Youth Counsellor

The **John Howard Society of Durham Region** has an exciting opportunity for you. If you have a passion to support people with resources who require assistance with skills training and employment, an appreciation for the not-for-profit sector and would like to work for the John Howard Society of Durham Region, we encourage you to apply.

**YOUTH COUNSELLOR (STEP)***

**Division**: Employment and Training Services
**Work Status**: Fixed Term/Full-Time
**Location**: Durham Region (all offices as required)

**About the Role**:
The** S**kills **T**raining for **E**mployment and **P**ost-Secondary **(STEP) program **is a project funded through the Youth Employment Skills Strategy (YESS). This initiative is the Government of Canada’s commitment to help youth overcome barriers to employment, develop a broad range of skills and knowledge to participate in the current and future labour market and to promote education and skills training as being foundational to labour market participation. These barriers include but are not limited to challenges faced by youth involved in the criminal justice system, youth with disabilities, recent immigrant youth, Indigenous youth, and youth who are involuntarily not in employment, education, or training.

Working in the **STEP** program, the Youth Counsellor will work with youth who face complex barriers to employment. The goal is to achieve long-term employment, meaningful careers, further educational or vocational opportunities and success in their future working lives. Working within a team, the Youth Counsellor will case manage and deliver effective and quality **E**mployment **S**kills **T**raining and **Q**uality **E**mployment **O**pportunities to participating youth. This includes assessment and intake, service plan development and planning, advocacy for and linking and coordinating all wraparound supports, monitoring, and follow-up activities.

**You’ll be working on things like**:
**Service User Support**
- Determine youth eligibility and suitability for program, along with their general employment and service needs
- Conduct participant intake and assessment to gather background information, clarify career and employment goals, identify factors that affect the individual’s ability to succeed in program, and determine individual’s interpersonal skills and motivation
- Work with and exhibit sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse racial, ethnic, disabled, sexual orientation, and cultural populations of youth
- Use Cognitive Skills counselling or other counselling models to evaluate job readiness, negotiate readiness for change and develop a suitable action plan (where required)
- Development of action plan that includes an individual’s activities, services, and supports based on their employment and employability needs and career goals
- Provide case management and general support
- Mentoring activities that support the development of interpersonal and relationship-building skills, “soft” skill that are the foundation of workplace interactions
- With the team, deliver and evaluate relevant and current workshops or activities that support life stability, fundamental job readiness skills, career development/exploration, personal management (life) skills, job attainment skills, employment-related skills, and job maintenance and career advancement skills
- Work with the team to develop and support Quality Employment Opportunities for participating youth
- Implement job coaching and job retention strategies

**Case Management/Documentation**
- Maintain up-to-date case notes, progress reports and client files with clear rationale for methods and intervention used, and statistical documentation in accordance with the program requirements
- Monitor and maintain financial tracking where required
- Achieves all services outcomes and targets as developed by the funder and agency
- Meets all required deadlines.
- Maintain monthly performance related statistical reports
- Liaises with other Employment and Training staff to ensure coordination of services and utilization of available resources.

**Community, Administration & Other**
- Provide education and work transition support to bridge transition from the program to employment or further education
- Make follow-up contact to program participants after completion of program, at appropriate intervals
- Contributes to the program strategy by evaluating client and program performance: participate in developing and implementing program improvements
- Maintains up-to-date case notes, progress reports and client files with clear rationale for methods and intervention used, and statistical documentation in accordance with the program requirements.
- Must meet Documentation Quality Standards and provide accurate and timely data entry and filing procedures to the database.
- Partner with community organizations and in-house JHS programs that service youth with complex employment barriers, such as OW, ODSP, schools, CAS,