Job Title: Employment Specialist
Location: Independence, MO
Department: Supported Living & Employment Services
Employment Type: Full Time
Shift: Monday-Friday (flexible CST)
Job Summary:
Are you looking to make a positive impact in the lives of others? Do you want to work in a supportive and dynamic environment where you can grow your skills and advance your career? Join our team as an Employment Specialist in the Independence, Missouri area!
Ignite your career aspirations and realize your full potential with our Employment Specialists — a dedicated team of experienced professionals committed to opening doors, expanding horizons, and accelerating your climb upwards on the ladder of success. Armed with insider knowledge, expansive networks, and an arsenal of proven techniques, our Employment Specialists serve as your trusted advisors, champions, and confidants throughout each stage of your professional journey.
Position Perks & Benefits:
- Top-notch training – initial, ongoing, comprehensive, and supportive
- Career mobility – advancement opportunities/promoting from within
- Welcoming, warm, supportive – a work culture & environment that promotes your well-being, values you as human being, and encourages your health and happiness
Key Responsibilities:
- Needs Assessment: Conduct thorough assessments to gauge clients’ vocational abilities, limitations, interests, and aspirations, subsequently mapping out tailored career paths aligning with their strengths, weaknesses, and objectives.
- Labor Market Research: Scour job boards, classified ads, company websites, trade publications, industry reports, and economic forecasts to uncover promising leads, emerging trends, and shifting demands within the workforce.
- Job Development: Proactively generate employment opportunities by cold-calling businesses, attending networking events, distributing flyers, posting advertisements, and soliciting referrals from satisfied customers.
- Application Assistance: Support clients in completing paperwork, composing CVs, drafting cover letters, filling out forms, preparing résumés, updating LinkedIn profiles, and recording reference lists.
- Interview Coaching: Stage mock trials simulating real-world scenarios, refining answers to frequently asked questions, analyzing body language, practicing small talk, and eliminating nervous habits obstructing optimal performance.
- Follow-Up Protocols: Escort clients to interviews, debrief afterwards, supply thank-you cards, send follow-up emails, request feedback, and maintain open channels of communication until final decisions materialize.
- Placement Services: Mediate introductions, negotiate salary negotiations, coordinate orientation sessions, outline expectations, define job descriptions, allocate resources, assign mentors, and establish probation periods easing transitions.
- Accommodation Advocacy: Petition employers for reasonable accommodations absolving clients from performing tasks exceeding their functional limitations, thus averting undue burden, discrimination, and litigation risks.
- Longitudinal Support: Monitor clients’ progression, troubleshoot difficulties, reinforce soft skills, celebrate milestones, and maintain constant vigilance over deteriorating circumstances warranting swift intervention.
Education and/or Experience Qualifications:
- A high school diploma or equivalent certificate is required;
- An associates or bachelor’s degree in an applicable field from an accredited institution is preferred.
- At least one year of experience providing employment services is preferred.
Additional Qualifications:
- A valid driver’s license and a reliable vehicle.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
- Flexibility and adaptability in a fast-paced environment.
- Compassion, empathy, and a genuine desire to help others.