Employment Specialist in Plymouth, Massachusetts at Volunteers of America Massachusetts

The Opportunity: Employment Specialist, Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP)

Job Type: Full-Time, Hybrid

Pay: $55,000/year

What We Do || Through our powerful integrated behavioral health care model, we bring together vast resources from a diverse team of caring staff to help each client meet their personal goals. The care we provide paves the way for greater opportunity and second chances by focusing on the critical pillars towards a healthy life: behavioral health, financial stability, and safe housing.

As the Employment Specialist, you’ll have a dynamic and critical role providing individualized employment support and case management to veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness through VOAMASS’s Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP). This role helps veterans overcome employment barriers and achieve long-term career and financial stability through job readiness support, education and training opportunities, transitional employment, and direct job placement. Working closely with VA partners, community organizations, and local employers, the Employment Specialist connects veterans with meaningful opportunities that build skills, confidence, and lasting independence.

Some of your critical responsibilities:

• Provide service coordination between integrated care team and community partners, for persons served and their families.?
• Assist and teach resume writing skills; mock interviews; career search techniques. Create Individual Employment Plans (IEPs) and help veterans reassess and adapt their plan while enrolled in the program.??
• Finding workforce training opportunities for veterans and helping them enroll.??
• Connect with other providers, employers, and employment placement agencies, for referrals and linkages.??
• Co-enrolling veterans into Mass Hire (DVOP) after assessment?
• Develop, maintain, and document a strong network of referral sources designed to generate positive outcomes for persons served.?
• Travel to employment sites to support veterans served, monitor progress and address any barriers identified.?
• Communicate effectively with veterans integrated care team and VOAMASS programs to rapidly address barriers with services or supports- especially employment and education.?
• Ensure that person served receive services that support continued employment; addressing assessed needs, promote healthy decision-making, securing financial independence and promoting relationships.?
• Participate in program and professional supervision, attend required staff meetings and trainings, and contribute to team-based collaborative planning. Follows professional standards and ensures that all services are documented and maintenance of persons served records is completed.???
• Communicate the needs of clients within the agency and to external agencies that offer assistance to both veterans and nonveterans??
• Find care for non-VA eligible veterans including but not limited to Mass Health enrollment
• Other duties as needed and requested.

The Employment Specialist role is about making a difference in the lives of the people we serve. You’ll bring the following qualifications:

• An Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Human Services, Social Work, Psychology, or a related field is preferred; however, a minimum of two years of relevant case management experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Knowledge of veteran-specific challenges, homelessness, housing instability, and available local, state, and federal resources is highly preferred.
• Established relationships with community-based organizations, service providers, and employment resources are desirable.
• Prior military service or personal experience navigating veteran support systems is preferred but not required.
• Strong communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills, along with the ability to coordinate services and advocate effectively for veterans and their families are essential

For full-time employees, including our Employment Specialist, our comprehensive and generous benefits package includes:

• Excellent health, vision, and dental insurance with 90% of medical deductible and certain co-pays paid by employer
• Multiple opportunities to use pre-tax dollars to save for expenses such as health care (flexible spending account), child care, transit, and parking
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer match
• 24/7 nurse hotline for urgent health questions
• Employee assistance program to provide help with family concerns, stress management, legal issues, and more
• Employer-paid long-term disability and life insurance
• Pet insurance
• Tuition remission programs
• Loan forgiveness (Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program)
• Generous vacation benefits, starting at three weeks and moving to four weeks after three years of employment
• 14 paid holidays, higher than industry average
• Fitness/wellness reimbursement to cover expenses such as gym membership
• Employee discount program on hundreds of items such as computers, cell phone plans and accessories, furniture, hotels, vacation home rentals, etc.
• Cash bonus, with no annual cap, for referring other qualified candidates for employment

VOAMASS is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.