ONA Community Outreach Counselor F/T

ONA Community Outreach Counselor
**This is a temporary grant-funded position through 12/31/2018**
Duties and Responsibilities:
The Office of New Americans (ONA) Community Outreach Counselor recruits and serves immigrants to participate in the New York State Office of New Americans-funded Opportunity Center programs and services at Long Island City Adult Learning Center (ALC). Performs extensive outreach and builds partnerships with internal and external organizations to provide ESOL instruction, case management, legal services, citizenship application assistance and workforce preparation to customers. Plans, schedules, and coordinates student activities, facilitates workshops, prepares reports on enrollment, monitors success of students, and meets with students regularly to provide necessary support to meet anticipated outcomes. Conducts overall program activities, i.e., case management, partnership development, immigration, and program support (data collection, entry and analysis, recruitment, and intake).

• Builds partnerships with community-based organizations to recruit eligible customers to participate in programs and services.
• Coordinates development of service partnerships while maintaining linkage agreements and letters of support. Conducts regular outreach through program participants, community partners, and local and ethnic media to provide up to date information about Opportunity Center programming and services.
• Primarily coordinates with the legal services referrals, i.e., to schedule legal consultation days and citizenship application assistance drives to ensure that the program submits citizenship applications, as well as workforce development seminars.
• Assists in interviewing clients and preparing immigration and naturalization applications.
• Provides immigration-related case management services and identifies, predicts and mitigates barriers to educational, workforce and economic goals and thus enables customers to participate in educational and employment opportunities.
• Performs needs assessments and sets educational and employment goals with all customers at the beginning, middle and end of each session. Follows up with all customers on a regular basis to update needs assessments and assess progress on goals set.
• Determines social service needs, screens for benefits and assists with applications.
• Provides individualized case management services and support to customers. Regularly meets with customers individually to provide short-term interventions, advisement and appropriate referrals.
• Assists individuals with navigating complex systems including healthcare, social services, education and financial systems.
• Connects clients to services offered by partner organizations by matching each client to appropriate social services, setting up appointments, and following up with the referral organization or client to document resolution of referrals.
• Assists in organizing informational workshops on topics identified as having high need (e.g. legal services, citizenship application assistance, workforce preparation, etc.).
• Provides immigration counseling and legal services to immigrants interested in becoming naturalized United States citizens or for pursing other immigration options and makes referrals to appropriate partners.
• Conducts appropriate social and educational workshops to provide general and situational-specific information to customers.
• Conducts classes and conversation groups as necessary and appropriate.
• Works with external organizations to provide workshops and other services including coordination of legal consultation days with partner organization, coordination of citizenship application assistance drives with partner organization, coordination of business development workshops with partner organizations, and other workshop coordination relevant to customers’ needs and interests.
• Orders and tracks distribution of all customer incentives.
• Documents and tracks all interactions with customers through case notes and other tools according to timeline set by supervisor and/or funding specifications.
• Follows up with customers on a regular basis to assess progress on goals and records customer outcomes in appropriate systems.
• Maintains program statistical data as per funding requirements and program standards.
• Manages the collection and distribution of program outcomes statistical data for reporting purposes, including adherence to program standards and government contract reporting.
• Provides administrative support to the ONA referred Citizenship and Immigration partners.
• Performs other duties as required.

The schedule for this position will include Saturdays and evenings.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, Psychology, Sociology, and Human Services or a related field. Master’s Degree preferred.
• A minimum of two years of direct experience providing legal immigration services, and working knowledge of immigration law, policies and procedures as well as case management experience required.
• Experience working with adults, immigrants and social service agencies preferred.
• Ability to work with a diverse population required.
• Must be able to effectively multitask and maintain a high level of custom service skills.
• Must be proficient with Microsoft Office and databases such as MS Excel, CitizenshipWorks, ASISTS, etc.
• Ability to effectively multitask and maintain a high level of customer service skills required.
• Spanish and English language skills strongly preferred.
• Must be able to become BIA certified.

ABOUT QUEENS LIBRARY:
Queens Library is a national and international leader in the delivery of public library service. Innovation and leadership are the hall marks of Queens Library. Our mission is to meet the needs of the community by offering lifelong learning opportunities and ensuring there is a positive impact in the community. Queens Library fulfills its goals by embracing innovation and change. With a history of offering pioneering programs that meet the diverse needs of the most diverse county in the US, Queens Library is a place where innovation and leaders are welcomed. Queens Library a private, non-profit corporation located in Queens, New York and includes 65 service locations with 1,700 employees.

Queens Library is the proud recipient of the following awards: 2009 Library Journal, Library of the Year, 2014 ALA/Information Today, Library of the Future, 2013 ULC Top Innovators, 2013 American-Architect’s Building of the Year (Queens Library at Glen Oaks).

To Apply: Email your cover letter and resume to [email protected] and reference “ONA Community Outreach Counselor – EXTERNAL” in the subject line. Resumes will only be accepted by email.

**This is a temporary grant-funded position through 12/31/2018**

Queens Library is an equal opportunity employer.