Workforce Development Specialist

Job Description

Position Summary

The Workforce Development Specialist will support ORP’s efforts to increase access to and impact of economic and career pathway opportunities for currently & formerly incarcerated Philadelphians. Career pathway opportunities include all education, training, employment, workforce development, and other economic opportunity-related services, programs, and initiatives. Through research, analysis, project management, partnership development, and other activities, the Workforce Development Specialist will build ORP’s capacity to sustain cross-agency partnerships and develop and scale solutions to often-identified barriers.

The Workforce Development Specialist position works to expose justice involved participants to learning processes and educational experiences that will give the skill set and tools to find sustainable employment and/or continued education to achieve personal success and productivity. ORP is committed to and expects the Workforce Development Specialist to work to develop working relationships with industry training partners/employers and education institutions geared toward creating opportunities for Returning Citizens.

Essential Functions

• Research and identify prospective employers, training partners, apprenticeships, and so on to describe ORP’s program’s objectives and solicit cooperation in providing employment and training opportunities.
• Create, establish and maintain temporary, full-time and part-time job banks; tracks and follows updates on job fairs and internet resources.
• Coordinate and facilitate employer/training information sessions, recruitment days and targeted job fairs.
• Develop services to address gaps (social, emotional, basic skills) to prepare individuals for referrals into job readiness programs; development of a referral system to track programs, identify opportunities, and connect participants to appropriate workforce programs.
• Develop new retention supports for transitional jobs, career training, and permanent employment.
• Responsible for actively providing soft skills training to participants in both group and individual settings, providing coaching in areas such as interview skills, corporate attire, and professional etiquette and documenting all client progress.
• Contact and coordinate guest speakers from various professional fields to share career and training experiences with participants.
• Work closely with the Director of Reentry Services to coordinate career plans by matching job skills with applicant qualifications.
• Manage participant records, narrative reports, statistical reports and other records to facilitate data sharing and exchange of information.
• Keep organized records of clients served, analyze service data and report on outcomes to identify trends and service effectiveness.
• Support research activities, data analysis, and policy analysis related to reentry and employment, workforce development, education, and career pathways to advance ORP's mandates of creating a city-wide reentry agenda, developing a data-driven system, and/or improving the quality of reentry services.
• Collaborate with ORP staff, Criminal Justice Partners, Employer/Community Partners, and other city departments.
• Work closely with ORP staff to develop a deep understanding of the barriers to career pathways, and associated solutions, for returning citizens.
• Develop workshops and initiatives for both currently impacted and formerly impacted persons.
• Work with participants from PA County jails and State and Federal prisons returning to the community in need of workforce development services.
• Familiarity with and ability to teach and/or coordinate services for cognitive behavioral concepts (CBT) and Trauma informed concepts.
• Enhance the services available through ORP by developing and strengthening partnerships among City agencies, and community-based service providers who specialize in supporting people with criminal justice system involvement and offer services related to employment, education, and/or career pathways.
• Provide direct ongoing support to the Fair Chance Hiring Initiative, as necessary and mutually agreed upon by ORP and the Commerce Department.
• Provide ongoing and direct support for the PREP program with the Department of Revenue.
• Provide activities to support ORP efforts to increase returning citizens’ access to more individualized and higher quality services to address employment, education, economic mobility, and/or career pathways.
• Represent ORP on appropriate committees and collaborative structures as assigned under the direction of the Executive Director and First Deputy Director.
• Lead efforts to provide career pathways, job readiness training, and economic opportunities for criminal justice-impacted participants.
• Collaborate with community partners, businesses, and workforce development agencies to create job placement opportunities and sustainable career pathways.
• Facilitate partnerships with local employers, unions, and vocational training programs to secure apprenticeships, internships, and employment opportunities.
• Stay up to date on employment laws and policies affecting returning citizens.
• Perform any additional duties as described by the Office of Reentry Partnerships related to the goals and activities of the Office.

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

The successful candidate is a dynamic, committed individual with a proven track record in workforce development and strong organizational and interpersonal skills. The successful candidate should be committed to racial equity. Ability and commitment to work beyond traditional working hours and schedule is required. Ideal candidates possess the following experience and skills:

• Professional experience in workforce development and education. Understanding of best practices and knowledge of workforce and training issues.

• Commitment to the ORP Values – Personal commitment to equity and inclusion, and specifically ORP’s mission to empower returning citizens, partner organizations, and the public to interrupt cycles of harm and build thriving communities. Commitment to authentic and ongoing partnership with people, families, and communities most directly impacted by the criminal justice system.
• Familiarity with Philadelphia – Deep knowledge of Philadelphia including dynamics of wide array of different communities and neighborhood; familiarity with the stakeholders involved in Philadelphia criminal justice system.
• Skilled at Community Engagement – Proven track record of effectively engaging community members to achieve specific objectives, familiarity with best practices related to community engagement. Ability to develop partnerships with business and design programs to meet business needs.
• Excellent Collaborator and Facilitator – Ability to work cooperatively and effectively with others to set goals, resolve problems, and make decisions; able to collaborate with diverse types of stakeholders including government. Experience effectively facilitating groups and meetings.
• Effective Communication – Outstanding oral, written, and visual communications skills for various audiences, including digital and traditional communications.
• Advances Administrative Skills and Digital Literacy – Fluency with Microsoft Office programs including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, and other computer-based communications, functions, and platforms, and ability to learn new software systems.
• Attention to Details and Organization – including strong organization skills, careful about details, thorough in completing tasks, able to meet deadlines, and persistent in pursuit of goals.
• Strong Analysis and Reasoning – including comfort with basic spreadsheets, data collection and simple analysis, and the ability to gather, organize, edit, analyze and synthesize information.
• Project management – Ability to multi-task, prioritize, and manage multiple activities in a fast- paced environment, including managing peoples’ involvement in complex projects
• Critical and Strategic Thinking – Ability to use sound and accurate judgment and think creatively to resolve complex problems and the ability to multi-task under tight deadlines.
• Flexibility – Self-starter with flexibility to work both independently and as part of a team, and an eagerness to contribute to the success of the Office of Reentry Partnerships, even when tasks may fall outside of core responsibilities.

Qualifications

Required:

• At least 10 years of professional level experience in the field of workforce development, employment, or training.
• Prior experience in government and working within the criminal legal system
• A Bachelors’ Degree in a related field.
• Experience developing or adapting workforce development programs, particularly in Dislocated Workers, TANF workforce funds, or other WIOA (Workforce Initiatives and Opportunity Act) resource programs strongly preferred.
• Experience working directly with people from a diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic background.
• Experience working directly with people at high risk of being involved in gun violence and/or direct lived experience and or impacted by mass incarceration or the criminal legal system.
• Experience developing and implementing a strategic plan.
• Experience managing program evaluation.
• Experience building coalitions of diverse stakeholders.
• Experience in managing communications.
• Knowledge of the criminal legal system and the reentry landscape in Philadelphia.

Preferred:

• Masters’ Degree or other higher education degrees are preferred but not required.

People who have been directly affected by the criminal legal system are encouraged to apply.