Train and Earn Retention Specialist - Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow, Inc.

Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow (OBT) exists to break the cycle of poverty and inequity through education, job training, and employment. Our vision is to strengthen the workforce by serving as a bridge to economic and educational opportunity for individuals in underserved communities. Through our skills-based training, educational services, and direct job placement efforts, we build upward economic mobility for out-of-school and unemployed youth and adults and provide the skills necessary to gain a competitive edge in the job market. Finally, OBT maintains a commitment to fostering and maintaininga work environment where diversity, equity, and inclusion are woven into our organizational DNA.  Position Summary
The Train & Earn (T&E) Program is a career pathways program for youth and young adults ages 16-24 that provides work readiness support, occupational skills training, and employment services, along with supportive services such as High School Equivalency (HSE) classes, paid internships, comprehensive case management, and access to post-secondary education and sector-based credential training.
The Retention Specialist will support contractually required enrollment steps and meet with all participants on a weekly basis to establish strong rapport.  The Retention Specialist will also complete all necessary data entry related to this work and support the larger team with other program activities, such as outreach and recruitment, workshops, post-exit placements, etc.  Once the participant completes the program, the Retention Specialist will support the exit process in the funder-mandated system and then proceed to meet with every program graduate at least once per month to support their entry into and persistence in outcomes deemed positive outcomes per the contract.
Essential Job Functions and Responsibilities

• Assess each applicant for program fit and match with contractual enrollment criteria.
• Meet with program participants regularly to discuss barriers to program persistence and persistence in a post-exit outcome.  Make referrals to other service providers as necessary and ensure participants follow through with all referrals.
• Complete exit steps at the end of each cohort and assist with the placement into positive outcomes for all youth.  Coordinate with all other service providers associated with the young person and their progress and success post-exit from the program.
• Assure quality, timely data entry into both funder-mandated databases and the agency’s Salesforce instance.
• Support a culture of professionalism designed to teach and cultivate a real-world working experience for the youth and young adults served. 
• Assist in identifying and developing services and programs not currently being offered. 
• Collaborate with balance of program team to fulfill all program functions and services that may need additional support. 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Experience working directly with people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• A passionate commitment to OBT’s mission and vision.
• A track record in providing comprehensive case management services to young adults. Familiarity with the public and nonprofit social service systems and entities that target this population.
• Demonstrated experience developing programmatic systems to enhance program outcomes.
• The ability to establish strong working relationships with team members, colleagues, participants, and external stakeholders.
• The ability to consistently develop and refine the program model and processes to create successful outcomes for participants and staff.
• Experience working on multiple projects and balancing competing priorities.
• Strong skill set in data management and data tracking; demonstrated experience managing data collection, analysis, and reporting.
• Job development and/or placement experience preferred.

Education and Experience/Training

• Bachelor’s degree required. A master’s degree or additional, substantial professional development in a related field preferred.
• A minimum of 3 years’ experience in a case manager or comparable role.

Compensation

$55-60,000

 

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