Description

 Job Title: Youth Counselor

Supervised By: Child & Youth Counseling Manager

Supervises: None

Classification: Part-Time (24 hours a week), Contracted, Exempt, Hourly

Start Date: June 1st 2022

End Date: September 30th 2023

ORGANIZATIONAL SUMMARY

Between Friends envisions a community without domestic violence where equality, safety, and justice exist for all. Between Friends provides a safe, supportive, and empowering environment for individuals and families in crisis. Between Friends' counselors and advocates empower individuals to make their own decisions and choices, rather than making choices for them. To address domestic violence as a community issue, Between Friends offers comprehensive prevention programs to educate youth and adults about the dynamics of healthy and unhealthy relationships and how to prevent domestic violence before it begins. To learn about our programs, go to www.betweenfriendschicago.org.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Youth Counselor position is dedicated to implementing the Expect Respect healthy relationships programming to youth in Chicago Public Schools. This is a hybrid position that serves both the Counseling and Prevention & Education departments. The Youth Counselor primarily facilitates violence prevention workshops for youth ages 12-18 who have a history of exposure to relational trauma, alongside the REACH team. Workshop curriculum takes an ecological and trauma-informed approach, is multi-session, and classroom-based. The Youth Counselor also provides crisis intervention and short-term individual counseling to students experiencing domestic or teen dating violence. During the summer, this position supports the YCare Youth Leadership program with the Prevention & Education team. Throughout the contracted period, the Youth Counselor will collaborate with the Child & Youth Counselor Manage to plan, coordinate, and execute a youth-led art show in collaboration with the YCare Student Leaders, to serve as a community awareness campaign.

RELEVANT PROGRAMS

1) Prevention and Education. The department’s REACH (Relationship Education: A Choice for Hope) program is the leading Illinois program providing comprehensive teen dating violence prevention programming. Our program seeks to create a safe space in classrooms where young people can openly express their feelings about all types of relationships; explore the root causes of violence; cultivate collaborative strategies for interpersonal violence prevention and reduction; and learn how to strengthen the social and emotional skills needed to develop healthy relationships.

2) Counseling. The Counseling department provides individual, family, and group counseling services to child, youth, and adult survivors of domestic violence. The Youth Counseling program provides domestic violence counseling services on-site at Chicago Public Schools, with youth who have experienced or are experiencing family violence or teen dating violence. Youth Counseling focuses on providing safety planning, psychoeducation, and emotional support to students, to support goals of building empowerment, a sense of self, and developing skills to navigate healthier relationships with themselves, their families, and their peers.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Direct Service and Outreach (60%)

· Co-facilitate violence prevention workshops for youth: 8 workshop sessions per week.

· Provide brief, one-on-one counseling interventions: conduct intake assessments, crisis intervention, psychoeducation, and emotional support. Expected caseload is 2-4 students per week.

· Connect youth and their families to Between Friends and community resources as needed.

· Engage young people in youth leadership activities during summer break programming.

· Conducts trainings and workshops for school communities (staff and parents) on an as-needed basis, in collaboration with Prevention & Education and Counseling teams.

· Approaches all aspects of their work with individuals and systems with cultural humility and the goal of increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Program Planning & Implementation (20%)

· Collaborate with Prevention & Education team to strategically develop, implement, and evaluate the Expect Respect prevention program, including curriculum development, youth leadership efforts, data and evaluation, and community outreach.

· Coordinate the planning and execution of youth-led art show in August 2023. This includes identifying gallery locations, coordinating gallery partnership, managing

materials, engaging youth participation, and working with youth leaders to execute gallery opening night event.

· Collaborate with Prevention & Education team to develop, implement, and evaluate summer youth leadership programming.

· Develop and maintain relationships with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), Chicago Community in Schools (CCIS), and other community organizations.

· Attend and actively participate in program, departmental, and staff meetings.

Administrative (15%)

· Maintains updated and accurate case documentation and inputs into web-based data system (Infonet).

· Submits required information for monthly and quarterly statistical and qualitative reporting measures.

· Assists with the collection, entry, and analysis of program evaluation data.

· Participates in individual clinical supervision with Child & Youth Counseling Manager.

General (5%)

· Follows all Counseling and Support Services Program policies and procedures to ensure compliance with agency, funder, and contract standards/requirements.

· Adheres to Between Friends’ Guiding Values, Mission, Core Competencies, Standard of Conduct and Confidentiality Policy.

· Staffs the crisis line on an as-needed basis.

· Participates in agency events, as needed, or required.

· Perform and complete other duties as assigned.

· Provides services as determined by Board of Director’s policies.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

· Must be able to communicate clearly and accurately to convey information using the English language, both verbally and in writing.

· The ability to hear and comprehend dialogue spoken at appropriate “dinner table conversation” levels.

· Visual acuity capable of drafting, editing, reviewing, and/or comprehending materials in a standard typeface size 10 font or above, are required.

· Be capable of sitting and standing for extended periods of time.

· With reasonable accommodation, this position requires the manual dexterity to sufficiently operate phones, computers, and other office equipment.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

· This position will be hybrid on-site and remote work hours. Organization laptop provided.

· This position may be fully virtual dependent on local and agency mandates.

· This position requires frequent travel to schools in various Chicago communities across the north, south, and west sides. Having access to a car is preferred but not required. Reliable transportation is required.

· The organization’s office location for this position is in a professional office environment that is not fully accessible: a 3-floor building with stairs available to move between floors and a ramp is available in one of the building entrances.

· Workplace is a smoke- and drug-free environment.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

Education

· MSW or MA degree in a social work or counseling-related field.

· Licensure preferred but not required (LPC/LCPC or LMSW/LCSW).

· 40-hour domestic violence training preferred, (required upon hire).

Experience

· Experience and Skills– At least two years of experience providing counseling services to individuals, families and/or groups preferred.

· Previous experience with domestic violence preferred.

· Previous experience with group facilitation and public speaking preferred.

Skills

· Well organized: able to navigate multiple priorities at once, maintains flexibility in a work environment, able to hold responsibility for a diverse number of projects and complete them in a timely manner with limited supervision.

· Knowledge relevant to counseling youth: youth development, counseling modalities appropriate for youth, effects of abuse and trauma on youth.

· Works well as a team member: demonstrates collaborative approach, provides support, and gives and receives productive feedback in interpersonal interactions.

· Excellent communication and listening skills: build rapport easily with youth, capacity to discuss complicated topics such as teen dating violence, professional-level verbal, and written communication.

· Cultural humility: responds appropriately to the cultural differences present among the organization's service population, staff, and self; sensitive and adaptive to various racial, ethnic, and social backgrounds, beliefs, and values; practices intersectional equity.

· Technology literacy: experience in word processing, publication design, and spreadsheet experience required.

COMPENSATION AND WORK SCHEDULE

· This position is compensated at a rate of $22.00/hour.

· Weekly schedule is 24 hours per week across minimum of 3 weekdays. Thursday availability is required.

· Contract is for the period of June 1st, 2022 until September 30th 2023.

· All required training will be provided by the organization and included during paid-work hours: domestic violence (as needed), A Windows Between Worlds therapeutic art program, and Expect Respect program.

TO APPLY

· Submit thoughtful cover letter including why you are interested and qualified for this position, resume, and salary requirement to: careers@betweenfriendschicago.org.

· Please write your name (Last, First) and Youth Counselor in the subject line of your e-mail.

· Incomplete applications will not be accepted.

· Must pass all required criminal history and DCFS background checks. Must be cleared to work at Chicago Public Schools.

Between Friends is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Decisions and criteria governing the employment relationship with all employees are made in a non-discriminatory manner, without regard to race, ethnicity, creed, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, citizenship status, military service and/or marital status, order of protection status, handicap, disability, or any other factor determined to be unlawful by federal, state, or local statutes.