Job Description

Position: Vocational/Educational Specialist

Program/Department: Transitional Living Community (TLC)

Reports to: Program Director

Work Location: Temporarily located at 1122 Franklin Avenue, Bronx, NY 10456

Will be relocating to a Brooklyn Location within the next 6 months

Hours: Full Time (Tues.-Sat. 9am-5pm)

Salary: $36,000 - $36,000/year

Position Summary:

BCS’s Transitional Living Community (TLC), a 30 bed section of the Brooklyn Women’s Shelter in East New York, Brooklyn, was established in 1989. TLC provides homeless, low-income, mentally ill women with temporary shelter and assistance to secure permanent housing. TLC recruits its clients primarily from the assessment unit of the Brooklyn Women’s Shelter. Staff conduct comprehensive assessments to identify women with severe and persistent mental illness, many also having serious personal, social, medical and economic problems. A principle feature of the TLC program is the “milieu treatment” in which women are helped to practice the skills they will need to live successfully outside the shelter system, including pre-vocational preparation.

TLC is a transitional living community for mentally challenged homeless women. Vocational Educational Specialist works with other staff to ensure that clients are prepared for permanent housing, employment and vocational services by facilitating TLC’s onsite Rehabilitation Program, and the facilitation of groups for on and off site activities. The Vocational Educational Specialist conducts and facilitates computer lab training and works with recruited volunteers to conduct various onsite groups and workshops.

Responsibilities:

• Provide vocational training that focuses on the development of skills and attitudes conducive to seeking and retaining employment. This includes: guiding TLC clients to pursue intensified training in particular areas consistent with their strengths and interests while identifying and working with clients on obstacles which may affect the achievement of goals, and providing individual and group counseling and support for resume and cover letter creation, interview preparation, computer skills training, and workplace etiquette, as well as provide referrals to external training programs, internships, and employment opportunities.
• Provide access and referrals to educational services designed to help clients improve literacy and general academic skills with the goal of increasing the attainment of high school General Equivalency Diplomas (GED) and enrollment in secondary institutions. Provide individual and group counseling and support for tutoring, exam preparation, and study skill enhancement, as needed.
• Maintain a caseload of a minimum of 10 TLC clients per month and write progress notes for all group and individual contacts for documentation in client’ charts. Progress notes are to include participation, patterns of attendance, interpersonal behavior, response to modalities, and progress toward goals. Maintain Daily Activity sheets, complete quarterly Voc/Ed treatment plans; and complete monthly, quarterly, and annual Voc/Ed reports.
• Ensure Client Adhere to COVID standards and requirements.
• Interface with Adult Rehabilitation Services Job Developers and make job opportunities available and accessible to Voc/Ed Program consumers. Work toward increasing employment outcomes for the Voc/Ed Program and all TLC clients.
• Coordinate with TLC staff regarding the progress, case management, and treatment planning of clients participating in the Vocational/Educational Program through individual communications and staff meetings.
• Co-ordinate with Case Manager to assure that service plan goals are being met enter into AWARDS.
• Participate in agency wide groups and meetings as required.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the TLC Program Director.

Job includes working from Tuesday-Saturday some evenings as needed.

Qualifications Required: Minimum BSW or BA in Human Services related field, with a minimum of one-year experience with homeless and/or disabled populations. Experience with mentally disabled individuals preferable OR five years’ experience with homeless/severely and persistently mentally ill populations, preferably in a residential setting.

Annualized Salary is $36,000

BCS and Turning Point require that all employees entering the workplace be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless an exemption is granted as a medical or religious accommodation.

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BCS is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.