Career Coach

Ballad Group

Ballad Group is seeking to hire a Career Coach in Calgary who is passionate about teaching, connecting, and changing the lives of those who pass through the Work Employment Readiness and Connections Program. We know that's a mouth full, so you can call it the Calgary WERC program. We invite those who love working as employment counsellor with extraordinary organizational skills to join our team.

But who is Ballad Group?

Ballad is a purpose-driven organization dedicated to empowering resilient people, businesses, and communities across Canada. Our work is built on trust, respect, and our core values—accountability, collaboration, and entrepreneurship. Well, our training programs have built capacity in diverse areas including entrepreneurship, insurance, information and computer technology, construction, French language acquisition, hospitality, supply chain management, and more. We have delivered unique training programs for a variety of organizations, Indigenous Communities and on behalf of the Ministry of Jobs, Economy and Northern Development and Ministry of Assisted Living and Social Services Canada. 

But what about the WERC program? Well, the goal of the WERC program is to develop and administer individually focused direct skill enhancement training and job placement to enable multi-barriered Albertans find and maintain employment.

The Opportunity

The Career Coach will have a vital role in Ballad's Calgary WERC program. This position will be responsible for group and individualized employment counselling. In addition, the successful candidate will be expected to lead the development and delivery of various employment related and life management workshops using effective learning modalities and delivery methods.

The Career Coach will utilize excellent judgment to develop credible and meaningful relationships with program participants and collaborate with program team members to ensure program delivery success Excellent communication skills, prioritization, and organization will be a necessity for this role.

Key Responsibilities

Program Development:

• Collaborate with program team members to develop new program material for workshop delivery
• Ensure all instructional all materials and activities are relevant and align with WERC and industry standards
• Upon intake, assess individual needs from an employment lens and provide input for the individualized active service delivery plan

Program Delivery:

• Facilitate all workshops which include Life Management Workshops, Employability Workshops and Career Planning and Job Search Workshops
• Lead participants to success by creating a personalized service plan which identifies the required workshops to facilitate
• Collaborate with the Employment Specialist in finding job placement for WERC participants
• Professionally liaise with internal staff & external clients
• Creatively find solutions to ensure participant success
• Interview participants to obtain employment history, educational background and career goals
• Identify barriers to employment and assist clients with such matters as job readiness skills, job search strategies, writing résumés and preparing for job interviews
• Provide participants with information and strategies for gaining and maintaining a job and adjusting to workplace transitions

Program Reporting:

• Prepare and submit required program reports to the WERC Program Supervisor
• Update as required for accurate participant tracking

Business Development

• Positively represent the program to Ballad staff and sector stakeholders
• Promote program activities internally and externally through positive communication
• Actively seek out positive solutions to solve challenges amongst staff, participants, and partners.
• Actively seek out external events to support recruitment, work experience and job placement opportunities

Support Work

• Administration including maintenance of participant files, data entry, responding to incoming inquiries, preparation of materials
• Other duties that may arise from time to time and as may be assigned

Experience 

The position requires the following skills, experiences and abilities:

A professional with proven experience collaborating with unemployed individuals and groups, building and maintaining relationships with staff and external community members, and recruiting participants from Calgary and area.

• A bachelor's degree or college diploma in employment counselling or education is preferred
• 1 to 3 years' experience working in a related role
• Experience with pre-employment strategies and knowledge of the local labour market are considered assets
• Highly engaged with the Calgary community and agencies will be considered an asset but not required
• Public speaking or group facilitation within a formal environment or on the job required.
• Proven intermediate skill level in Microsoft Office and online database tools (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel)
• Proven experience in the development and customization of employment and life management workshops
• Exemplary verbal and written communication skills
• A genuine desire to build relationships with various population groups, employers, and internal/external stakeholders
• Highly professional, driven, charismatic, reliable, and confident individual who thrives under pressure
• Exposure to diversity and inclusion programs is an asset
• Ability to work independently while on a team is required