Social Support Specialist

This is a Part time position for up to 30 hours a week.

The ACYR team builds pathways to success through education, skill building and employment opportunities to help youth and young adults reach self-sufficiency. The team plays a crucial role in promoting a culture of positivity, growth mindset, and hospitality by offering high-energy educational activities and services that create a welcoming environment. Every member of the team is charged to build relationships and trust with youth and young adults to maintain relationships that foster them continuing in their planned services. Our team also serves as an integral component with connecting to our community and spreading/demonstrating the mission of ACYR.

As a Social Support Specialist at ACYR, you contribute to positive social change locally. You will be the single point of access connecting youth, young adults, and community members to ACYR's services. Flexibility, enthusiasm, and responsiveness will allow you to motivate and meet needs.

This position offers insight into nonprofits, workforce programs, youth development, and community resources.

Work with leadership and staff to plan and develop projects. Specific duties will be decided collaboratively, based upon strengths, areas of interest, and learning objectives, in addition to program need. Some responsibilities may include:

• Act as liaison between ACYR and community, and between staff, volunteers and program participants
• Work with leadership and staff in planning, developing and coordinating community workshop schedule
• Build viable, sustainable partnerships and collaborations with other youth serving organizations and institutions, the private sector, and the employer community
• Program analysis and evaluation
• Engage youth in making decisions about personal, educational, and career goals, life plans, program offerings, and organizational direction
• Referral for services as needed, individual goal setting for career, education, and personal life
• Take the initiative in engaging young adults through an ongoing, one-to-one relationship
• Maintain partnerships and collaborations within the community to provide opportunities for youth
• Work cooperatively with outside agencies and individuals to link youth to available and appropriate services
• Training to screen and assess youth through academic assessments, ACE's, trauma informed care, social and emotional development, career and barrier assessments, and development of a college and career blueprint
• Practice advocacy and self-determination
• Identify best practices through research regarding engagement interventions with agency's population served and identify how best practices are culturally responsive
• Identify clientele barriers and advocate on their behalf and create a plan for addressing the barriers
• Demonstrate interviewing skills such as motivational interviewing, demonstration of empathy, reflective listening, and other interpersonal skills
• Utilize and analyze current agency assessments

We are looking for committed and flexible individuals who have:

• Bachelor's degree in Social Work
• Excellent Written and Oral Communication Skills
• Empathy and Patience
• Problem Solving Skills
• Understand and Utilize Positive, Strengths-based Youth Development Practices
• Organizational Skills
• Time Management
• Critical Thinking
• Emotional Intelligence
• Team Player and Work Independently
• Bilingual and/or bicultural preferred

Background Check

Must have a reputation for honesty and trustworthiness. Misdemeanor and/or felony convictions may be disqualifying depending on type, number, severity, and how recent. The background check will consist of a reference checks, employment, education, and criminal background search. ACYR is an at-will employer and any offer of employment with ACYR is contingent upon a successful completion of said background check.

Certification/Licenses/Other Requirements

• Valid Arizona Level II IVP Fingerprint Clearance Card, ACYR will assist with obtaining upon start of internship.
• Arizona driver's license and insurance required. Requires use of insured personal vehicle for agency business.

Work Environment

ACYR promotes communication, helping, healing and education between ACYR team members and students. We encourage innovation and creativity adopting critical thinking, experimentation and problem-solving skills to help deliver our Mission.

Physical Demands

Requires energetic interactions between the ACYR team members and students. Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word to impart oral information to clients or the public and to convey detailed spoken instructions to others accurately, loudly, or quickly. Ability to interact with students during activities also required.

This job description does not list every job responsibility, and the employee may be asked to perform other duties as necessary. The incumbent's performance will be based in part on his/her performance of the duties outlined in this job description. This job description is not a contract for employment and the incumbent or ACYR may terminate employment at any time, for any reason, furthermore, ACYR has the right to change this job description at any time.