Career Services Advancement Coordinator

Open Meadow Alternative Schools, Career Services Program is looking to hire an experienced ADVANCEMENT COORDINATOR. This is a full-time salaried exempt (12 mos/year) position reporting to the Career Services Program Director; START DATE: August 1, 2009 APPLICATION CLOSING DATE: Open Until Filled

Open Meadow Alternative Schools, an accredited, private school established in 1971, offers a personalized educational experience for multicultural, low-income middle and high school youth who have not fared well in public schools. Located in 4 separate buildings on 3 campuses in North Portland and serving students from ages 10 – 21, Open Meadow provides four programs to over 600 students: Open Meadow Middle School, Open Meadow High School, Step Up Tutoring and Mentoring, and Career Services. Our mission is to serve young people in a learning culture that emphasizes mutual respect, personal responsibility, academics, and service to the community. Open Meadow successfully re-engages disconnected youth in their education, providing academic and support services to those at high risk of dropping out of school.

POSITION SUMMARY: Career Services is the Open Meadow program tasked with ensuring low-income youth successfully transition from secondary education to college and the workforce. This program works with roughly 250 Portland youth (ages 16-24) a year, providing intensive career advising and planning services while connecting promising young workers to college and entry-level, career-track employment with partnering businesses. The focus of the program is not on job placement, but on career decision-making and long-term self-sufficiency. Open Meadow makes a three year career advising commitment to each enrollee: services go far beyond initial job or college placements. Career Services team strives to ensure all participants can successfully navigate public and private systems crucial to long-term financial success and independence.

The Advancement Coordinator is a Career Advisor for low income youth who are finishing or have completed advanced pre-employment training (Career Connections). This position is responsible for providing ongoing services related to career advancement/promotion, college preparedness, career skill development, and personal success. Counseling activities often revolve around topics as diverse as parenting, college admissions, seeking a promotion at work, and balancing personal and professional life. Primary duties include developing curriculum and program structure, facilitating workshops, tracking progress of participants and inputting that information into the Career Services database, and long-term case management/support. The Advancement Coordinator works closely with other Career Advisors to carry out program goals.

Career Services staff and students are the public face of Open Meadow. The Advancement Coordinator will frequently represent Open Meadow in Portland’s business, non-profit and education communities.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Recruitment • Actively recruit and engage Career Services clients in advancement programming/workshops.

Workshop Facilitation • Development of Training Program; select/develop/modify training curriculum o Coordinate with guest trainers from partner companies • Instruct and evaluate training participants; assess student ability/progress in program o Complete regular progress reports o Maintain accurate written and online student records • Provide effective classroom management o Teach social skills o Instill and cultivate good work habits in students; lead by example o Supervision of students during training program and class time • Support students in maintaining socially appropriate types/levels of activity during non-class time • Maintain visibility and overall awareness during non-structured time

Career Advising • Career Coaching; assist youth to define and pursue career goals • Life Skills Coaching; ensure student’s basic needs are met; assist in navigating public/private systems. • Provide resources for student’s; Time, Expertise, Access to Support Services • Advocacy; assist to open closed doors for students; seek resources, act as a professional reference, advocate for student’s pursuit of life/skills experience with partners • Mentoring; model behaviors and attitudes to support students success in endeavors

Administrative & Team Participation • Maintain a high level of ethical behavior and confidentiality in dealing with sensitive information • Actively participate as a member of Open Meadow Career Services Team; attend team meetings, collaborate with other team members on program initiatives • Proactively participate as a member of various internal and external committees and groups that support the core mission of the Career Services Program • Maintain appropriate paperwork and reports in a professional and timely manner • Collaborate with Career Services Program Director and team members to accept delegated responsibilities