YouthBuild Retention Associate

Background

The HOPE Program is a leader among New York City job training providers, upskilling adult jobseekers (ages 18 - 70) for a broad range of sectors, including a focus on green construction, maintenance, infrastructure and related careers. We work with individuals facing deep structural barriers to employment, including histories with the criminal legal system, current and/or past homelessness, substance abuse disorders, low educational attainment and more. Our comprehensive approach includes classroom training, industry-recognized certifications, digital literacy and access, financial literacy and access, mental health support, case management, paid job training, and our signature “HOPE for Life” approach, which provides a vital community of support throughout the lives of HOPE graduates’ careers. With measurable outcomes among the strongest in the industry, HOPE’s impact sits at the intersection of COVID-19 recovery, racial justice, and building a more equitable future for New York City. Our work is best described in the words of our graduates, such as Ramon.

The Position

HOPE is seeking a YouthBuild Retention Associate who will manage a caseload of graduates from YouthBuild, a proven, nationally delivered work readiness program for young adults ages 18 - 24 that offers hands-on construction and horticulture training in the local community while participants build leadership skills and earn their high school equivalency. The YouthBuild Retention Associate is also responsible for helping participants achieve positive education and employment outcomes. The position reports to the Alumni Support Manager. This is a hybrid position, working out of HOPE’s South Bronx location at 1360 Garrison Avenue twice weekly. 

Responsibilities

• Participate in YouthBuild technical assistance trainings and other grant-related meetings.
• Serve as an integral part of the Wellness Team by leading HOPE’s job retention initiative and support lifelong engagement. Work to achieve or exceed HOPE’s retention goals.
• Maintain a consistent, persistent outreach process to ensure all program completers are progressing toward job retention of 90 days and 1 year. 
• Cultivate positive, ongoing relationships with graduates while engaging in scheduled daily and weekly outreach to assess job satisfaction, performance and sustainability of the job. Provide consistent coaching to graduates and partner with HOPE staff to make referrals for other support services as needed.
• Engage graduates who transition from their jobs and assess for possible re-engagement.
• Collect required documentation and provide graduates with retention incentives, according to schedule. Enter all required data into Salesforce database and document activities via case notes in a timely manner.
• Work closely with HOPE’s Government Grants Administrator to ensure necessary documentation is collected from graduates to satisfy funder requirements.
• Immediately communicate and collaborate with other teams (i.e. Employment) to address potential retention risks with graduates.
• Coordinate activities designed to help graduates retain jobs and develop new skills to advance in their careers.
• Outreach to and engage graduates for participation in evening events; facilitate discussions on topics such as: retention incentives, conflict management, dealing with difficult employees/employers, employee rights, and financial planning.
• Assist with outreach efforts for annual events such as the awards ceremony and holiday dinner.
• Identify and implement career advancement opportunities
• Work collaboratively with HOPE’s Employment Specialists and Business Development Managers to re-engage graduates in the job search to attain another job.
• Participate in case conferencing with other employment and program staff to: 
• Obtain employment, raises, promotions, benefits, education, and other retention/advancement data.
• Verify and update demographic and other relevant profile data.
• Coordinate graduates’ connection with their Employment Specialist for job search, case management assistance, or counseling assistance.
• Facilitate informational sessions in classes and Job Club sessions to inform students of retention services and discuss and mitigate retention risks before they gain employment.
• Performs other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of the duties in this job classification.

Minimum Qualifications

• Experience working with economically disadvantaged adults & young adults with multiple barriers to employment. 
• Strong organizational, data analysis and database skills. 
• Creative thinking, outreach, and marketing skills. 
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.