Employment Specialist - Spokane - Career Path Services

Description

Are you ready to help clients break the spirit of poverty through the dignity of work?
As an Employment Specialist, that's just what you'll do.
Career Path Services is looking for an Employment Specialist in Spokane to join our team as an ambassador of hope on our Home Team based in Spokane WorkSource. On any given day, you'll work to build a stronger community by helping job seekers eliminate barriers and connect to employment, and by helping employers find the talent they need for their businesses to grow and thrive. You'll conduct community outreach to increase awareness of workforce services by attending job fairs, community events, school functions, and partner meetings, representing WorkSource Spokane and promoting available programs, workshops, and employment opportunities. In addition, you'll provide career coaching onsite at the WorkSource center, remotely, and at community-based locations, delivering individualized employment support, workshops, and resource navigation directly where job seekers live, learn, and access services.
This Position will be full time and will be hybrid (remote and in-person) at Spokane WorkSource.
Career Path Services values the power of experience and perspective, and endeavors to build upon this vital strength. We are passionate about building and sustaining a working environment of belonging for all of our staff and customers. We believe every member on our team enriches our culture by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design, and deliver solutions. We are committed to attracting, recruiting, retaining and advancing an engaged team that is responsive to the needs of our diverse clients.
ABOUT THE JOB
The major responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to:

• Initial Engagement: Reach and invite customers to apply for services. Conduct employer and participant outreach and recruitment, orientation and eligibility determination, initial assessment, and service plan development.
• Performance and Continuous Improvement Strategies: Understand the program performance measures and customizes retention services to ensure a good return on investment. Utilize customer satisfaction surveys to gather customer feedback throughout participation and at program completion to evaluate the quality of services.
• Data Entry: Conduct timely, accurate and complete data input for registrations and enrollments, status changes, exits/terminations and post exit MIS in the division's operating system.
• Provide Comprehensive Services: Initial contact, interviewing, assessing customers to determine work readiness/employability, offering information about service/training options and community-based resources, engaging seekers into appropriate pathway services suited to their individual needs and/or facilitating handoff to one-on-one services provided by program staff. Create goal setting specific to customer's needs.
• Track Program Progress: Work to reduce wait time, eliminate lines and connect job seekers to value added services as quickly as possible, track customer activity. Stay current on all WorkSource programs, workshops, and activities and refers guests to appropriate resources as needed.
• Network: Develop, expand, and maintain working relationships with partners, employers, and fund sources that achieve desired outcomes by identifying needs, developing solutions, establishing goals, and executing plans. Timely, consistent, and professional communication is essential to the success of the program.
• Digital Tools: Applies proactive, tech-driven problem solving to independently research, troubleshoot, and leverage digital tools and AI to improve workflows and support organizational objectives.
• Outreach: At community events, job fairs, and partner organizations to promote services and connect job seekers with employment and training opportunities. Builds relationships with employers and community partners to expand service reach and support client success.
• Career Coaching: Conducts onsite career coaching at remote, satellite, and community locations to expand service reach and meet job seekers where they are, in addition to working at the center.

CORE COMPETENCIES
We look for individuals who exhibit our organizational core competencies and who have the knowledge of, or ability to learn the key technical competencies and skills for this job.
Technical Competencies and Skills

• Ability to develop excellent customer relationships as well as assess needs, meet standards for service and evaluate customer satisfaction.
• Exceptional communication and writing skills.
• Ability to adapt to business needs and work well under pressure.
• Ability to organize individual work tasks and outcomes and meet deadlines.
• Effective problem-solving and conflict resolution skills.
• Ability to apply strong digital and AI proficiency to solve problems, streamline processes, and work self directed in a fast paced environment.
• Effective customer engagement skills including the ability to initiate contact, build rapport quickly, and use persuasive communication strategies to promote services and drive engagement.
• Ability to provide career coaching and employment services in remote or community-based settings by operating independently, adapting to diverse environments, and using mobile technology and digital tools to deliver consistent, high-quality support to job seekers.
• Ability to represent WorkSource Spokane at local events to promote available programs, workshops, and employment opportunities.
• Ability to work independently research answers, troubleshoot challenges, and apply technology to streamline workflows, enhance productivity, and support organizational goals.

Organizational Core Values

• Integrity: Stay true to our mission, purpose, and vision; act in harmony with our beliefs and values; gain trust while respecting boundaries; keep commitments, hold ourselves and others accountable.
• Courage: Take smart risks and challenge status quo; challenge actions inconsistent with organization's values; speak up, even when uncomfortable; perform heroic actions advocating for those the organization serves.
• Generosity: Extend hospitality, appreciation, and have dedication to serve others; seek what is best for the organization rather than self; act humbly; treat everyone with kindness and dignity.
• Visionary: Embrace an entrepreneurial spirit; pioneer new ideas and demonstrate curiosity; embrace failure to break boundaries and learn rapidly; be willing to do things differently; adapt and stay nimble by finding time to simplify.
• Leadership: Humbly guide and lead others to make a positive difference; contribute to the larger good; share knowledge; commit self and others to professional growth; be a life-long learner; engage in open, honest communication.
• Excellence: Perform with integrity to ensure accurate and competent results with a positive impact; extend beyond minimum expectations; consider other points of view; think critically and problem solve by identifying root causes; show unity through teamwork.

EXPERIENCE/POSITION REQUIREMENTS
Required

• High School Diploma or GED
• Minimum one-year of experience working with workforce development, social services, job placement, job development, sales, job coaching, employment and training, or related field.
• Advanced use of Microsoft Word, Outlook and Excel.
• Use of organizational communication and project management tools such as Slack, Monday, Jotform and Trello.
• Familiar with Customer Relationship Managment (CRM) Systems, such as Efforts to Outcomes (ETO), HubSpot, or others.
• Flexibility in working some evening and/or weekend hours
• Must be able to work in a culturally diverse and fast-paced environment and demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity and cultural competency.

Preferred

• Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Human Resources, Social Work, Communication,
  Workforce Development, Psychology, or Sociology.
• Certified Workforce Development Professional (CWDP).
• Demonstrated success in a performance-based system and one-year of experience working with
  employers, job placement, job development, sales, workforce development, job coaching, employment,
  and training.
• Demonstrated success working with people from a variety of backgrounds which may include disabilities,
  criminal history, homeless, family violence, poverty, etc.
• Experience in public speaking and presentations to a diverse community.
BENEFITS
In the spirit of generosity for our employees, we have developed a leading benefit package to attract employees, take care of them while working for us, and to ensure they can in turn take care of their families:
• Leading health care package, including medical with both F.S.A. and H.S.A. options, dental, and vision
• Basic Life and AD&D Insurance, Short Term Disability, and Long Term Disability Insurance
• Voluntary/supplemental group term life insurance, group AD&D insurance, hospital indemnity coverage, accident coverage, critical illness coverage, legal coverage, and identity theft coverage
• 403(b) Retirement Plan with a leading employer discretionary contribution
• Paid Vacation (accrue 12 hours/month), Sick (accrue 8 hours/month), Bereavement, Jury Duty and Military Leave
• 13 Paid Holidays, including a Floating Holiday and a Birthday Holiday
• Internet Reimbursement Allowance and Personal Development Reimbursement Allowances
• Tuition Reimbursement program and a qualified employer for the Federal Loan Forgiveness Program
ABOUT CAREER PATH SERVICES
Career Path Services is a workforce development and employment training 501(c)3 nonprofit headquartered in Spokane, WA. As an organization, we pride ourselves in being a part of our community and truly enriching the community we work in. We value our diverse team-based environments while recognizing the creativity and initiative of individuals. Career Path Services is committed to honoring our employees' service to our mission and values by providing continuous training and development opportunities. We have been honored to be named a top 50 Best Nonprofits to Work For by the Nonprofit Times seven years in a row, and are more than proud of our employees who make this happen. Our amazing employees make us a great place to work because of their high character and competence.
Career Path Services is an equal opportunity employer. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to persons of disability. TTY relay Career Path Services receives support and funding from federal grants. Read more about federal grant funding at
Empowering All People. Enhancing an Equitable Workforce. Enriching Diverse Communities.
Job: Employment Specialist - Home Team
Primary Location: Spokane WorkSource
Salary: Salary range for job offer: $53,000-59,000 annually, DOE, plus benefits. Full annual salary range for lifetime of position: $53,000-78,000.