Junior Vocational Counselor

Next Step ACE Program

Next Step ACE is an Assisted Competitive Employment program for individuals with serious mental illness who seek meaningful jobs in the competitive employment market. ACE provides supported employment services delivered through the evidence-based model of Individual Placement and Support (IPS).

Responsibilities

• Assist with outreach, enrollment, intakes, assessments, and provide job readiness and retention services.
• Document client activities in required databases.
• Coordinate with referral sources, and other providers to document client eligibility and progress in city and internal systems.
• Coordinate with the broader Next Step team on activities that benefit the ACE clients.
• Serve as a backup to the Vocational Counselor and provide support and facilitate referrals from other Project Renewal sites.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Conduct outreach/recruitment activities and process referrals.
• Coordinate with referral partners to obtain the proper documentation for intakes.
• Schedule intakes with the appropriate vocational counselor and within designated timeframes.
• Conduct intakes and assessments and develop employment plans in conjunction with team members.
• Complete all client documentation, including weekly and monthly case notes that record services provided and outstanding issues to be addressed.
• Enter client information and progress into various databases including Salesforce, NYESS, NYC MedPortal, and others as required.
• Prepare clients for the world of work through individualized or group activities including resume and cover letter development, assistance with applications, interview preparation, and resource referrals.
• Facilitate workshops to support client’s successful participation in the workforce.
• Manage a caseload of employed participants and provide ongoing job retention services that meet program goals.
• Obtain job placement and retention milestone documentation including pay stubs and employment verification forms.
• Communicate with employed participants on job functions and help navigate any barriers to sustained employment.
• Cook up with other team members to advise on participants' status and assist participants with career advancement goals.
• Maintain employment data such as wage increases, promotions, resignations, and terminations in various systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred or 1-3 years of commensurate experience.
• Previous experience in vocational counseling and/or working with individuals with serious mental illness or similar population is essential.
• 1-2 years previous vocational experience required.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint).
• Knowledge of virtual platforms (Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Slack, Google Classroom, etc.).
• Preferred: Good working knowledge of Salesforce or other CRM databases.

Benefits

Project Renewal is an equal opportunity employer. Its long-standing policy has been to embrace the equality of opportunity for all employees and applicants without regard to actual or perceived race, color, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, religion or creed, gender (see separately issued Gender Discrimination policy for more detail), physical or mental disability, age (18 and over), military status, arrest record, marital status, domestic partnership status, genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristic, sexual orientation, status as a victim or witness of domestic violence, sex offenses or stalking, unemployment status or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state and local laws.