Youth WFD Young Adult Career Navigator

Position Title:

Youth/Young Adult Career Navigator. Salary: $21.73–$23.05 per hour, depending on qualifications.

Location:

Northampton, MA (Greenfield/Northampton). Department:
Youth & Workforce Development. Status:
Non‑Exempt, 37.5 hours per week. Supervisor:
Workforce Development Coordinator or Manager.

We work with youth and young adults who are historically and ongoingly impacted by systems of oppression toward achieving economic justice. The Career Navigator develops compassionate, respectful relationships with participants using a strength‑based, goal‑oriented approach. The Navigator provides outreach, case management, and support to young people aged 17‑24 who are working toward their next steps in education, training, and employment.

The Navigator is the direct support for youth in exploring and achieving their short, medium, and long‑term goals, helping them map a pathway for their futures. Responsibilities include facilitating completion of High School Equivalency, encouraging attendance at training or college, helping develop internships, exploring employment opportunities, and supporting youth to overcome barriers to those goals. When working with parenting youth, the Navigator provides support for parenting, family, personal, and life goals.

Additional duties include resume and cover letter development, interview skills, and job search assistance. The Navigator also handles administrative tasks such as maintaining case notes, data entry, document collection, and ensuring that program standards are maintained.

• Interpersonal communication – verbal and written.
• Conflict resolution, problem‑solving, establishing priorities, navigating change.
• Judgement and decision‑making.
• Organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Openness to understanding participants as experts of their own varied experiences and identities.
• Skillful relationship building with participants, staff, and community members.
• Ability to talk about issues using a positive, engaging, accessible, and inclusive approach such as Positive Youth Development and harm reduction.
• Balance of initiative to work independently and collaboration with others.
• Understanding and willingness to learn data capture and tracking methods.
• Commitment to promote equity by deconstructing barriers to a racially just system.
• Ability to cultivate work environments that value truth‑telling, courage, vulnerability, space to think and reflect, community‑mindfulness, hope, and openness to difficult conversations.

• Knowledge of social services, advocacy, and navigating resources.
• Knowledge of Franklin and Hampshire counties and North Quabbin regional organizations and resources.
• Experience working with marginalized communities and individuals with low incomes.
• Experience working with youth/young adults who have low incomes, are youth of color, queer, trans, disabled, and/or housing insecure.
• Experience with data management, data capture, tracking methods, and analysis for outcome measurements.
• Computer skills (Microsoft Suite, Outlook, Email, Calendar, Teams chat, Discord, Zoom, and databases).
• Minimum three years of experience working with youth/young adults, providing individual support/case management.
• Bi‑lateral/Bicultural (Spanish/English) preferred.
• CPR/First Aid certification (will be provided if needed).