Student Advocate

Elmcrest Childrens Center; City of Syracuse (NY); On-site; USD 25,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

Elmcrest Children’s Center in Syracuse, NY, is seeking a Full-Time Youth Development professional to create a supportive learning environment for residents. The role involves guiding behavioral and educational gains, supervising activities, and ensuring safety during wake-up routines and school transitions.

Responsibilities include crisis intervention, strong boundary setting, and collaboration with staff. Requires High School Diploma or GED; college experience is preferred.

Qualifications

• Experience in crisis management and protective intervention is preferred.
• Ability to foster a safe, supportive learning environment for residents.
• Strong communication and boundary-setting skills with youth and staff.

Responsibilities

• Create and support a learning environment helping residents achieve behavioral and educational gains.
• Assist with wake-up routines and accompany residents to school.
• Maintain a safe environment, supervise residents, and practice crisis de-escalation as trained.
• Build positive relationships with residents with appropriate boundaries and supportive demeanor.
• Complete paperwork, attend meetings, and report incidents of maltreatment or abuse.
• Follow agency policies and perform other duties as assigned by supervisors.

Skills

Crisis intervention

Resident support

Safety supervision

Teamwork

Education

High School Diploma or GED

College experience preferred

Job description

Job Details: Job Location: Main Campus - Syracuse, NY 13224, Position Type: Full Time, Education Level: High School, Salary Range: $18.19 - $22.05 Hourly, Travel Percentage: None, Job Shift: Day, Job Category: Nonprofit - Social Services,

Responsibilities

• Create, support and engage in a learning environment by which each resident can be successful in making his/her own unique behavioral, emotional, intellectual, developmental and educational gains by:
  • Teaching and fostering a resident’s skill development relative to his/her individual needs.
  • Interacting and intervening with residents in accordance with their treatment plans, Individualized Crisis Management Plan, and Individual Education Plans.
• Support students as during the wake-up routine in their respective cottage followed by walking them to school.
• Maintain a physically and emotionally safe & supportive environment by:
  • Developing and providing a safe and secure physical environment for each resident.
  • Providing continuous supervision of residents.
  • Using Therapeutic Crisis Intervention de-escalation techniques (proximity, time and space, caring gestures, etc.)
• Develop and maintain appropriate and positive relationships with residents by:
  • Demonstrating appropriate social boundaries.
  • Having a non-threatening and supportive demeanor.
  • Actively involving residents in all facets of their educational day.
• Perform other essential functions of the job including:
  • Complete all assigned paperwork accurately and on time.
  • Attend regularly scheduled school meetings.
  • Report incidents of child maltreatment, neglect, or abuse.
• Follow all agency and department policies & procedures.
• Other duties as assigned by supervisors.
• All of the Youth Development Professional responsibilities when working in cottages during wake-up routine and during non-school days.

Qualifications: Elmcrest’s Core Values & Competencies

• Honesty: Act with integrity and behave in a manner consistent with our policies, Code of Conduct and any regulatory and ethical guidelines. Utilize practices and techniques professionals train to interact with children, families and co-workers appropriately.
• Willingness to Learn: Open to new experiences and learning new skills and information that can improve professional development, progressive work environments and support the mission of Elmcrest.
• Dedication to Purpose: Display the necessary passion and empathetic abilities to serve the Elmcrest mission. Committed to improving the lives of children and families.
• Social Concern: Value human dignityand have respect for others. Actively seek out diverse approaches and points of view.
• Self-Examination: Systemically observe, analyzeandutilize self-reflection to improve actions or results. Listen to constructive feedback and concerns and maintain positive relationships in the workplace.

Competencies

• Able to relate to a dynamic environment. Flexible and able to solve problems as unanticipated challenges present themselves.
• Self-aware, enjoys, and is comfortable interacting with children.
• Technically and physically able to provide crisis intervention, including physical restraints. The Agency provides this required training.
• Must understand and demonstrate the principles of care (Boys Town and TCI) to which Elmcrest ascribes and trains.

Required Education and Experience

High School Diploma or GED, College, and experience preferred.

Essential Job Qualifications

• Ability to lift 50 pounds without assistance.
• Able to provide crisis intervention, including physical restraints. Restraints may include resistive force, bending, squatting, kneeling, lying down, and holding youth to maintain safety.
• Ability to sit, squat, crouch, and stand for elongated periods
• Ability to lift arms over head in a reaching motion
• Ability to walk up and down stairs several times per day.
• Varying levels of travel as determined by departmental needs may be required with this position.
• Valid driver’s license and auto insurance, free from major infractions and deemed acceptable to our insurance carrier.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Elmcrest Children’s Center prohibits discrimination of any kind based on race, color, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.

Accommodations

Elmcrest Children’s Center will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability so that they can perform the essential functions of a job unless doing so causes a direct threat to these individuals or others in the workplace and the threat cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation or if the accommodation creates an undue hardship to Elmcrest Children’s Center. Contact Human Resources with any questions or requests for accommodation.

At Will Employment

Your employment with Elmcrest Children’s Center is at will. This means your employment is for an indefinite period of time and it is subject to termination by you or Elmcrest Children’s Center, with or without cause, with or without notice, and at any time. Nothing in this job description or in any other policy of Elmcrest Children’s Center shall be interpreted to be in conflict with or to eliminate or modify in any way, the at-will employment status of Elmcrest Children’s Center employees.