Social Services Professional - Youth and Young Adults
- Summary
- The Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) values diverse perspectives and life experiences. The Department encourages people of all backgrounds to apply, including Black, Indigenous, and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ, people with disabilities, veterans and those with lived experience.King County's Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) provides equitable opportunities for people to be healthy, happy, and connected to community.
This position will serve as the Social Service Professional at one of King County YouthSource Reengagement sites and within a team of Social Service Professionals. This position will recruit, assess, provide job readiness training, job search assistance, job placement, and employment retention and support services to youth/young adults. Youth/young adults will have various barriers to success including low-income, lack of work experience, homelessness/unstable housing, low-basic skills, justice involvement, etc. Young adults will be enrolled into a comprehensive education and employment program offered through the Children, Youth and Young Adult Division’s Employment and Education Resources program and provided with services that lead to success in secondary school completion, employment and post-secondary education. This posting may be used to fill multiple positions.
WHO MAY APPLY: This position is open to all qualified candidates that meet the minimum qualifications.
REQUIRED MATERIALS: Candidates who wish to be considered must submit a complete King County application online and respond to the supplemental questions.
WORK SCHEDULE: This position is overtime eligible with supervisory preapproval. Typical hours are Monday - Friday 8am-5pm. This position is represented by PSEU #519.
RECRUITER: Susan.Churchill@kingcounty.gov
TEMPORARY TELECOMMUTING REQUIREMENT:
The work associated with this position will be performed remotely, except for 1 to 2 days per week at least through July 5, 2021 in compliance with King County’s telecommuting mandate. Employees will be provided with a County issued laptop and must maintain a workspace with an internet connection where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours. Employees must reside in WA state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements. There will be situations where the employee is required to report to a County worksite. Please note that when an employee conducts work that is likely to bring them in contact with another individual, safety precautions are required by the department in alignment with the Public Health Directive from the Seattle & King County Public Health Officer. When safe to do, this position will require full-time work in an office/community setting with young people, other staff and partner staff.
To support employees during this time King County has a robust collection of tools and resources to support working remotely. The individual selected for this opportunity will be joining an innovative and progressive team. King County is doing its part to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and remains committed to reducing our carbon footprint. - Job Duties
- Recruit youth/young adults that are low-income/unemployed and in need of employment and/or educational services and support.
- Assess young adults to determine eligibility into various programs and barriers to attain program goals.
- Develop individual service plan with short-term and long-term goals, and monitor plan with the young person.
- Develop and maintain effective relationships with youth/young adults ages 16-24 years who have multiple barriers to success, including legal system involvement, not completing high school, etc.
- Counsel and support young adults with career, vocational/technical goals, employment, and personal issues. Mediate, problem-solve and coordinate individual services for young people.
- Establish strong working relationships with WorkSource and YouthSource partners, e.g. King County Superior Court and Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration, organized labor, community and technical colleges, community-based organizations such as Northwest Education Access, State agencies such as DSHS, and ESD, and become familiar with services and referral procedures of these providers.
- Meet performance-based outcomes per the specific program/grant related to activity completion, competency attainment, GED or high school diploma attainment, job readiness training completion, internship placements and completions, and job placement.
- Develop and maintain relationships with Business Service Staff, employers, coordinate and monitor work experience training sites, provide job search and job retention training, job development and job search assistance services. This may include developing internship sites with employers.
- Complete required paperwork for the program that may be related to client eligibility, activities, demographics, and outcome attainment. This includes monthly case summaries.
- Perform other related duties as assigned.
- Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills
- Bachelors degree in social work, education, or related field.
- At least three years of recent experience (within the last 7 years) providing direct multi-level social services to disadvantaged youth populations. Relevant experience can be substituted for education as long as the applicant is able to clearly demonstrated that experience will allow them to meet the above requirements/job duties. Experience should include working in a program/providing services that lead to the following outcomes: GED attainment, high school diploma attainment, internship placement, job placement, placement into post-secondary education, etc.
- Demonstrated ability to perform job duties within the context of understanding and applying complex regulations and definitions.
- Experience providing complete extensive technical documentation (for eligibility, compliance with State and/or Federal programs).
- Knowledge of juvenile legal and court systems and the ability to navigate resources for youth involved with these systems.
- Demonstrated experience developing and maintaining effective working relations with a diverse population of youth, criminal justice agencies, employers, other staff, community and technical colleges, and community-based organizations.
- Demonstrated experience developing community outreach strategies as needed to effectively recruit youth and assist youth/young adults in completing educational goals and securing quality employment.
- Ability to effectively manage time to work on multiple tasks in high pressure/short deadline environment, and to adapt to changes in work-load demand and priorities.
- Strong interpersonal and human relations skills, including conflict resolution techniques.
- Ability to work in stressful situations involving youth with barriers to success in education and employment.
- Effective oral communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
- Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with youth and employees from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.
- Knowledge of developmental and motivation psychology including motivational interviewing.
- Proficiency in the use of personal computers, with working knowledge of MS Word, Excel, Access, Outlook and the Internet.
- Valid Washington State Driver’s License.
- Ability to pass a post offer/pre employment Washington State Patrol Background check.
Desired Qualifications:
Experience working with Opportunity Youth.
Masters’ Degree in Social Worker or similar field.
Passion working with young people and helping them meet their goals.
- Supplemental Information
Forbes recently named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.
Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.
Guided by our "True North", we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles--we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.
King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer
No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.
To Apply
If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact your recruiter listed on this job announcement.
King County offers a highly-competitive compensation and benefits package designed to meet the diverse needs of our employees and support our employees' health and well-being. Eligible positions receive the following benefits and have access to the following programs:
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage: King County pays 100% of the premiums for eligible employees and family members
- Life and disability insurance: employees are provided basic coverage and given the opportunity to purchase additional insurance for both the employee and eligible dependents
- Retirement: King County employees are eligible to participate in a pension plan through the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems and a 457(b) deferred-compensation plan
- Transportation program and ORCA transit pass
- 10 paid holidays each year (plus 2 personal holidays)
- Generous vacation and paid sick leave
- Paid parental leave, family and medical leaves, and volunteer leave
- Flexible Spending Account
- Wellness programs
- Onsite gyms and activity centers
- Employee giving program
- Employee assistance programs
- Flexible schedules and telecommuting options, depending on position
- Training and career development programs
This is a general description of the benefits offered to eligible King County employees, and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. If any information on this document conflicts with the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the CBA prevails. Also, in the event of any incorrect information in this document, applicable laws, policies, rules, CBAs, or official plan documents will prevail.
NOTE: Benefits for Term Limited Temporary (TLT) or Short Term Temporary (STT) positions, including leave eligibility and/or participation in the pension plan through the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems, will vary based upon the terms and details of the position. Short Term Temporary positions are not eligible for an ORCA transit pass.
For inquiries about the specifics of this position, please contact the recruiter identified on this job posting.
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01Are you applying to this position as a Priority Placement Program Participant And Is this position the same or lower percentage of full-time when compared to the position held at the point of the notification of layoff AND Do you possess the skills and abilities to qualify for this position?
- Yes, I was given a layoff notice from my role at King County AND I am within two years of the effective date of my layoff. AND The position I was laid off from was the same or a higher percentage of FT status when compared to this one.
- No.
02If you answered yes to the question above and you are applying for this position as a Priority Placement Participant, to be considered, you must provide the following three pieces of information in the space provided: 1. The title you held when you received your layoff notice 2. The department you worked in 3. The effective date of your layoff03Describe your minimum of 3 years of experience providing direct multi-level social services to disadvantaged youth populations. List the organization name and dates.04Describe your experience working with youth who have various barriers to success including justice system involvement, low income parents, lack of work experience, low basic skills, etc. Include the organization name and dates.05Please share a story of a young person you have helped. Please include how you helped the young person meet their goals with regard to education and employment.06King County has transformed its work on equity and social justice from an initiative to an integrated effort that applies the principle of "fair and just" intentionally in all the county does in order to achieve equitable opportunities for all people and communities. What is the most important equity or social justice issue to you and why?Required Question