Youth Navigator (Engagement and Partnerships)

## Description

**Intro/Program Description:**The Goddard Riverside Community Center (Goddard Riverside) and the Stanley M. Isaacs Center (Isaacs Center) are well-established Manhattan community-based agencies with a combined annual operating budget of approximately $63 million that support services to approximately 30,000 New Yorkers. Goddard Riverside and The Isaacs Center are two of New York City’s leading human services organizations meeting the needs of children, youth and families, homeless individuals, and older adults throughout Manhattan and New York City. Pathways for Youth is an effort to help young adults reach age 24 prepared to be self-sustaining by providing a primary adult support to coach and assist in life planning and navigation over multiple years.

**Purpose of Position:** The Youth Navigator is responsible for delivering direct and comprehensive developmental services to youth in the Lincoln Square Neighborhood and Upper Westside Communities through intensive outreach and engagement of hard to serve youth ages 14 to 25 to execute pathways to becoming self-sustaining adults by age 25. The position is responsible for ongoing engagement of youth employing a primary person model. While most of the programming is proactively scheduled, there is a need to be available at non-traditional hours to respond to and engage young people. Rotating presence at weekend and evening programming will be instituted as part of the strategy for engagement.

**Schedule:**35+ hours per week; base schedule 1pm to 9pm Monday to Friday and rotating Saturdays 11:30 to 4:30, Flexible – Nights and Weekends Required

**Salary Range:** $41,500 - $50,000

***Candidates must have the required qualifications to be considered for the position. The salary offer will be based on the candidate’s number of years experience in the exact or comparable position and additional preferred qualifications will be taken into account.***

## Roles, Responsibilities, and Essential Duties

**Roles, Responsibilities and Essential Duties**

1. **Outreach and Engagement**

• Regular canvasing and outreach throughout the target area
• Build trusting relationships with young people on their own terms and turf with a goal of moving towards engaging them on a meaningful pathway
• Participate in community events to identify and meet youth
• Attend resident and community meetings to build relationships
• Develop and execute activities including community events that create opportunities to engage young people
• Document encounters and develop well detailed plans for maintaining connections with youth
• In partnership with leadership, develop a strategic plan for ongoing outreach

1. **Goal-setting, Coaching, and Navigating**

• Work in partnership with individual young people to understand challenges, barriers, hopes, and dreams
• Create exposure opportunities that help young people see and experience pathways available to them
• Work with individual young people to develop goals and associated milestones
• Coach young people on a pathway to success using achievements of SMART goals
• Provide necessary supports and resources to reduce barriers to success
• Lead and coordinate small group sessions for mutual aid, positive peer support and relevant topics
• Build a comprehensive resource network necessary to support the needs and aspirations of youth and their families
• Help to build bridges in the family unit that regenerate, sustain, and grow familial supports
• Help young people to develop life skills, tangible skills, and networks of access
• Provide critical information and referrals, and ensure follow-up
• Serve as a caring and consistent mentor and adult in the lives of the young people (goal is mentoring a core group of 30)
• Document interactions and progress

1. **Crisis Response**

• Respond to emergency situations and crises as needed with guidance from supervisor. This may include hours outside of the traditional workday.
• Recognize and anticipate conditions that will result in a crisis and take steps necessary to avert the crisis
• Build a network that will aid in managing crisis.

1. In collaboration with senior management, engage in activities to support program evaluation
2. Other duties as required including participation in mandatory and voluntary trainings

**Qualifications/Educational Requirements**

• High School Equivalency or diploma preferred