Employment - Business Engagement Specialist

Key/Essential Functions & Responsibilities

• Ensures health, wellness and safety by providing appropriate supervision of the people we support and by managing crisis situations while adhering to policies, procedures and regulations, meeting and demonstrating OPWDD Core Competencies.
• Researches, conducts outreach to and builds relationships with prospective employers to gain commitments to consider and potentially employ YAI’s employment training participants.
• Maintains relationships with existing employer partners through active stewardship to support continued opportunities for employment-related activities.
• Schedules and conducts daily prospecting, cold calls and face-to-face meetings with businesses to generate new partnerships and employment opportunities for new program participants.
• Meets with new program participants, determining skill-level and interests of each participant, to identify appropriate job matches and potential opportunities for each individual.
• Supports people with I/DD to realize, set and meet their employment goals, assisting them inovercoming their personal barriers and engages in respectful communications/conversations through person-first language to help them understand their goals and ambitions and ensures person-centered plans are implemented.
• Conducts a variety of assessments consistent with program and/or contract requirements including vocational assessments with shadowing or observations, situational assessments, work try-outs, community observations and mock interviews to assess job readiness, strengths and interests.
• Appropriately documents all participant and employer contact, activities and outcomes in accordance with applicable policies and procedures, including in case management and/or other electronic systems and completes necessary documentation to ensure compliance and/or billing completely and accurately, within appropriate time frames.
• Serves as the liaison between employers, other businesses, employment training participants and YAI staff to secure employment and vocational assessment opportunities, determine participants’ interests and abilities, schedule employment-related activities and assess participants for and/or coordinate work placements.
• Completes discovery process with unemployed participants in assigned region(s) in accordance with OPWDD requirements to inform job matching and/or development efforts through file and life plan reviews, interviews with circles of support, care managers and participants and investigation of employment interests to determine potential opportunities.
• Engages unemployed participants with on-site visits, observations and shadowing or situational assessments and community observations to assess abilities and viability of desired employment opportunities/choices.
• Performs all duties of Employment Training Specialist, including job coaching people we support at their initial placements and/or providing coverage, as needed.
• Makes referrals to vocational development services or completes job development plans, as appropriate for unemployed participants.
• Regularly coordinates with Employment Training Specialists and other YAI staff to solicit potential employers and ensure appropriate job matches are made for new participants and to facilitate handoffs of newly employed participants.
• Complies with all Federal, State, Local and other relevant regulatory agency requirements, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
• May participate in site development efforts for related programs, including prevocational services, within assigned region(s).
• Performs all other duties as assigned.

including education, experience, licensure/certification, etc. and essential physical capabilities (e.g. lifting, assisting lifting, standing, etc.)

• HS Diploma or its educational equivalent; and
• One (1) year of experience in a sales, marketing or recruiting role performing duties such as networking, relationship building, securing leads, commitments or enrollments; or in the I/DD field securing or coordinating services, conducting assessments and/or making placements.
• Completes necessary…