Employment Specialist - 2025736

Position Summary

As an Employment Specialist, you will walk alongside newly arrived refugees, asylees, and other immigrants, while also supporting ongoing clients through their employment journey as they build foundational stability and progress toward long-term career mobility. You will provide individualized assistance in their search for initial employment and collaborate with them on employment-related matters, including job retention and job replacement as relevant. In this role, you will help clients become economically self-sufficient by preparing them for employment, utilizing WRDA's extensive employer contacts to place them in jobs, and offering counseling on job upgrades and career pathway opportunities. You will also support clients in identifying both immediate and long-term career goals, guiding them through the steps needed to achieve advancement into higher-skilled, higher-wage roles, including referring them, when ready, to Career Pathways services and/or educational programming that aligns with their advancement goals. Finally, you will maintain and expand a strong employer network that creates accessible, quality opportunities for clients at every stage of their employment journey, whether they are securing their first U.S. job or seeking growth in their careers.

Role & Responsibilities

• Provide individualized workforce coaching, including pre-employment counseling, assessments, and career guidance based on participant needs, English level, and work readiness
• Deliver job readiness training through one-on-one and group sessions, covering resumes, interviews, job search strategies, and workplace expectations
• Support job placement by matching participants to appropriate opportunities and assisting with applications, interviews, and onboarding
• Develop individualized transportation solutions to ensure reliable access to employment
• Provide retention and follow-up support, including ongoing coaching to address workplace challenges and promote job stability
• Promote career advancement by helping participants identify goals and connecting them to training, credentials, and career pathway opportunities
• Engage employers and community partners to build relationships and align job opportunities with participant skills
• Maintain accurate documentation and ensure compliance with program and grant requirements
• Collaborate across teams, programs, and volunteers to coordinate services and support participant success

Job Requirements

• Mature and personal Christian faith
• Committed to the mission, vision, and values of World Relief
• Able to affirm and/or acknowledge World Reliefs Core Beliefs, Statement of Faith, Christian Identity, and National Association of Evangelicals' For the Health of The Nation document
• Strong interpersonal, relational, and cross-cultural communication skills, with the ability to effectively coach, motivate, and empower individuals from diverse backgrounds to achieve personal and employment goals
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment with flexibility, organization, and attention to detail
• Effective problem-solving, critical thinking, and conflict resolution skills, including the ability to advocate for clients with employers when needed
• Knowledge of, or willingness to learn, the U.S. labor market, particularly in the Chicagoland area, and trends affecting refugee and immigrant jobseekers
• Understanding of or sensitivity to the refugee and immigrant experience, including trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team; bilingual or multilingual ability is strongly preferred
• Maintain a valid driver’s license and meet MVR eligibility requirements

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Ability to work a flexible schedule including occasional early mornings, evenings, and weekends
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications
• At least one year experience in an office environment
• Willingness to learn about the U.S. labor market, particularly in the Chicagoland area, and trends affecting refugee and immigrant jobseekers

Benefits

World Relief offers a competitive benefits package and employee discount program for full-time, Regular, employees. World Relief is honored to be recognized with the Gold-level Cigna Healthy Workforce Designation for exceeding the core components of our well-being program including leadership and culture, program foundations and execution, and whole person health.