Position Title: Youth Development Coach

Location: Whatcom County

Reports to: Director of Adolescent Services

Hours: Full-Time, exempt position

Wage Range: $26.59 - $29.64

Women, people of color, transgender individuals and members of other underrepresented populations are strongly encouraged to apply.

Mission: At Northwest Youth Services, we affirm youth experience and autonomy, as we work together to foster collective healing and justice, in order to dismantle the systems of oppression that perpetuate youth homelessness.

Core Values:

Community – We promote interdependence and recognize that everybody needs a community to thrive. We know that we are stronger together.

Justice & Liberation - We believe that it is critical to acknowledge, name, and actively work to dismantle the historic systems and societal structures that fuel crisis and poverty.

Humanity - We work with respect and compassion for each other and believe that everyone deserves to belong: to be safe, heard, and valued.

Accountability – We believe that no one is done learning; as a community we hold each other to a high standard, and work to educate, grow and heal together.

Vision: Guided by our core values and commitment to becoming an Anti-Racist organization, Northwest Youth Services envisions a community in which all young people are seen as catalysts in creating a just and liberated society that supports each of our unique journeys through life.

The Youth Development Coach is responsible for developing and maintaining a collaborative relationship with youth. This partnership supports autonomy while providing opportunities for community engagement as well as individual growth and development. While engagement and development are key part of this role, equally important are clinical/behavioral health supports. Youth development coach is a part of the clinical support/behavioral health team and works closely with such team to provide relevant interventions and services. YDC is also responsible for maintaining compliance with program, WAC, and funding requirements in order to provide continuous care.

To perform job successfully, the individual should demonstrate the following competencies:

Mission Focused: Incorporate mission into daily activities; communicates mission and interpret application for staff.

Self-Objectivity: Know personal strengths and limitations; open to and seeks feedback for self-improvement.

Effective Use of Professional Self : Must engage in both administrative and clinical supervision as part of the professional development process and demonstrate proper attending behavior when working with clients.

Composure: Respond calmly to stressful circumstances.

Initiative: Proactive; Take action without being prompted; recognize and encourage initiative in others.

Team Player: Effectively partner with people across the organization and model healthy collaborative team behavior.

Integrity: Must be honest and take responsibility for actions.

High Standards: Model excellence; hold staff accountable for quality outcomes; demand quality and continuous improvement.

Risk-Taking: Able to fail and learn from it; try new things and take calculated risks.

Assertiveness: Trust their own judgment; challenge others appropriately.

Informal Communication: Clearly articulate information, opinions and ideas. Understand that trust is built through being accountable and through actions that demonstrate integrity.

Sensitivity: Communicates empathy and respect of individuals; ability to be appreciative of diversity.

Change Agility: Able to embrace needed change; able to provide and implement feedback; effective in the face of ambiguity.

Creativity: Resourceful in finding ways to improve and advocate for change when necessary; fosters creativity in others.

Ability to Prioritize and be Organized: The candidate must be able to prioritize tasks and maintain a schedule that provides stability and reliability for young people participating in NWYS’ activities.

Leadership

• Offer vision, creativity, and enthusiasm to employees to generate positive thinking and best practices for young people
• Create effective partnerships and maintain meaningful involvement with consumers, advocates, neighbors, and community partners
• Participate in creating and maintaining a workplace that values diversity and is free of discrimination based on race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, and other aspects of identity
• Continue to foster and improve an organizational culture that builds on our core values of youth engagement, partnership, and maintaining healthy boundaries.

Engagement

• Provide support in developing weekly individual and group engagement opportunities; life skills, professional development, recreational and strengthening community connections.
• Participate in providing information to clients on substance use issues such as the effect of mental and physical health and daily functioning (SBIRT: short, brief, interventions and referral to treatment).
• Develop and maintain relationship with community partners to promote and advocate for engagement opportunities.

Therapeutic Support

• Effectively identify trauma and have an understanding of secondary trauma.
• Understand adolescent and young adult psychological development stages and needs.
• Provide crisis intervention when needed while performing outreach and coaching activities.
• Work closely with the clinical/behavioral health team to promote healthy communication and collaboration.
• Provide de-escalation, crisis intervention and basic emotional support to clients as needed.
• Provide crisis intervention counseling and coordinate with Designated Crisis Responders/crisis services when appropriate.

Case Management

• Maintaining up to date knowledge and understanding of how social services systems operate.
• Maintaining client files by organizing according to specific file layout, making sure documents are complete and up to date in a timely manner in accordance with WAC requirements.
• Document client progress in the DAP note format to maintain a permanent record of client activity according to established policies and procedures. If a clinical background is also present SOAP documentation is also required.
• Provide outreach services, such as escorting participants to required appointments (school, clinic, DMV, etc.)
• When necessary, assist and support clients in finding and effectively using a primary care physician and a dentist and develop health self-management skills.
• Assist with completion of all necessary intake and exit paperwork, administer developmentally appropriate assessments and coordinate with the vocational team as determined by program and youth needs.
• Develop housing plans and assist with housing transitions with youth in coordination with youth legal guardians.
• Build community connections by acting as a liaison to support in behavioral health, education, medical and physical care.

Other Duties Required

• Participation in rotating Supervisor On Call duties and responsibilities.
• Plan and facilitate weekly PAD team meetings.
• Participate in daily (or weekly) staff organizational meetings and treatment planning review meetings.
• Support staff in day-to-day operations, providing counseling and coaching input regarding youth behavior and addressing behavioral health needs.
• Support and direct implementation of core principles and evidence-based practices including, but not limited to: Positive Youth Development, Trauma Informed Care, Motivational Interviewing, Right Response and Youth Mental Health First Aid.
• In addition to the above, any other responsibilities appropriate to the position and not specifically listed in the job description.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and depth perception. While performing these job duties, the employee is regularly required to listen to others and provide verbal feedback. The employee is required to frequently sit for extended periods of time, stand, walk, climb, or balance.

Minimum Qualifications:

• A minimum of four years working with vulnerable populations
• Demonstrated experience working with young people in crisis.
• Demonstrated experience working with people experiencing homelessness.
• A minimum of:
  1. one year experience working with youth ages 13-18 or
  2. one year experience working with people experiencing homelessness or
  3. one year experience working as a Case Manager or
  4. two years’ experience working with other vulnerable populations
• Must be 21 years of age or older;
• Proof of Washington State Driver’s License, driving record, and auto insurance; and

• Must pass background checks.

Required within first 30 days of employment:

• CPR/First Aid/Bloodborne pathogens certifications required;
• Must have a negative TB test; and
• Full understanding of the CPS reporting requirements.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, human services, psychology, or related field
• Official status as a Mental Health Professional (MHP)
• State or national coaching certification
• Child Mental Health Specialist certification
• Significant Experience working with people who are homeless and/or who have been incarcerated
• Training in de-escalation, Positive Youth Development, CSEC, DBT; Mental Health First Aid, or/other related mental health and addictions theory and practice.

Benefits

• Earn paid time off based on hours worked;
• Medical, vision, and dental insurance benefits begin first of the month following date of hire (positions at or above 0.75 FTE);
• Voluntary life, critical illness, supplemental vision, long term disability, and accident insurance eligibility begins first of the month following date of hire (positions at or above 0.75 FTE);
• Simple IRA Retirement plan with match up to 3% of employee contributions, per pay period, after first year of employment;
• Annual Healing Fund stipend
• Juneteenth and Indigenous Peoples Day paid holidays;
• The position is located in beautiful Whatcom County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest

Northwest Youth Services is an Equal Opportunity employer. Employment is based upon individual qualifications without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, citizenship, age, marital status, veteran status, disabilities, political ideology, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.