Employment Specialist

Location

Employment Access Center, 2 NW 2nd Ave, Portland, OR 97209, USA

Mon - Fri 8:00am - 4:30pm

$21.19 - $27.55/hr

The Employment Specialist I supports clients in all areas of their employment journey, including career exploration, employment preparation, assistance with finding employment, and job retention. This position focuses primarily on supporting clients in their employment goals through programming that provides short‑term retention services. The specialist works closely with other service providers to coordinate services and ensure ongoing support for individuals to maintain success in their employment, housing, and recovery goals.

• Provide employment services aligned with CCC and contractually required program standards, including development of a comprehensive case plan that identifies employment and training goals, monitoring client progress toward said goals, and provision of services that support the plan.
• Maintain high‑quality documentation within CCC’s Apricot Case Management system and other systems as required by funders such as iTrac and iMatch
  
  Skills, ensuring all contractually and operationally required data is collected, services provided are tracked, and required documents are collected and stored properly.
• Carefully monitor services obtained, financial supports, and employment status for clients on the caseload, including provision of short‑term retention services.
• Work with clients to complete Career Maps and provide client assessments to determine skills and abilities.
• Actively participate in outreach and provide assistance and direction to clients in identifying SNAP eligibility and how to obtain forms of identification for employment.
• Check the eligibility of clients for access and/or enrollment into appropriate programs and services available in the community that support their employment goals, including collaborating with resource agencies by making referrals and providing interventions to remove barriers to employment, including housing, mental health, drug and alcohol abuse, and emergency services.
• Assist clients with the requirements of applying and interviewing for jobs, including building cover letters and resumes and assisting with practice interviews.
• Match job‑seeking clients and employers using a variety of professional job placement skills.
• Work with internal service providers to ensure coordinated and streamlined services, including but is not limited to CCC Supportive Housing and Social Enterprises teams.
• Provide ongoing individual support and encouragement to clients.
• Meet contractual goals for clients served and other key performance metrics.
• Attend all required meetings and training offered by program funders and community partners to ensure alignment with the regional industry and workforce strategy planning.
• Attend all required internal CCC meetings and trainings.
• May assist clients with housing through referrals to housing resources and supporting housing retention with employment services.
• Synthesize information from diverse sources and act on information appropriately for each client and program.
• Participate in compliance, quality assurance and quality improvement activities as directed.
• Adhere to all CCC policies, procedures, and guidelines.
• Adhere to all state and federal privacy regulations, including HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2, and to CCC policies and agreements regarding confidentiality, privacy, and security.
• Perform related duties as assigned, within the scope of the role.

• Ability to develop and carry out individualized employment, training and retention plans.
• Ability to maintain accurate records and necessary paperwork.
• Strong time management, follow‑through and organization skills in a fast‑paced environment.
• Ability to successfully interact and communicate clearly with a wide variety of people including clients, employers, partnering agencies and co‑workers.
• Ability to be creative, innovative, and be a progressive problem solver.
• Demonstrated knowledge of issues related to individuals with multiple barriers to employment.
• Ability to provide de‑escalation tactics in a trauma‑informed way.
• Ability to display a…