Educational Specialist

Principal Duties/Responsibilities:

• Provide academic advising, financial aid counseling, college placement, and career guidance for program-eligible participants aged 11-27 attending an assigned Chicago Public School or residing in and around the Chicagoland targeted service areas.
• Establish effective partnerships with counselors, teachers, and other school personnel to identify, recruit, engage, and retain prospective program participants.
• Perform comprehensive academic skills and career assessments to determine participants’ needs and interests.
• Network and collaborate with colleges, universities, vocational and technical schools, and other shared stakeholders to identify educational and enrichment opportunities for program participants.
• Develop, implement, monitor, and track individual achievement plans to track students’ progress and ensure academic, career, and post-secondary goals are met, and students’ needs are addressed.

• Assess students’ socio-economic needs, academic records, and career interests to recommend and counsel students on various postsecondary educational opportunities and career choices.
• Revise and recommend a plan to reflect a continuum of current services or identify untapped resources as dictated by the data.
• Assist in planning for, implementing, and attending parent information sessions, workshops, cultural and college field trips/events, and professional development activities. This includes completing and submitting college applications, financial aid forms, and identifying scholarship resources.
• Provide coaching, advising, and workshops to program participants that may include but are not limited to the following topics:
• College Placement and Admissions Processes
• Career Assessment and Exploration
• Academic Guidance
• Financial Aid & FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) Assistance
• ACT/SAT Prep, Goal Setting, and Study Skills
• Researching and Applying for Scholarships
• Personal Statement Development
• Maintains a flexible schedule to accommodate occasional evenings, weekends, and rare holiday appointments, events, fairs, college tours, workshops, and other related outreach opportunities.
• Secures required documentation, monitors and records participant progress toward project objectives in the agency data tracking system, compiles and prepares/submits accurate and timely reports, assists in the preparation of statistical information for federal reporting and audit, and maintains accurate, up-to-date records of time, effort, and attendance for grant compliance.
• Attend agency center and other job-related meetings and training as required.
• Develop strategies for building a rapport with school administrators, faculty, colleges’ admissions and financial aid counselors, community leaders and E.T.S. cohorts.

• Provide hands-on experience in forming a viable plan for capturing the interest of potential program participants and determining their eligibility.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Ada Core Competencies:

• Teamwork: Is an effective team player who adds complementary skills and contributes valuable ideas, opinions, and feedback. Communicates in an open and candid manner and can be counted upon to fulfill any commitments made to others on the team. This is distinctly different from those who withhold ideas and opinions, offer ideas or opinions that rarely add value to team discussions, have established a track record with many unmet commitments, and/or have not contributed skills that complement the skills of others on the team.

• Innovation: Looks out for new and innovative approaches that will improve efficiency. Embraces and champions new ideas and encourages others to do likewise. Recognizes and rewards people and teams who are creative and innovative. This contrasts sharply with those who embrace the status quo, struggle with new approaches, and discourage others when they are creative and innovative in pursuit of increased efficiency or effectiveness.

• Excellence: Has established a track record of producing work that is highly accurate, demonstrates attention to detail, and reflects well on the organization. Is personally committed to high-quality work and encourages others to have similar standards. This differs from those who cannot be relied upon to produce high-quality work, pay little attention to detail, show little pride in a job

Child Development & Youth Services Essential Competencies: 

• Adaptable: Adjust to new conditions, changes, challenges, and experiences.

A person who is adaptable: 

• is open-minded and self-aware: recognizes, appreciates and is open to different ideas and approaches;
• believes, embraces, and actively participates in change processes;
• is flexible and seeks to identify multiple ways to solve problems; and
• is optimistic.
• Effective Communicator: Is understood by others (both verbally and in writing) and understands the ideas and perspectives of others.

A person who is an effective communicator: 

• delivers messages with clear, thoughtful, and concise information;
• listens by checking for understanding and is open to understanding others’ viewpoints;
• responds to questions and requests in a timely manner regardless of who they are coming from;
• accurately document interactions / meetings / action steps, commitments, etc.; and
• shows empathy and compassion for people and their circumstances.
• Uses a Growth Mindset: Embraces their potential to learn and grow and views successes and failures as development opportunities.

A person who uses a growth mindset: 

• uses challenges, mistakes, and obstacles as opportunities for growth, and learn through effort;
• is honest, open-minded, and accountable to self and others about their own growth and learning needs;
• seeks out and utilizes feedback and other resources for learning and development; and
• is curious and open to new ideas and experiences.
• Has Integrity: Honesty, trustworthiness, ownership, accountability, and respect are hallmarks of integrity.

A person who has integrity:

• is honest and fair with others;
• follows through on promises;
• treats clients, coworkers, and others with dignity and respect;
• produces high-quality work to benefit the organization, peers, colleagues, and those we serve (regardless of personal gain); and
• exhibits strong moral principles by doing the right thing.
• Collaborator: Cooperates and works well with peers, colleagues and team members by giving and receiving ideas, comments, and feedback with an open mind.

A person who is a collaborator:

• contributes ideas, resources, and information with others;
• demonstrates capacity to understand and relate to others’ feelings and circumstances without judgment;
• is willing to help others and take accountability for their share of the work;
• works to resolve disputes or conflicts and compromise when it makes sense to do so; and displays a positive attitude and demeanor when engaging with others.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in counseling, education, social work, or related field
• Two years of experience working with youth in crisis, coupled with knowledge relevant to community resources and opportunities for educational advancement.

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities:

Capacity to problem solve, handle crises, and work with families and children of various cultures from low-income backgrounds. Provide an empathic, nonjudgmental, respectful, and professional approach to working with families.

FT Role

Compensation:  

$50,000 - 52,000 Annually   

Benefits  

• Paid vacation
• Paid Sick Time
• 12 Paid Holidays
• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• 403(b) Plan  
• Life Insurance
• Long-term & short-term disability
• Employee assistance program (EAP)
• Family medical leave
• Tuition reimbursement

Mental/Physical Demands:  Ability to conceptualize and solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.  Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram or schedule form.  While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle or feel and talk or hear.  The employee frequently is required to sit.  The employee is occasionally required to stand and walk.  The employee must lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally life and/or move up to 25 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus 

Environmental Conditions:  The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.  Duties are performed in a typical office environment.  No unusual or adverse working conditions exist.

This description documents the general contents and requirements of the job.  It is not to be construed as an exhausted statement of duties, responsibilities, or requirements.  The principal duties and responsibilities shown are all essential job functions except for those indicated with an asterisk (*).  The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.