Youth Program Specialist

Scope of work:

The goal of the Refugee Youth Mentorship Program is to help recently arrived youth between the ages of 15-21 through social emotional asset development. The Youth Program Specialist will serve as the central point of contact for youth and provide support services including access to tools and opportunities youth need to grow in their academics, regulate emotions, maintain positive cultural identity, and expand their social circles. The Youth Program Specialist will visit refugee youth in their homes (including during evening hours three times a week throughout the academic school year) to guide youth and empower them to thrive in their new setting. Under the direction of the Youth Services Coordinator, the Youth Program Specialist will carry out intake assessments, service planning, ongoing case management, and advocacy. Twice a quarter the Youth Intake Specialist will help plan and lead educational fieldtrips for youth on Saturdays. The Education and Learning Department serves between 300-400 youth annually.

Major Responsibilities:

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to

• Visit a caseload of 12-15 clients regularly in their homes (between 5:00-7:30 PM during the academic year for clients in high school and during regular business hours in the summer) to provide mentoring, advocacy and case management services as necessary.
• Assist the Youth Intake Specialist with client outreach, recruitment, and enrollment.
• Assist the Youth Services Coordinator with planning and leading group activities for clients through Saturday Learning Series and Girls Groups.

Client Services

• Conduct client assessments in order to set a baseline for growth and a starting point for service provision.
• Establish an individualized service plan with each client on caseload; provide mentoring, guidance, and psychosocial support to aid clients in reaching goals in their service plans.
• Facilitate caregiver involvement in minor clients’ education through phone calls, home visits, and other mechanisms, including teaching caregivers how to access their parent portals, attending Parent/Teacher conferences.
• Screen clients for emotional distress and mental health; submit referrals to the Mental Health Department.
• Facilitate activities with clients to teach positive coping mechanisms.
• Track grades and attendance, advocate for and connect high school clients to relevant resources such as counselors, coaches, tutoring programs and extra-curricular activities.
• Invite and encourage clients to attend quarterly Saturday Learning Series and Girls’ Group activities.
• Collaborate with external organizations and internal departments to connect families to additional resources as necessary (food security, extended case management, immigration, etc) through referrals.
• Occasionally provide homework assistance or English tutoring to help clients succeed with their schoolwork.
• Secure interpretation to provide services and information in the client’s language; Work with interpreters during client appointments.
• Drive clients to occasional appointments and program activities as necessary.

Compliance Documentation

• Monitor and track clients’ progress from one grade level to the next as well as immigration status and age.
• Ensure required intake documents, assessments and service plans are fully completed and updated as appropriate.
• Maintain comprehensive case notes, update case files, and regularly update service plans to respond to clients’ needs.
• Team/Office Participation
• Participate in all program meetings, staff development activities, and other duties as assigned.
• Work as part of a team to provide comprehensive strength-based services to IRC clients through coordination of cases and effective communication between team members and departments.
• Comply with all policies, procedures, and protocols of the agency, placing importance on client confidentiality.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Youth Services Coordinator

Position directly supervises: N/A

Other Internal and/or external contacts: Dallas Education and Learning Manager, Youth Services Coordinator, HQ Youth and Education Technical Adviser

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, education, or related field of study is preferred, or related job experience.
• Well organized self-starter with excellent problem-solving skills and the proven ability to prioritize duties and manage time effectively.
• Strong written and oral and interpersonal communication skills: the ability to communicate effectively with colleagues and partners in a cross-cultural, multi-disciplinary environment.
• Fluent in English, both spoken and written; Bilingual in a Pashto, Dari or other client language is a plus but not required.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook);
• Valid driver’s license, access to reliable vehicle with current insurance, and the ability to travel regularly throughout the service delivery area (home visits, service provider visits, Saturday Learning Series, etc).

Working Environment:

• Professional office environment;
• Regular travel to off-site home visits (including evenings and occasional Saturdays).

Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.

Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

US Benefits: The IRC offers a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. All US employees are eligible for sick time, a 403b retirement savings plans: up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus an 3-7% additional IRC contribution, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

In addition, full-time employees are eligible for 10 US paid holidays, 20-25 paid time off days, disability & life insurance, medical, dental, and vision insurance (employee contribution starting at $135, $7, and $5 per month respectively) and FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs. Part-time employees are eligible for a proportionate amount of paid time off. These additional benefits apply to employees who work at least 6 months within a 12-month time period.