Youth Program Specialist

IRC Background:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is at work in over 40 countries and 26 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. IRC reaches over 50,000 clients annually across the US through programs for resettled refugees, asylum seekers, and unaccompanied children, survivors of torture and trafficking, and individuals from local communities welcoming newcomers.

Scope of work:

The goal of the Refugee Youth Mentorship Program is to help recently arrived youth between the ages of 15-21 through social emotional asset development. The Youth Program Specialist will serve as the central point of contact for youth and provide support services including access to tools and opportunities youth need to grow in their academics, regulate emotions, maintain positive cultural identity, and expand their social circles. The Youth Program Specialist will visit refugee youth in their homes (including during evening hours three times a week throughout the academic school year) to guide youth and empower them to thrive in their new setting. Under the direction of the Youth Program Supervisor, the Youth Program Specialist will carry out intake assessments, service planning, ongoing case management, and advocacy. Twice a quarter the Youth Intake Specialist will help plan and lead educational fieldtrips for youth on Saturdays. The Education and Learning Department serves between 300-400 youth annually.

Major Responsibilities:

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Visit a caseload of 12-15 clients regularly in their homes (between 5:00-7:30 PM during the academic year for clients in high school and during regular business hours in the summer) to provide mentoring, advocacy and case management services as necessary.
• Assist the Youth Intake Specialist with client outreach, recruitment, and enrollment.
• Assist the Youth Services Coordinator with planning and leading group activities for clients through Saturday Learning Series and Girls Groups.

Client Services

• Conduct client assessments in order to set a baseline for growth and a starting point for service provision.
• Establish an individualized service plan with each client on caseload; provide mentoring, guidance, and psychosocial support to aid clients in reaching goals in their service plans.
• Facilitate caregiver involvement in minor clients’ education through phone calls, home visits, and other mechanisms, including teaching caregivers how to access their parent portals, attending Parent/Teacher conferences.
• Screen clients for emotional distress and mental health; submit referrals to the Mental Health Department.
• Facilitate activities with clients to teach positive coping mechanisms.
• Track grades and attendance, advocate for and connect high school clients to relevant resources such as counselors, coaches, tutoring programs and extra-curricular activities. ​
• Invite and encourage clients to attend quarterly Saturday Learning Series and Girls’ Group activities.
• Collaborate with external organizations and internal departments to connect families to additional resources as necessary (food security, extended case management, immigration, etc) through referrals.
• Occasionally provide homework assistance or English tutoring to help clients succeed with their schoolwork.
• Secure interpretation to provide services and information in the client’s language; Work with interpreters during client appointments.
• Drive clients to occasional appointments and program activities as necessary.

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Compliance Documentation

• Monitor and track clients’ progress from one grade level to the next as well as immigration status and age.
• Ensure required intake documents, assessments and service plans are fully completed and updated as appropriate.
• Maintain comprehensive case notes, update case files, and regularly update service plans to respond to clients’ needs.

Team/Office Participation

• Participate in all program meetings, staff development activities, and other duties as assigned.
• Work as part of a team to provide comprehensive strength-based services to IRC clients through coordination of cases and effective communication between team members and departments.
• Comply with all policies, procedures, and protocols of the agency, placing importance on client confidentiality.​

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Youth Program Supervisor

Position directly supervises: N/A
Other Internal and/or external contacts: DallasEducation and Learning Manager**,** Youth Services Coordinator,HQ Youth and Education Technical Adviser

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, education, or related field of study is preferred, or related job experience.
• Well organized self-starter with excellent problem-solving skills and the proven ability to prioritize duties and manage time effectively.
• Strong written and oral and interpersonal communication skills: the ability to communicate effectively with colleagues and partners in a cross-cultural, multi-disciplinary environment.
• Fluent in English, both spoken and written; Bilingual in a client language (Dari, Pashto, Arabic, Spanish, Swahili) is a plus but not required.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook);​
• Valid driver’s license, access to reliable vehicle with current insurance, and the ability to travel regularly throughout the service delivery area (home visits, service provider visits, Saturday Learning Series,etc).

Working Environment:

• Professional office environment;
• Regular travel to off-site home visits (including evenings and occasional Saturdays);

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.

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.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.

Professional Standards: The IRC and IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

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.