Employer Outreach and Alumni Specialist

CAREER DETAILS:

CAREER TITLE: Employer Outreach and Alumni Specialist

LOCATION: AYW Headquarters, Austin, TX

DIVISION: Administration

DEPARTMENT: Conservation Corps

POSITION REPORTS TO: Conservation Corps Director

POSITION SUPERVISES: None

CLASSIFICATION: Regular, Full-Time, Non-Exempt

POSITION PURPOSE:

The Employer Outreach and Alumni Specialist supports American YouthWorks’ Conservation Corps by strengthening recruitment, member engagement, alumni connections, and post-service career-pathway efforts. This position helps build consistent outreach systems, engages current and former participants as ambassadors and peer connectors, supports alumni tracking and communication, and helps participants translate their service experience into career, education, and continued service opportunities. The Employer Outreach and Alumni Specialist works closely with Conservation Corps program staff, participant support staff, strategic partnerships staff, communications, and external partners to create stronger connections between outreach, member experience, alumni engagement, employer and education partnerships, and post-service outcomes, ensuring participants and alumni remain connected to AYW and have access to meaningful next-step opportunities. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND BASIC DUTIES:

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions and basic tasks. Under the direct supervision of the Conservation Corps Director, the Employer Outreach and Alumni Specialist will perform the following functions:

1. Employer Outreach and Recruitment Support
   1. Support outreach and recruitment efforts for Conservation Corps programs across assigned regions or operating sites.
   2. Build and maintain relationships with community organizations, schools, workforce partners, public agencies, youth-serving organizations, and other referral partners.
   3. Represent AYW at outreach events, career fairs, community meetings, partner events, and recruitment activities.
   4. Assist in developing and maintaining culturally responsive, accessible, and youth-centered outreach materials.
   5. Coordinate with program staff to understand upcoming crew needs, recruitment priorities, eligibility requirements, and service term timelines.
   6. Help identify underrepresented or underserved populations and recommend outreach strategies to improve access and participation.
   7. Support current participants and alumni in serving as peer ambassadors for recruitment and outreach activities.
   8. Track outreach activities, referral sources, event contacts, and recruitment outcomes.
2. Alumni Engagement and Communication
   1. Develop and maintain consistent communication with Conservation Corps alumni through email, phone, text, surveys, events, newsletters, and other approved communication methods.
      
   2. Support the development of an alumni engagement structure, including alumni contact lists, outreach calendars, alumni spotlights, peer mentor opportunities, and alumni events.
   3. Identify alumni who may be willing to serve as mentors, guest speakers, recruitment ambassadors, employer connectors, or advisory group participants.
   4. Coordinate alumni participation in outreach events, employer panels, member trainings, and career exploration activities.
   5. Work with communications staff to collect alumni stories, career pathway examples, photos, testimonials, and impact narratives.
   6. Help create “you served here, now here’s what’s next” messaging that keeps alumni connected to AYW after their service term.
   7. Support the development of alumni feedback loops to better understand the member experience and post-service needs.
3. Corpsmember Career Pathway Support
   1. Support participants in identifying post-service goals related to employment, education, training, continued service, or certifications.
   2. Help participants translate their service experience into career language for resumes, interviews, applications, and professional conversations.
   3. Coordinate career exposure opportunities such as employer panels, alumni talks, job shadowing opportunities, partner site visits, and career readiness workshops.
   4. Assist members with basic career readiness activities, including resume preparation, interview practice, application support, and professional communication.
   5. Connect participants to internal staff or external partners for additional support when barriers arise.
   6. Support the development and use of career pathway tools, alumni career maps, and member transition resources.
      
   7. Help ensure post-service planning begins early in the service term rather than only near exit.
      
4. Post-Service Follow-Up and Outcome Tracking
   1. Conduct regular post-service follow-up with alumni to gather information about employment, education, continued service, certifications, wages, career interests, and support needs.
   2. Track alumni outcomes in approved AYW systems and maintain accurate, timely, and confidential records.
   3. Support the development of consistent alumni outcome tracking practices across Conservation Corps sites.
   4. Identify trends in alumni outcomes, barriers, and opportunities and share information with program leadership.
      
   5. Help connect alumni to job openings, education or training opportunities, partner referrals, and AYW engagement opportunities.
      
   6. Support post-placement check-ins during key transition periods, such as 30, 60, and 90 days after exit or placement, as assigned.
      
   7. Assist with reporting needs related to alumni engagement, recruitment, career pathways, and post-service outcomes.
      
5. Partner and Employer Engagement Support
   
   1. Coordinate with Strategic Partnerships and program leadership to identify employers, education partners, training providers, workforce boards, public agencies, and community partners relevant to corpsmember career pathways.
      
   2. Help maintain partner contact information, referral processes, meeting notes, and career pathway opportunities.
      
   3. Support employer and education partner participation in member-facing activities, including presentations, mock interviews, job fairs, and hiring events.
      
   4. Help identify alumni working in target sectors who may be able to connect current members to opportunities.
      
   5. Assist with gathering employer feedback about skills, credentials, and experience that would make participants more competitive candidates.
      
   6. Support the transition from project-based partnerships to stronger career pathway partnerships.
      
6. Corpsmember Voice and Leadership
   
   1. Support systems for gathering corpsmember and alumni feedback through surveys, listening sessions, check-ins, focus groups, or advisory groups.
      
   2. Help coordinate corpsmember or alumni advisory activities, as assigned.
      
   3. Encourage meaningful corpsmember and alumni participation in program improvement, outreach, and leadership opportunities.
      
   4. Assist with documenting feedback themes and sharing recommendations with appropriate staff.
      
   5. Help close the feedback loop by communicating how member and alumni input informs program changes when appropriate.
      
7. Data, Documentation, and Compliance
   
   1. Maintain accurate records of outreach contacts, alumni engagement, career pathway support, partner referrals, and post-service outcomes.
      
   2. Use approved AYW systems to document interactions, activities, outcomes, and follow-up needs.
      
   3. Protect confidential participant and alumni information and follow all organizational policies regarding privacy and data security.
      
   4. Support timely reporting for grants, internal dashboards, program reviews, and leadership updates.
      
   5. Help improve data quality and consistency related to recruitment, alumni engagement, and post-service outcomes.
      
   6. Participate in training related to data systems, compliance expectations, participant confidentiality, and reporting standards.
      
8. Perform other duties as assigned
   

QUALIFICATIONS:

Minimum Required

EDUCATION/CERTIFICATION:

• High School Diploma or equivalent required.
• Associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree in social work, education, communications, workforce development, nonprofit management, public administration, human services, environmental studies, or related field preferred.
  
• Equivalent lived experience, national service experience, workforce experience, or directly related professional experience may substitute for formal education
  

EXPERIENCE:

• Minimum of two years of related experience preferred in one or more of the following areas:
  
• Youth or young adult development; AmeriCorps, Conservation Corps, or national service; workforce development or career services; alumni engagement or community outreach; recruitment or enrollment support; case management or participant support; nonprofit program coordination; or employer, education, or community partner engagement.
  
• Prior AmeriCorps, Conservation Corps, YouthBuild, or similar service program experience is strongly preferred.
  

EQUIVALENT:

• A combination of education, employment, national service, lived experience, and directly related skills may be considered in lieu of formal education or experience requirements.

Preferred 

EDUCATION / CERTIFICATION: 

• Associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree in social work, education, communications, workforce development, nonprofit management, public administration, human services, environmental studies, youth development, or a related field.
• Training, coursework, or certification in workforce development, career navigation, youth development, trauma-informed care, culturally responsive practice, case management, community outreach, alumni engagement, volunteer management, AmeriCorps, Conservation Corps, or related field.
  

EXPERIENCE:

• Experience with Conservation Corps, AmeriCorps, YouthBuild, workforce development, public lands, environmental service, or youth-serving programs.
• Experience supporting young adults who face barriers related to transportation, housing, income, justice involvement, education, employment, or access to professional networks.
• Experience building alumni networks, peer ambassador programs, advisory groups, mentorship programs, or participant leadership opportunities.
  
• Experience supporting resume development, interview preparation, job readiness, career exploration, post-program transition, or post-service placement.
  
• Experience conducting outreach, recruitment, community engagement, partner coordination, or referral-building activities.
  
• Experience using databases, spreadsheets, CRM systems, tracking tools, or other data systems to document contacts, activities, and outcomes.
  
• Bilingual ability in English and Spanish preferred.
  
• Familiarity with trauma-informed, culturally responsive, strengths-based, and youth-centered practices.

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES (KSA) Knowledge of youth development, workforce, and career-readiness practices, community outreach, alumni engagement, participant outcome tracking, confidentiality, and barriers affecting young adults. This position regularly requires communicating in person and through telephone, video, email, and written materials; operating computers and other tech devices. The employee may occasionally bend, reach, stoop, and lift, carry, push, or pull materials weighing up to 25 pounds. Work may be performed remotely or in offices, program sites, and occasionally outdoors in varying weather conditions. The regular schedule is generally Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., with an unpaid one-hour lunch.

BENEFITS: Paid personal and sick leave; medical and dental benefits, employer-paid insurance benefits, and a 403(b) retirement plan with employer contributions. Eligibility, terms, and availability are governed by current AYW policies and applicable plan documents.

For complete position details, including additional KSAs and benefits information, contact Human Resources at: hr@ayw.org

EOE

Salary : $23 - $25