About You:
You are someone participants can trust. You take the time to know each person, understand what they need, and help them stay connected and moving forward throughout their GROW New Entrant journey. You combine empathy and encouragement with clear expectations, reliable follow-through, professional boundaries, and accurate case management.
You bring experience in coaching, career development, or case management. You are comfortable helping people complete program requirements, navigate training, address barriers, prepare for employment, explore apprenticeship pathways, and transition successfully into the workplace.
You communicate naturally with participants from different backgrounds and build strong working relationships with referral partners, training staff, employers, and colleagues. Most importantly, you understand that consistent support from one trusted contact can make the difference between someone simply attending a program and successfully completing it.
What You’ll Be Doing:
As the Employment & Career Development Coordinator, you will become the primary participant contact once an applicant has been accepted into GROW’s New Entrant stream. You will complete their registration and onboarding, get to know them throughout the training cohort, support their career and employment development, and maintain the relationship until they secure employment and exit the program.
You will provide consistent, individualized support across the participant journey. This includes completing required documentation, coordinating communications and next steps, developing service and career plans, monitoring attendance and progress, helping participants address barriers, preparing them for employment, and supporting their transition and retention.
You will work closely with the Participant Recruitment and Intake team during hand-off, with instructors and program staff during training, and with the Employer Services Coordinators as participants move toward job matching, placement, and retention. Each participant will have clear ownership and a consistent point of contact, while employment outcomes remain a shared responsibility across the GROW team.
What You’ll Be Responsible For:
Referral Coordination and Participant Hand-off
- Coordinate referrals with Employment Ontario service providers, schools, colleges, community organizations, and other partners.
- Review referral information and follow up with applicants and referring organizations where appropriate.
- Maintain clear and consistent referral processes between GROW and external partners.
- Work with the Participant Recruitment and Intake team to support a clear hand-off once an applicant has been assessed and accepted into the program.
- Confirm outstanding information, documents, support needs, or follow-up actions before the participant begins training.
- Coordinate with Employment Ontario, Ontario Works, ODSP, and other service providers to support participant needs and continuity of service.
- Build awareness of GROW among service providers and community partners to strengthen referral pathways and participant recruitment.
Registration, Onboarding and Cohort Communication
- Complete New Entrant participant registrations and ensure all required forms, consents, agreements, and supporting documents are accurate and complete.
- Coordinate registration confirmations, orientation information, cohort communications, and clear next steps for accepted participants.
- Ensure participants understand program expectations, schedules, attendance requirements, available supports, and their responsibilities.
- Follow up on missing or incomplete information and resolve registration issues before or during the participant’s transition into the cohort.
- Serve as the participant’s main program contact and establish a supportive relationship from the beginning of their GROW journey.
- Stay connected with instructors, training staff, and other GROW team members so participant information and support needs are communicated appropriately.
- Achieve the program's participant intake KPI through timely registration, onboarding, and cohort readiness.
Participant Relationship and Case Management
- Build and maintain a consistent relationship with each assigned participant from acceptance through training, employment, retention, and program exit.
- Complete participant assessments and develop individualized service and career plans based on skills, experience, interests, goals, readiness, barriers, and support needs.
- Maintain regular one-to-one contact, monitor progress, document agreed actions, and adjust plans when circumstances or needs change.
- Serve as the participant’s central point of contact, mentor, and advocate, helping them navigate program requirements, staff supports, training activities, employment services, and external resources.
- Monitor attendance, engagement, wellbeing, and readiness throughout the cohort and respond early when a participant begins to disengage or faces challenges.
- Help participants work through barriers related to transportation, scheduling, confidence, communication, family responsibilities, workplace readiness, or other circumstances affecting participation or employment.
- Connect participants with appropriate internal supports or community services when needs fall outside the role’s scope.
- Use an inclusive, respectful, strengths-based, and trauma-informed approach while maintaining clear expectations and professional boundaries.
- Achieve the program's 80% training-completion KPI through proactive participant engagement, barrier resolution, and follow-up.
Career Development and Employment Preparation
- Help participants identify their strengths, career goals, and realistic opportunities within the landscape and horticulture sector.
- Ensure each participant gets full support with resumes, applications, interviews, job-search strategies, workplace communication, and employment readiness.
- Help participants understand job expectations, working conditions, compensation, schedules, transportation needs, and opportunities for growth.
- Work with the Employment Consultant/Advisors to prepare participants for suitable opportunities and support effective job matching.
Employment Transition, Retention and Program Exit
- Remain connected with participants through applications, interviews, job offers, employment, retention, and program exit.
- Work with the Employment Consultant/Advisors on job matching, placements, Training Placement Agreements, and required documentation.
- Support participants with workplace expectations and early-employment challenges, and respond promptly when employment may be at risk.
- Complete required employment, retention, and exit follow-ups, document outcomes, and help participants identify next steps when needed.
Partner and Team Coordination
- Work closely with referral partners and GROW staff across intake, training, employment, apprenticeship, systems, and program leadership.
- Participate in case reviews and share clear updates on participant progress, readiness, risks, and follow-up needs.
- Maintain ownership of assigned files while sharing necessary information to support continuity and coordinated service.
- Identify and escalate complex concerns, service gaps, and risks, and contribute to shared program targets.
Documentation, Quality Assurance and Reporting
- Maintain complete, accurate, timely, and confidential participant records and case notes in EOIS-CaMS and other required program systems.
- Document participant progress, services, referrals, training, employment, retention, apprenticeship support, follow-ups, and exit outcomes.
- Maintain organized files that support program delivery, reporting, case reviews, quality assurance, and audits.
- Monitor files for missing information or overdue actions and ensure documentation meets GROW, Ministry, funding, privacy, and data-security requirements.
Requirements:
- Experience in employment counselling, career development, job development, case management, workforce development, social services, or a related field.
- Ability and willingness to travel within Ontario to support training and program activities, including occasional overnight travel when required.
- Demonstrated experience supporting job seekers or individuals facing employment barriers.
- Knowledge of career planning, job-search, résumé development, interviewing, job matching, and employment-retention practices.
- Ability to work effectively with both participants and employers throughout the employment process.
- Understanding of Ontario’s landscape and horticulture industry, skilled trades, or apprenticeship pathways is preferred.
- Strong counselling, coaching, facilitation, communication, and relationship-building skills.
- Ability to build trust while maintaining accountability, professional boundaries, and accurate documentation.
- Experience managing multiple participant files, service plans, placement activities, and follow-ups.
- Strong organizational, analytical, problem-solving, and time-management skills.
- Experience tracking participant progress and performance against established targets.
- Proficiency with digital collaboration, database, and case-management tools.
- Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, take initiative, and collaborate across teams.
- Experience with Employment Ontario, EOIS-CaMS, not-for-profit programs, or government-funded workforce initiatives is an asset.
- A valid Ontario driver’s licence and access to reliable transportation are required.
About this Position:
- Full-time, fixed-term contract position through June 29, 2027, with the possibility of renewal.
- Salary: $60,000 - $70,000 (depending on experience)
- Includes vacation and personal time off, and health benefits.
- Reports to the Workforce Development Manager and works closely with the Employer Services Consultant and other GROW team members.
- Hybrid work environment with flexibility; based out of our office in Milton, ON.
- Some evening or weekend work may be required based on cohort schedules, participant needs, program activities, and events.
- Occasional travel within Ontario is required for participant support, cohort activities, employer or partner meetings, placements, and events.
- A beautifully renovated modern office space.
- A supportive, collaborative team environment.
About Landscape Ontario
Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association is a provincial trade association representing approximately 2,600+ members across the landscape horticulture sector. A not-for-profit, volunteer-driven organization, we are dedicated to advancing the profession through leadership, education and collaboration. Landscape Ontario members design, build and maintain outdoor spaces that support healthy communities, environmental resilience and economic growth across Ontario. We are committed to building an inclusive and collaborative organization where everyone feels welcomed and valued, regardless of gender, race, nationality, orientation or ability.
Equal Opportunity & Accessibility:
Landscape Ontario is committed to creating an inclusive, accessible and welcoming workplace. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences and abilities.
In accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), accommodations are available throughout the recruitment and selection process. Applicants requiring accommodation are encouraged to advise us at any stage so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
Landscape Ontario complies with Ontario’s employment legislation regarding the use of artificial intelligence in recruitment. Artificial intelligence (AI) is not used to screen, assess or select applicants for this position.
