Youth Advocate

The Child Center of NY strengthens children and families with skills, opportunities, and emotional support to build healthy, successful lives. Founded in 1953, The Child Center of NY has become a powerful community presence throughout the city. With 50 locations and 100 programs in NYC’s most under-served communities, our 1,000+ results-oriented professionals make a difference for more than 40,000 children and their families each year.

Summary:
The Youth Advocate is responsible for developing and facilitating the social and personal development of youth, adolescents, and teenagers. A Youth Advocate serves as a guide and mentor who assists youth with their academic, vocational, and personal goals.

Essential Functions:

• Engage youth individually to build trusting relationships; develop skills; and set goals.
• Liaise between youth, families, schools, communities, and other agencies to best support and advocate for youth.
• Arrange and facilitate workshops and small group sessions for youth, families, school and/or community members addressing social emotional development; navigating academic institutions; finding meaningful employment or career; accessing social services; and more.
• Identify behavioral, academic, health, and other barriers to youth success and help connect them to needed resources.
• Formally assess youth and family needs via surveys and other tools.
• Be aware of popular culture and trends to connect and guide the youth properly.
• Maintain required documentation of efforts and services.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities:
None

Minimum Qualifications:

• High School diploma or equivalency.
• Bilingual in Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Bengali or other language may be required.
• Experience working with youth for at least one year.
• Ability to plan and carry out assignments independently.
• Ability to prioritize, adhere to timelines and multi-task.

Qualifications Preferred:
Associate or Bachelor degree.

Job Behavioral Expectations:

• Maintain regular consistent and professional attendance, punctuality, personal appearance, and adherence to relevant health & safety procedures.
• Safe and successful performance, including meeting productivity standards.
• Maintain an understanding of the principles, methods and processes needed to perform the job. Attends staff meetings, seminars and in-service training as assigned.
• Demonstrates the ability to complete work in an acceptable manner by the time and/or date established with accuracy, neatness and thoroughness and minimal amount of errors.
• Maintain established departmental policies and procedures including maintain strict confidentiality and adherence to all HIPAA guidelines at all times.

Physical demands and work environment:
The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical demands:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to walk, sit for long period of time; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or control; reach with hands and arms; balance; stoop; talk or hear. Employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.

Work environment:
Work may be performed in the field or an office environment with normal heating and cooling.

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only job duties to be performed by the incumbent. He or she will be required to follow any other instructions and to perform any other duties requested by his or her supervisor.

The Child Center of NY is an Equal Opportunity Employer.   All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status or any other category protected by Federal, State or local law.  EOE M/F/D/V

 

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