Lead, Fernie Works Lawn Care Social Enterprise

**FERNIE YOUTH SERVICES**

**LEAD, FERNIE WORKS**

**LAWN CARE SOCIAL ENTERPRISE**

**JOB POSTING**

**About Us**:
Fernie Youth Services gives opportunities to young people that have been given up on, marginalized and excluded from opportunity. Guided by values of respect, integrity, compassion, and excellence we serve young people in and at risk of being in conflict with the law on a journey towards reintegration and purposeful living. Caring Beyond Reason is at the heart of our programs for young people and their families and at the heart of all we do. To date, Fernie has put over 6,000 young men and women on new paths to become contributing, law-abiding citizens.

**What’s it like to work here?**

Always going above and beyond, we give the next generation hope to become the best versions of themselves. That is us. An organization of diverse professionals focused on creating a feeling of hope and of purpose in the young persons we support. And we support each other, through learning, listening and support to develop a career of value and meaning, wherever you are on your career journey. And we have big plans Journey of Hope, our 3-year strategic plan, is full of exciting new ideas to expand our reach - to reach more young people, in more communities, and in more ways - for the next 6,000 young people.

**About the Role: Lead, Fernie Works Lawn Care Social Enterprise**

Fernie Works is an employment and employability program targeting youth aged 17 - 27. With a focus on justice-involved, racialized youth, the goal of this program is to provide clients with real-world experience in the working world, complemented by career development, occupational skills, education and certifications - so youth can take their rightful place in Ontario’s economy, in meaningful, well-paying jobs.

The Lead, Fernie Works Lawn Care provides experiential, on-the-job training and coaching for youth participating in the Fernie Works Employment Program at Fernie Youth Services.

This role runs our Lawn Care Social Enterprise, in a socially conscious, sustainable fashion, committing to bring change to our youth clients. The Lead is responsible for all aspects of operating a small lawn care business including prospecting, contracting and maintaining lawn care customers, invoicing, payment, problem-solving and providing lawn care service.

Key Duties and Responsibilities include:

- Train, support and supervise youth providing lawn care service.
- Demonstrate teamwork and team building within the Fernie Works program team.
- Modell professionalism for youth clients, and as a representative of Fernie Works.
- Develop a network of service providers for related services for youth and the social enterprise (e.g., employers, suppliers, vendors), both inside and outside of Fernie Youth Services.
- Collaborate with key stakeholders, like Probation Officers, Employers, Education Partners, and others, to ensure each youth has a meaningful employment experience, learning key skills and abilities, to achieve program goals and objectives, in a youth-centered, supportive and safe environment.
- Engage with stakeholders to advocate and support youth and their employment goals.
- Provide mentoring, coaching and support; encouraging positive, pro-social behavior; developing a meaningful and supportive relationship with participating youth, with appropriate boundaries.
- Plan, deliver and continuously improve the Fernie Works Lawn Care social enterprise.
- Collaborate on case management plans to support justice-involved and at-risk youth on their employment journey, as guided by the Coordinator and/or the Youth Worker.

**About You**:Knowledge, Skills and Experience
- Demonstrated experience with leading social enterprises, small businesses and/or lawn care and landscaping. Customer service, equipment maintenance and safety, landscaping experience an asset.
- Post-Secondary degree or diploma in social work, criminology or another relevant field.
- Minimum of 1 - 3 years of experience working in the social service field, working directly with at-risk youth and/or young persons in conflict with the law; preferred experience with employment programming.
- Demonstrated experience with mentoring of at-risk youth, including managing challenging behaviors.
- Demonstrated sensitivity and understanding of the client population’s cultural and socio-economic characteristics; experience as a mentor and role model.
- Proficient use of technology to support the social enterprise, such as Gorilla Desk and Square.
- Knowledge of relevant legislation and guidelines, including but not limited to: : Ontario labour law (Employment Standards Act, Human Rights Code, Occupational Health and Safety Act).
- Strong customer service skills.
- Effectively identifies and escalates obstacles and challenges, seeking support and coaching from colleagues and Coordinator to problem-solve.
- Able to effectively manage a small business/social enterprise, in a socially conscious,