Employment Counselor - Merrimack Valley Career Center

Position Summary:
The Employment Counselor provides services to enable job seekers to achieve their employment goal. The employment counselor supports recruitment, conducts assessment; provides career and employment counseling; describes and determines eligibility for specific programs; delivers workshops and information sessions; advises participants on job search methods a job interview processes; maintains timely and comprehensive customer information in the Massachusetts One Stop Employment System (MOSES) database; and performs related work as required.

Essential Functions / Key Responsibilities: 

• Provide information, support, and guidance to job seekers on job search strategies, interview preparation, and overcoming barriers to employment.
• Recommend tailored courses of action to help customers become job-ready and achieve employment or training goals.
• Conduct comprehensive assessments of each customer by reviewing records, tests, and interviews to evaluate work history, transferable skills, education, interests, aptitudes, abilities, and personal characteristics and determine marketability.
• Collaborate with job seekers to develop career action plans based on assessment results, outlining necessary services like education and training to reach employment goals.
• Work as part of a team to determine customer eligibility for various programs, including WIOA, Trade, National Dislocated Worker Grants, and specialty services.
• Ensure thorough documentation and record-keeping for monitoring and compliance with DOL regulations and agency policies.
• Manage a caseload of customers, providing ongoing support and checking progress every 30 days until they achieve employment.
• Conduct counseling interviews to provide guidance, suggest strategies, and assist job seekers in reaching their occupational, educational, or vocational objectives.
• Lead career center seminars and group sessions as needed.
• Conduct RESEA reviews, including one-on-one career action plans and job search evaluations.
• Maintain accurate records of all services provided in the Massachusetts One-Stop Employment System (MOSES) for compliance monitoring.
• Explain eligibility, procedures, and benefits to customers, providing clear guidance on programs and services.
• Compile occupational and educational data for assigned industries to assist customers in determining their career and academic interests.
• Collaborate with recruiters to build candidate pipelines and match qualified candidates to job
• opportunities.
• Work closely with business services teams to understand employer needs and make appropriate referrals for job placements.
• Actively participate in career center teams, contributing ideas to enhance services for employers and job seekers and foster a positive workplace culture.
• Participate in professional development opportunities, including staff training and cross-training, to enhance functional skills and career growth.
• Must complete a CORI & SORI background check within the first thirty (30) days of employment.

Skills & Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in a related field. 
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience in workforce recruitment, workforce development, job development, human resources, or sales. 
• Strong commitment to helping residents of the Merrimack Valley achieve their employment goals, with a focus on financial stability and opportunities for growth. 
• Proficiency in computer use, including Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook). 
• Reliable transportation and a valid driver’s license are required. 
• Ability to work effectively with and meet the needs of people from a diverse range of backgrounds, cultures, and identities, including underserved communities and people from the different racial groups, socioeconomic statuses, nationalities, and languages that make up clientele, to support the agency’s mission of building a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization for employees and clients alike. 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bilingual in English and Spanish is strongly preferred. 
• Previous experience in employment and training or human resources. 
• Strong problem-solving abilities and working effectively as part of a team. 
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to prioritize tasks and manage multiple responsibilities. 
• Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.

Supervisory Responsibility: None.
 
Work Environment: This job operates in a professional office environment and uses standard office 
equipment, such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets, fax machines. This job regularly requires the employee to sit, walk and stand as well as use hands repetitively to handle or operate standard office equipment. The employee is occasionally required to kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds

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