MassHire Young Adult Career Navigator

Position Summary

MassHire Downtown Boston is seeking a Young Adult Career Navigator to deliver innovative, customer-focused workforce development services to opportunity youth (ages 18–24) at the MassHire Downtown Boston Career Center. The Young Adult Career Navigator, in collaboration with the Career Center team and youth-serving partners, will engage young adults from diverse backgrounds especially those not currently connected to school, college, or employment to explore career pathways, conduct successful job searches, and obtain employment, training, or education placements.

The Young Adult Career Navigator’s primary responsibilities include:

- Providing personalized, high-touch 1:1 career coaching virtually, onsite at MassHire Downtown Boston’s office, and offsite at partner locations in the Boston region as required.

- Recruiting and enrolling opportunity youth through warm handoffs from Boston Public Schools graduates, college stop-outs, and PIC Career Specialists, and maintaining an active caseload.

- Designing and leading welcome sessions, specialty engagement workshops, career center tours, and group/site visits tailored to young adults.

- Assisting with the creation and posting of age-appropriate materials and social media content to reach young adults and promote events, workshops, and job opportunities.

- Other duties as assigned, including but not limited to assisting with job fairs and completing administrative tasks for the Career Center.

This is a hybrid position that requires both onsite work at 75 Federal Street, Boston, MA, offsite work at partner locations in the Boston region (as assigned), and remote work from home.

Essential Job Functions

Career Coaching & Case Management:

- Maintain an active caseload through the MassHire Downtown Boston Career Center.

- Conduct comprehensive career interest and skills assessments and individualized coaching sessions for young adults with diverse backgrounds.

Advise participants on all aspects of the job search process including career exploration, networking, resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn, interviewing, negotiation, and more.

- Guide disconnected young adults toward viable education and career pathways, and facilitate placements in employment, training programs, and apprenticeships.

- Assist participants in navigating and overcoming employment barriers.

- Empower participants to articulate their unique skills and value proposition.

- Collaborate with participants to establish tangible, actionable goals, and maintain regular high-touch check-ins (monthly or bi-monthly) to ensure long-term retention and success in placements.

- Accurately identify participants’ needs and direct them to appropriate resources.

- Maintain accurate notes and records in the MOSES database and internal Excel spreadsheets.

Participant Enrollment, Outreach, & Visibility:

- Identify and recruit "Opportunity Youth" (ages 18–24), specifically those not currently connected to school, college, or employment.

- Accept and enroll warm handoffs and referrals from BPS graduates, college stop-outs, and PIC Career Specialists, prioritizing non-college-going young adults and Boston residents.

- Use BPS data and MyCAP plans to identify students without college plans and initiate contact.

- Assist with social media content to reach the target population and promote upcoming events, workshops, and job opportunities.

- Visit community partner sites and youth-serving agencies as needed to maintain a physical presence in the community.

Event Planning, Group Engagement, & Workshops:

- Design and lead recurring bi-monthly welcome/orientation sessions for new participants.

- Plan and facilitate VR-based career simulations and industry-specific webinars.

- Design and facilitate "attraction" engagement workshops annually in non-traditional settings (e.g., vision board creation, goal-setting intensives, or creative career mapping).

- Organize, host, and facilitate career center tours for high school juniors and seniors.

- Coordinate and lead group visits to employer sites or training providers to expose youth to diverse industry options.

- Engage youth in advisory panels to collect feedback for continuous program improvement.

Administrative & Reporting:

- Track all participant data enrollments, activities, and outcomes in the MOSES database and shared Excel tracking sheets.

- Document outcome metrics such as placement completion, credential attainment, and retention.

- Track detailed data for quarterly reports covering participant demographics and service numbers.

- Attend required Learning Community and Opportunity Youth Collaborative (OYC) meetings, and coordinate with partners identified by the PIC.

Other Duties (as assigned):

- Assist with monthly job fairs and other special events, providing onsite support as assigned.

- Perform general administrative tasks and special projects as requested by management to support daily Career Center operations and overall efficiency of the Career Center.

- Collaborate with partner agencies to integrate career services into their programs.

- Build relationships with employers, training providers, and partner organizations to support employment and training opportunities for participants.

Minimum Qualifications

- Associate’s degree plus two years of hands-on experience and/or training in areas such as youth development, career counseling, case management, recruitment, education, coaching, or counseling; alternatively, a comparable blend of education, training, and practical experience.

- Experience working with young adults or opportunity youth (ages 18–24) strongly preferred.

- Teaching or public speaking skills/experience required.

- Advanced computer and technology competency required. Previous experience with Microsoft Office Suite, Outlook, SharePoint, Teams, and Zoom required. Comfort with social media content creation and digital engagement tools preferred.

- Excellent organizational and communication (written and verbal) skills.

- Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills to effectively engage with individuals from diverse backgrounds (including staff, participants, and stakeholders).

- Multilingual abilities preferred but not required.

Working Conditions:

- Frequent meetings with clients.

- Frequent presentations.

- Hybrid position requires fast and reliable home internet connection.

- Travel to partner organizations in the Boston region may be required as needed.

JVS Culture

JVS is strongly committed to diversity and a workplace environment that respects, appreciates and values employee differences and similarities. By providing and supporting a work culture that fosters and builds upon diversity and its strengths, JVS will better serve our local communities and continue to provide quality services.

JVS is an employment at-will organization and an equal opportunity employer committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws. Additionally, JVS prohibits retaliation against an applicant or employee because he or she has engaged in protected activity under the statutes prohibiting discrimination in the workplace.