Youth Program Specialist

Job Overview/Summary

The Youth Program Specialist supports school aged refugee youth and their families in a successful adjustment and transition to school. Under the direction of the youth program coordinator, the Specialist assists with program intakes and service planning, school enrollment, ongoing case management, school advocacy, parent orientations, and afterschool enrichment programming. IRC New York Youth Department serves between 100-200 youth annually across programming including coaching & mentorship, tutoring, college & career readiness, and the Newcomer Youth Summer Academy.

Major Responsibilities:

· Support with school enrollment for newcomer youth in the New York City Metro area, including collaboration with health clinics to meet vaccination requirements. Communicate with schools and families to gather appropriate documents necessary for registration.

· Complete intake with families and gather information about children’s educational histories and needs; distribute this information to educators and school officials at time of enrollment.

• Provide task supervision and support to interns, in consultation with youth coordinator.
• Ensure high quality case management services are provided to families including appropriate follow up and developing strong connections between the family, school, IRC, and relevant community agencies. Ensure all services are appropriately documented in case files.
• Assist as needed with afterschool enrichment and social emotional learning programs

· Support caregiver orientation workshops including introduction to the U.S. school system, choosing a high school, & the rights of English Language Learners in New York City. Assess parents’ understanding of information and develop tools to evaluate increases in knowledge

· Support database creation, management & streamlining across youth programs

· Play a role in the IRC NY Newcomer Youth Summer Academy (NYSA), with direct responsibility for the Operations Department

Job Requirements:

· Bachelor’s degree in education and/or social work strongly preferred

· A minimum of 2 years’ experience working with children and youth, specifically in the context of educational and social programs

· Experience working with English Language Learners, refugee and/or immigrant populations

· Experience working in New York City public schools and/or New York based community organizations preferred

· Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills

· Ability to work well with people of diverse cultural backgrounds

· Ability to work independently and as part of a team

· Organized and flexible: able to maintain responsibility for multiple tasks in the context of a diverse, fast-paced work environment

· Fluency in English required. Fluency in one of the languages of IRC’s client base is preferred (Arabic, Spanish, French, Dari, Pashto, Russian, or Ukrainian)

· Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite

Working Environment:**

Standard office work environment. Local travel to client homes, schools and other community-based organizations is required. Some evening/weekend work may be required.

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement: In accordance with IRC’s duty to provide and maintain a workplace that is free of known hazards and our commitment to safeguard the health of our employees, clients, and communities, IRC requires candidates who are selected for interview to furnish proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in order to be considered for this position.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity: IRC is committed to building a diverse organization and a climate of inclusivity. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate that they can contribute to this goal.

Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

US Benefits:

We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days (depending on role and tenure), medical insurance starting at $145 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus a 3-7% base IRC contribution (3 year vesting), disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.