Youth Resource Coordinator

POSITION: RESOURCE COORDINATOR, YOUTH CES SPA 5

CLASSIFICATION/FLSA: FULL-TIME/NON-EXEMPT

Organizational Overview:

Upward Bound House (UBH) is dedicated to ending the cycle of intergenerational family homelessness. We compassionately provide a continuum of services ranging from crisis housing to permanent housing and homelessness prevention. With over 30 years of experience in family homelessness, UBH is a leading services provider, contributing to and advocating for lasting solutions to end family homelessness. Our diverse team is passionate about our mission, UBH provides a fast-paced environment that values empowerment, collaboration, diversity, relationships, efficiency and communication. UBH provides a supportive, caring and merit-based environment for team members and is vested in their growth and development. We seek employees who are passionate about serving and making a difference in the lives of others.

Position Summary

The ideal Youth Resource Coordinator is responsible for maintaining a robust partner network, with a particular focus on cultivating relationships with Transition Age Youth and direct service providers. The position is responsible for: coordinating regional access for TAY participants and building collaborative partnerships with service providers; outreach and referrals; Youth Resource management; youth capacity building; youth provider coordination; meeting facilitation; case management and assistance; lived-experience program development; data analysis and regional YHDP assistance. The Youth Resource Coordinator will work closely with UBH youth program staff to assist in the overall coordination of services and opportunities to ensure adherence to the organization’s mission and values of authentic youth engagement, building community, equitable practices that promote equity, diversity and inclusion, and strengths-based practice.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

1) Cultivate relationships across diverse communities and connect young people to resources and opportunities around housing, education, employment, financial capability, health/mental health, social capital, and permanence that are responsive to their cultures and identities.

2) Provide continual education around equitable opportunities for housing, education, employment, financial capability, health/mental health, and social capital to staff, young people, and community partners as they provide these opportunities to young people.

3) Coordinate and lead monthly community meetings to foster relationship building, collaboration, and promote equitable services for young people. This includes strengthening relationships with partners, identifying and addressing improvements to working together to authentically support young people including implementation of equitable and best practices and continued communication strategies.

4) Facilitate partnerships across SPA 5 by developing and cultivating relationships with traditional and nontraditional homeless service organization serving youth and young adults.

5) Act as resource specialist for youth and case management staff serving youth.

6) Act as point of contact for partners and external providers, ensuring smooth flow of services for members and positive partner relations.

7) Work collaboratively with other entities serving youth, to ensure youth are being identified, connected, and served without barriers, including County departments such as DMH, DHS, LACOE, DPSS, and DCFS.

8) Work closely with the regional YCES Access Points, Outreach Teams, and Peer Advocates, to help facilitate systems integration.

9) Assist youth in navigating through Youth Programs to obtain the appropriate services, eliminating delays and entry barriers.

10) Develop and maintain a working resource list of available services; that youth and providers can access.

11) Work with the Volunteer Coordinator to organize the intake of donated items and distribution out to young people.

12) Provide ongoing input, information, and materials (as requested) that support internal and external communication efforts about programming and opportunities.

13) Provide leadership support, guidance, and coaching to young people engaged in programming, including emotional and moral support and provide transportation as needed.

14) Serve as an advocate in the community to ensure that the needs of young people transitioning to adulthood are a priority in the systems designed to support them and the broader community.

15) Outreach/In-reach to youth at places routinely frequented by youth.

16) Assist youth in building capacity through active involvement and ownership in planning, decision-making, and efforts to achieve well-being.

17) Regularly and responsively communicate with schools and other youth-serving agencies to connect youth in crisis to services, educate about youth homelessness, and provide information about regional youth services/programs.

18) Assist with regional systems planning, expansion, development, and evaluation.

19) Work with partners to obtain system level data; provide analysis.

20) Participate in providing feedback centering youth perspective and experience and data collection methods to better represent the needs of youth members in the YCES system.

21) Represent youth interests across SPA 5 by participating in events for youth to promote awareness of resources and engagement in services, and engaging and connecting peer workers across SPA 5.

22) Participate in meetings with funders, and collaborative partners as appropriate.

23) Participate in the continuous quality improvement and data-driven decision-making processes to assess the efficacy of programming and to drive programmatic refinements. Ensure adherence to data collection requirements.

24) Facilitate and participate in staff meetings, planning meetings and other meetings as needed.

25) Other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications and Experience:

At least two years of directly-related experience working with young people. An equivalent combination of education and/or experience may be substituted if it directly relates to the position’s major responsibilities and duties. Preference will be given to candidates with a working knowledge of community resources and a track record of collaboration, as well as experience working with youth transitioning from foster care or juvenile justice systems or who have experienced homelessness. A strong desire to engage in the difficult and transformative work of challenging systems of institutional and structural oppression, and implicit bias is required. A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field is a plus but not required.

Communication

1) Strong desire and ability to work with youth ages 18 – 25 from diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and gender diverse communities.

2) Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate effectively with people from diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and gender backgrounds.

3) Strong analytical writing skills and oral communication skills.

4) Desire to educate the community about the unique issues facing young people transitioning from foster care, juvenile justice, and homelessness.

Commitment to service

1) Ability to build and sustain authentic relationships with racial, socio-economic, and gender diverse communities of young people.

2) An understanding of the concepts of institutional and structural racism and bias; and a genuine commitment to equity and inclusion.

3) Enthusiastic and positive attitude about changing systems and community perspectives.

4) Ability and willingness to occasionally work evenings nights and weekends to accommodate young peoples’ schedules.

Professionalism

1) Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities at once.

2) Ability to work well independently and as a member of a highly integrated and diverse team.

3) Set priorities, monitor progress towards goals, and effectively track activities and data.

4) Be able to exercise excellent judgment, decorum, confidentiality, gratitude, and diplomacy in all interactions with internal and external stakeholders.

5) Demonstrated ability to assess problem situations/conflict, which includes identifying causes, gathering and processing relevant information, generating possible solutions, and making recommendations and/or resolving problems.

6) Willingness to have authentic and courageous conversations internally with colleagues and externally with partners to enact systems change.

7) Capacity and willingness to self-reflect.

Other Qualifications

1) Timely in the completion of tasks.

2) Ability to maintain clear personal and professional boundaries.

3) Ability to solve problems, make decisions, resolve conflicts and demonstrate empathy.

4) Working knowledge and experience using Microsoft Office software. Specifically, is proficient in the use of Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

5) Experience with data collection and data management systems, including proficiency in HMIS.

MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS:

1) Employment eligibility verification.

2) Valid driver’s license and auto insurance.

3) Reliable transportation.

4) Successful completion of background screening.

TO APPLY

To be considered for a position, email resume to hr@upwardboundhouse.org. Please be sure to reference Job Title in the subject line of your email. Due to the volume of resumes received, no calls or faxes regarding submission will be returned. Your resume will only be routed correctly and considered, if all the qualifications are met.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $23.00 - $27.00 per hour

Expected hours: 40 per week

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Patient demographics:

• Adults

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday

Ability to Relocate:

• Culver City, CA: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person