Program Officer, Youth Employability Program

SEED’s mandate is to empower young Nova Scotians to better understand and make informed decisions that support their professional and personal success. Through strategic partnerships, programming, and community collaborations, SEED works to enhance training opportunities, skills development, and educational access for youth. By fostering meaningful engagement and innovative support systems, SEED aims to create pathways that help youth overcome barriers and thrive in today’s workforce and beyond.

The Youth Employability Program (YEP) is an outreach program that provides innovative interventions to youth who are experiencing barriers to accessing employment, are between the ages of 15-24 and are in receipt of Income assistance, dependents of income assistance recipients, youth in care or have another connection to the Department of Opportunities and Social Development.

Reporting to the Senior Manager, the Program Officer is responsible for developing client-centered plans in consultation with youth and other community supports. They will meet one on one with youth in their community, complete assessments, identify areas of strengths and weaknesses and work with them to determine and work towards their employment and educational goals.

**SEED’s Core Competencies**:
Collaboration - working effectively and respectfully with others
Community - delivering high quality client services
Innovation - thinking things through and solving problems
Impact - showing initiative and being action-oriented

**Duties**:

- Case manage approximately 50-75 youth on an annual basis including development of personalized intervention strategies
- Recruit youth from referring agencies including OSD offices, community organizations, schools and youth serving groups.
- Complete intakes and assessments and use that information to build a case plan based on their goals and needs.
- Develop and facilitate a range of activities that will increase employability and life/career skills while focusing on building self-confidence, empowerment and community awareness.
- Work effectively with clients to identify and help decrease inherent barriers to success such as poverty, education, home life, life skills, etc.
- Develop partnerships and collaborate with OSD and community to support the development of services for the YEP target population.
- Refer youth to other social services or community providers where necessary (i.e. training, legal, medical, financial assistance, housing, day care etc.)
- Occasionally develop and facilitate employment related workshops in the community
- Maintain contact with other social service agencies involved with the youth to provide information and obtain feedback on overall progress (within the boundaries of privacy protocols).
- Develop connections with employers in order to assist with obtaining employment and securing work placements
- Maintain program statistics for purposes of evaluation and research and provide details to program manager for LAMPSS reporting.
- Maintain timely and accurate records to satisfy Department of Opportunities & Social Development (OSD) requirements and internal reporting processes.
- Represent SEED within the network of youth focused service providers
- Participate regularly in staff meetings, case conferences and staff training
- Maintain positive working relationships with all YEP stakeholders.

**Qualifications**

Experience & Education
- Post Secondary education in social work, child and youth care, psychology or other social science or health-related discipline.
- Minimum of four (4) years of experience (or a combination of education and experience) providing case management support to marginalized and at-risk youth
- Experience working with clients attached to OSD including the ability to recognize existing barriers to employment frequently present with OSD clients (e.g., poverty, education, home life, life skills)
- Ability to adapt intervention strategies to meet individual client needs
- Strong communication, interpersonal, and presentation skills
- Excellent organization and written communication skills, with the ability to maintain accurate and timely case notes
- High level of initiative; able to work independently and manage unanticipated issues
- Demonstrated discretion and sound judgment in handling confidential information
- Excellent knowledge of community supports and resources
- Ability to build relationships and connect youth with appropriate services

**Additional Information**:
SEED is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible environment, where all employees and customers feel valued, respected and supported. We are dedicated to building a workforce that reflects the diversity of our customers and communities in which we live and serve and creating an environment where every employee has the opportunity to reach their potential.

This is a full-time position (40 hours per week) offering a competitive benefits p