Youth Advocate

Graham Windham; New York, Cary (NY, NC); Hybrid; USD 10,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking organization dedicated to empowering youth through personalized coaching and support. As a Graham SLAM Coach, you will play a pivotal role in guiding young individuals towards achieving their educational and career aspirations. This role involves working closely with youth aged 9 to 26, helping them navigate challenges and set actionable goals for their futures. With a hybrid work model, you will have the flexibility to meet youth in various community settings while providing essential support and encouragement. If you are passionate about making a positive impact in the lives of young people, this opportunity is perfect for you.

Qualifications

• Must hold a bachelor's degree or higher and commit to long-term youth support.
• Ability to work with diverse populations and express empathy.

Responsibilities

• Work one-on-one with youth to create and track individual goals.
• Collaborate with parents and school staff to support youth success.

Skills

Empathy

Motivational Interviewing

Goal Setting

Effective Communication

Solution-Based Casework

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Job description

Position: Youth Advocate (Graham SLAM Coach)

Program: Graham SLAM (Support, Lead, Achieve, Model)

Department: Youth Success

Program & Position Summary:

The Graham SLAM program works with youth between the 9th grade and age 26 who are in Graham Windham’s programs including foster care, foster care prevention, and community-based afterschool programs. The program aims to put youth on a livable wage path by focusing on their success in high school, college, and career development. The program ‘sticks with’ youth through age 26, or until they are on a living wage career path. SLAM Coaches are focused on providing social and emotional support, goal setting, and goal tracking. A Coach and youth work on setting key program goals in the areas of education and career, with the purpose of getting them on a livable wage pathway. Coaches will also work with their youth setting and tracking customized goals in the areas of wellness and independent living skills. Examples include learning how to budget, opening a bank account, and time management. There are ongoing, individual support and planning sessions where a SLAM Coach will support the youth’s educational and career goals.

This role could be located within the following neighborhoods of NYC:

• Brooklyn (11201)
• Harlem (10027)
• Bronx (10457)

As a Graham SLAM Coach, you will be assigned to one of our office locations in Harlem, Bronx, or Brooklyn, but the role requires a significant amount of travel. You will meet with each assigned youth face-to-face at least once a month, either in the office or at various locations such as local libraries, the youth's home, school, and other community settings. Please note that your assigned youth may be scattered across different boroughs, so you must be willing and able to travel within and beyond these areas to provide the necessary support. Additionally, you will meet with school staff to collaborate on the youth's educational success. The role follows a hybrid work model, allowing flexibility in reporting to the office while ensuring you meet the travel and contact requirements to effectively support your youth. We seek individuals who embrace this travel commitment and are passionate about making a positive impact on the lives of the youth we serve.

Graham SLAM Coaches will:

• Work one-on-one with each young person on their coach load to create individual goals. Uses solution-based casework and Motivational Interviewing techniques to develop and follow action plans to reach these goals, with consistent support, communication, and follow-through.
• Use SLAM’s goal-setting tools to develop customized action plans for each youth to help them reach their goals.
• Establish strong relationships with adolescents using effective modeling of pro-social skills.
• Work collaboratively with other system providers in the youth’s life including to help ensure that the varied systems are driving towards similar goals in a coordinated fashion.
• Meet regularly with parents/foster parents/adult supports to plan with them for youth success, and to support them in helping the youth in their care, reach their goals.
• Encourage youth to attend therapeutic peer groups that focus on skills such as healthy communication, positive peer relationships, dealing with peer pressure, and service learning.
• Works closely with the SLAM Educational Success Coordinator to help students apply for college. Works closely with the SLAM Employment Success Coordinator to help students secure employment and thrive in the workplace.
• Visit schools to meet with guidance counselors or other school officials. This includes gathering report cards and attending parent/teacher conferences.
• Connect youth to resources in their community.
• Help students select vocational programs or colleges based on academic, social, and financial needs.

A Graham SLAM Coach:

• Must have completed an undergraduate level education and hold a bachelor's degree or higher
• Makes a long-term commitment to working with youth
• Is strengths-focused, believes that change is possible, and is able to inspire hope
• Is able to work with diverse populations (including LGBTQ) and cultures, process information, and respond empathically.
• Is able to express empathy and genuine caring, while maintaining healthy boundaries.
• Is open to learning new methods of working with youth and willing to hold him/herself to high practice standards.

In order to be considered for this role, please apply on our website: https://tinyurl.com/gwslamcoach