Placement Specialist/Coach
National Youth Thrive Program (Toronto)
About The Career Foundation: The Career Foundation is a dynamic non-profit organization and registered charity that offers a wide range of employment, training, and workforce development services to job seekers and employers. Since its inception in 1988, The Career Foundation has steadily expanded its services. Operating out of seven locations in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area, as well as offices in British Columbia, Alberta, and Nova Scotia, we now help thousands of people each year successfully achieve their employment goals. Our team of dedicated professionals has described The Career Foundation as caring, compassionate, innovative, and team-oriented. For more information about us and our services, please visit our website at CareerFoundation.com.
Some of the benefits and features available to our employees include:
Competitive compensation
A comprehensive health benefits plan that includes massage therapy, naturopath services, travel coverage, and much more
A comprehensive dental insurance plan
An RRSP Matching benefit
An Employee & Family Assistance program
Employee wellness initiatives
Paid days off for religious observance purposes
Paid days off for personal wellness purposes
Program and Role Description:
The Career Foundation’s Youth Thrive program operates both regionally and nationally, offering youth a variety of activities such as professional skills workshops, a virtual retreat, and volunteer placements. These opportunities help youth participants gain valuable skills and experiences, engage in important community projects, and promote civic engagement and social inclusion. Our national Youth Thrive program is available to youth aged 16 to 30 living in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, or Nova Scotia, while our regional Youth Thrive program serves eligible youth living in Ontario. Both programs particularly focus on youth who identify as Indigenous or are underserved from equity-deserving groups.
As a Placement Specialist/Coach with our national Youth Thrive program, you will be a key member of the project team, responsible for conducting community outreach to various non-profit organizations throughout Ontario to create meaningful volunteer placement opportunities for youth participants in the program. You will also work directly with youth participants to help them understand the expectations and requirements of non-profit workplaces, and what it takes to succeed in their volunteer roles. You will manage a caseload of assigned youth and mentors and be responsible for achieving placement targets that contribute to the team’s collective ability to meet all contractual requirements with the program’s funder.
Position Type:
Full-time (37.5 hours per week) contract until March 31, 2027 with good potential for permanency.
Starting Salary:
The starting annual salary for this position is $57,000.00 (or $58k if the successful candidate holds a master’s degree, full bilingualism in French, or full proficiency in Sign Language).
Base Location and Travel Requirements:
This position is based at our North York office, located near Lawrence Ave. W. & Allen Rd. The position requires full-time on-site work from the office, as well as frequent local travel to employer sites, community partner locations, and other stakeholder sites to meet the core outreach and placement deliverables of the position, including to remote areas that are not accessible by transit. The successful candidate should possess a valid Ontario G driver’s licence and a reliable vehicle to effectively meet these core deliverables. The position also currently operates under a hybrid-remote schedule, permitting one work-from-home day per week, contingent on program needs and performance, and is therefore subject to change at any time. The hybrid schedule requires a private work-from-home space with reliable, high-speed internet. A company laptop, cell phone, and other equipment will be provided.
Please note that the work schedule for this position requires flexibility and availability to work some evening hours and occasional weekends to meet the needs of the program.
Vacancy Status:
This posting is for an existing vacancy.
Start:
As soon as possible.
Reporting to:
Program Coordinator
Vulnerable Sector Check:
An offer of employment for this opportunity will be contingent on the incumbent providing an acceptable Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC).
Use of Artificial Intelligence:
Artificial intelligence (AI) is not currently used to screen, assess, or select applicants at any stage of the hiring process.
Responsibilities include:
Community Partner Outreach, Relationship Building, and Volunteer Development
Conducts community outreach, including cold calls and site visits to non-profit organizations, to promote The Career Foundation’s national Youth Thrive program, with the aim of securing volunteer placement opportunities for youth participants of the program.
Conducts on-site visits at non-profit partner facilities to ensure they provide suitable and safe environments for youth participants to complete their volunteer placements.
Places youth clients into volunteer opportunities by matching them with advertised and non-advertised volunteer roles, including opportunities developed through establishing effective relationships with non-profit partners.
Supports non-profit organizations in identifying new volunteer opportunities they can create to support their mission while providing volunteer placements to program participants.
Conducts on-site visits at non-profit partner facilities to ensure they provide suitable and safe workplace environments.
Negotiates and administers placement training plans with non-profit partners and appropriately matches youths' skills with volunteer requirements.
Consistently monitors and tracks assigned targets to ensure target requirements are met.
Conducts outreach to engage mentors who can guide youth and ensure successful placements.
Engages and coordinates guest speakers to educate youth participants on civic engagement, the non-profit sector, volunteer opportunities, volunteer expectations, and other information supporting their successful outcomes.
Provides regular outreach and placement reports to management as requested.
Works in collaboration with fellow team members to plan, execute, and continuously monitor effective outreach plans to recruit youth, mentors, and non-profits, and maintains up-to-date records of outreach efforts.
Pllans and participates in community events, hiring fairs, and related activities to promote The Career Foundation’s services.
Maintains thorough written documentation of all completed activities in online data reporting systems, ensuring that caseload files are up to date and ready for file audits.
Performs other relevant duties as assigned.
Youth Placement and Retention Coaching
Provides coaching and support to help youth overcome barriers to completing volunteer placements.
Guides youths' volunteer search and coaches them at each step to ensure their placement success.
Coaches youth during their volunteer placements to overcome learning and integration obstacles.
Visits youth participants while on their volunteer placements to monitor their progress and ensure they receive real-time coaching and support required to succeed.
Serves as a resource to youth participants and non-profit partners to mediate issues if they arise and provide other supports that lead to retention and successful volunteer completion.
Delivers group workshops to support youths' skill development.
Provides individual coaching to youth participants, helping them apply skills learned through workshops, and conducts project-specific interview preparation with each participant.
Works with mentors to support youth in maximizing civic engagement opportunities.
Utilizes digital systems and technologies provided by The Career Foundation to further support youth participants in achieving successful outcomes.
Performs other relevant duties as assigned.
Qualifications/ Skills Required:
Post-secondary degree or diploma in marketing, business, or human/social services is highly preferred, or an equivalent combination of education and experience is required.
Minimum of two years of direct experience in job development, community outreach, job coaching, sales, or business development, or other experience that is directly transferable to the responsibilities of the position is required.
Valid Ontario G driver’s licence and reliable vehicle to conduct essential work-related travel within the GTHA to effectively meet the core outreach and placement requirements of the position, including to remote areas.
Experience working with youth, including those who identify as Indigenous or are from underserved, equity-deserving groups, is considered a strong asset.
Knowledge of current labour market trends, job search techniques, and youth employment research methods is considered an asset.
Exceptional relationship-building skills with a proven ability to develop rapport with people from all stakeholder groups.
Proven track record in a results-driven environment with experience meeting assigned targets.
Professional and courteous approach to client service, with a high level of respect for the diversity of the people served.
High emotional intelligence, demonstrating patience, empathy, and connectivity when working with youth of various experiences, needs, and abilities.
Excellent verbal and written English communication skills. Bilingualism is considered an asset.
Exceptional customer service skills and the ability to uphold the organization’s service
standards, policies, and core values.
High ethics and confidentiality standards, with proven experience maintaining sensitive information and exhibiting tact, diplomacy, and good judgment.
Excellent time management and organizational skills, with the ability to multi-task to meet deadlines and achieve targets and objectives.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and Office 365 applications, including Teams and SharePoint.
Must possess the aptitude and willingness to learn and work with new online systems and technologies.
Willingness and flexibility to work occasional evening and weekend hours to meet the requirements of the program.
Dedicated work ethic with demonstrated ability to remain flexible and resilient, adapting quickly to changing priorities while maintaining trust and positive working relationships.
The Career Foundation’s Commitment:
The Career Foundation is committed to diversity and inclusion and aims to create a healthy and rewarding environment for all. We welcome applications from qualified individuals who represent the diversity of the people we proudly serve, including, but not limited to, visible minorities, women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, and individuals of all genders and sexual orientation. The Career Foundation, in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), is also committed to accommodating applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. We will work with candidates requesting accommodation at any stage of the hiring process.
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