizing their participation in supported employment and progressing towards competitive employment in the community.

Expectations of Employee

• Adheres to Triangle policy and procedures
• Fosters a positive, solution-oriented culture consistent with Triangle's mission
• Promotes employment, self-advocacy, and independence across programs and participants
• Acts as a role model within and outside of Triangle
• Maintains a positive and respectful attitude towards participants, staff, and community partners
• Communicates regularly with supervisor
• Demonstrates flexible and efficient time management and ability to prioritize workload
• Consistently reports to work on time prepared to perform duties of position, with a willingness to flex hours as needed

Responsibilities

• Equips individuals with disabilities with job readiness skills to secure potential employment or collegiate pathways
• Creates an inviting, exciting, innovative, learning environment
• Takes lead in developing and implementing activities and employment/collegiate opportunities focused on personal and professional development
• Aids in the development & implementation of new and engaging career and social experiences to meet program/participant driven goals
• Produces weekly supported employment schedule/monitors utilization of contracts
• Consistently connects with community employers in order to identify or create employment opportunities/collegiate support for individuals
• Facilitates and implements after hours social opportunities and community engagement
• Establishes opportunities for training and job shadowing with local community businesses
• Develops job leads and cultivates employer relationships to enhance community partnerships
• Monitors individual job performance, attitude, and behavior for appropriateness
• Implements independent living, self-advocacy, and soft skills into daily activities and programmatic offerings
• Provides individualized support to participants, when necessary, both during programming and 1:1 job/collegiate pathway coaching
• Conducts initial/ongoing assessments for personal growth
• Proactively communicates with families over employment/collegiate progress and needs
• Provides support to participants and assists in developing natural support to ensure integration and increased or maintained independence in the community
• Trains and develops independent skills related to employment and collegiate pathways, such as travel training, hygiene, self-advocacy, etc.
• Provides transportation for groups or individual career seekers to interviews, employment assessments, job searching, and other employment activities in the community
• Communicates in a professional manner with employers/collegiate stakeholders and troubleshoots issues at supported sites with all relevant parties
• Works with Case Management team to ensure individual's ISP/Life Plan goals are being met
• Participates in ISP/Life Plan meetings with Department of Developmental Services, participants, and their families or other members of their support team as needed
• Takes directions from Site Manager/Assistant to collect accurate data as needed for ISP/Life Plans, behavior plans, monthly progress notes, etc.
• Submits billing and related progress notes on a daily basis utilizing Penelope software
• Contributes to monthly ISP/Life Plan goal tracking notes
• Performs 1:1 job development with or on behalf of participant and completes documenting/billing in database
• Adjusts supported employment schedule as needed
• Provides direct care/group site supervision when necessary
• Prepares and executes lessons to foster personal and professional growth
• Knows and adheres to all safety policies and emergency procedures; knows basic emergency facts regarding participants
• Maintains up-to-date case notes, data collection, employment records, schedules, etc.
• Provides services and bills necessary contract hours on a weekly basis
• Plans and facilitates job clubs/events for groups of participants and bills accordingly
• Checks in with appropriate parties on a weekly basis to share applicable progress, challenges, and ISP/plan progress and behavior data
• Reaches department placement/annual goals set by Site Manager and Department
• Participates in progress meetings (ISP, behavioral, etc.) as requested
• Meets 1:1 with caseload as needed
• Completes reports, observations, career readiness assessments, and job coaching as requested
• Develops 10 employer relationships/leads per month
• Places 10 participants in competitive, integrated employment (not in supported group sites)
• Participates in team meetings
• Meets with Site Manager/Assistant Site Manager on a monthly basis for supervision and as needed
• Communicates with employers and proposes implementation/production goals, fields questions in a professional manner
• Flexes work week as required by employment sites and job coaching schedules; informs Site Manager of any changes

Schedule

Full-time/40 hours per week, Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm with flexibility for evening and weekends.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma required; additional education preferred
• One to three years of Human Services experience preferred
• Some Marketing and/or Sales experience preferred
• First Aid/CPR and Safety Care certification or willingness to become certified
• Massachusetts Driver's License and clean driving record required
• Personal vehicle required

Language Skills

• Ability to verbally communicate
• Ability to read, analyze, interpret, and write documents
• Ability to respond and navigate common inquiries or complaints from regulatory agencies or family members

Physical Demands

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 accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Occasionally required to stand, walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls
• Reach with hands and arms, climb stairs, balance, stoop, kneel, talk or hear, taste or smell
• Must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds
• Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus

Work Environment

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

• The noise level in the work environment should be adapted to meet the sensory needs of a neurodiverse population