Intake Coordinator

Job Description

Position:

Intake Coordinator

Department:

Workforce Development

Reports to:

Director of Workforce Innovation & Solutions

Status:

Full-Time / Exempt (salaried) or Part-Time (classified)

Hours

Full – Time – 40 hours per week / Some evenings and weekends, as needed

Hours of Operation:

Monday – Friday 8am-5pm.

Organizational Description.

North Lawndale Employment Network is a comprehensive workforce development agency on Chicago’s West Side dedicated to advancing the economic outcomes of the community’s residents through innovative employment initiatives, including our social enterprises. In August 2021, North Lawndale Employment Network transitioned to a new campus which features a premier community café for residents and stakeholders.

Our Mission.

To improve the earning potential of the North Lawndale community through innovative employment initiatives that lead to economic advancement and an improved quality of life for residents.

Opportunity.

Create a seamless pathway into opportunity.

The Intake Coordinator transforms complex eligibility and documentation requirements into a welcoming, supportive enrollment experience. By expertly guiding participants through every step of the intake process and managing the complexities of compliance with precision, this role removes administrative barriers so participants can focus on what's possible. Every interaction leaves participants feeling seen, supported, and excited about the opportunities ahead as they begin building a path toward meaningful employment and lasting economic mobility.

Key Responsibilities

Guide Participants Through Enrollment

Create a welcoming, organized, and supportive intake experience that converts interested prospects into enrolled participants by seamlessly navigating intake while building confidence in the future they can create for themselves.

• Conduct intake assessments to evaluate participant eligibility, program fit, goals, and barriers to employment.
• Guide participants through enrollment requirements – including eligibility verification, documentation, CASAS testing, and orientation - making a complex process feel simple and manageable.
• Coordinate onboarding activities and ongoing communication so participants understand what to expect and what comes next.
• Foster an experience that leaves participants feeling welcomed, supported, clear on the opportunities available to them, and excited to begin building their future.

Build an Audit-Ready Participant Records System

Create and maintain meticulous participant records that meet organizational, funder, and regulatory requirements while making documentation easy and frictionless for participants.

• Collect, verify, and maintain complete eligibility, enrollment, assessment, consent, and participant documentation.
• Maintain accurate, timely, and confidential participant records across Salesforce and other required data systems.
• Ensure participant files are complete, compliant, and audit-ready while meeting organizational and funder standards.
• Coordinate required drug screening documentation and chain-of-custody procedures in accordance with organizational policies.
• Monitor documentation quality, resolve discrepancies, and support audits and compliance reviews.

Accelerate Participant Readiness

Prepare participants to begin workforce programming with confidence and commitment by removing barriers to participation, coordinating supportive services, and maintaining engagement from enrollment through the first day of training.

• Identify barriers that could prevent participants from successfully beginning the program and coordinate timely solutions.
• Partner with the Financial Opportunity Center and other internal staff to coordinate supportive services and community resources that strengthen participant readiness.
• Maintain ongoing communication between enrollment and Day One to answer questions, reinforce expectations, and sustain participant engagement.
• Ensure participants understand what to expect, what they need to bring, and how to prepare for a successful first day of training.
• Foster excitement, confidence, and a sense of possibility so participants arrive ready to fully engage in their workforce journey.

Strengthen the Intake Experience

Continuously improve how participants enter NLEN by refining systems, strengthening collaboration, and creating a more seamless, engaging, and effective enrollment journey.

• Identify opportunities to improve intake processes, participant communication, and operational efficiency.
• Contribute to process improvements that simplify enrollment and reduce administrative friction while maintaining compliance and documentation quality.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to strengthen participant transitions and improve readiness for program launch.
• Share insights and best practices that enhance the participant experience and support organizational learning.

Qualifications & Skills

• Education & Experience: High school diploma or equivalent required; Associate degree preferred. One to three years of experience in participant intake, workforce development, human services, customer service, case management support, or related field.
• Participant Engagement: Exceptional customer service and relationship-building skills with the ability to create a welcoming, participant-centered experience for individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• Empathy & Professionalism: Demonstrates empathy, patience, professionalism, and discretion when guiding participants through sensitive conversations and complex eligibility and documentation requirements.
• Organization & Attention to Detail: Strong organizational skills with meticulous attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining accurate, complete, and audit-ready participant records.
• Compliance & Sound Judgment: Ability to interpret eligibility requirements, apply policies and procedures consistently, and maintain compliance with organizational, funder, and regulatory standards.
• Technology & Data Management: Proficiency with Microsoft Office and data management systems; experience with Salesforce or similar case management platforms and/or willingness to learn how to use data management systems.
• Transportation: Valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and proof of insurance to support required specimen transport.

NLEN Core Values

Neighborhood-focused employment initiatives are fundamental.

Successful programs are neighborhood-focused and community-driven so they meet the specific needs of individuals.

Quality of work matters.

People who work hard should not be poor. A full-time job must meet basic needs and offer conditions for engagement, advancement, and respect.

Economic mobility is essential to reducing poverty.

Family supporting wages and financial literacy are core to addressing economic insecurity, which disproportionally affects African American, Latino, and other families of color. Economic insecurity is not only impacting the poor; it has grown to threaten the middle class. Self-employment and entrepreneurship are critically important economic mobility strategies to generate income and boost household finances.

We must address the racial wealth gap and social inequality.

The United States’ history of racially charged public policy has created the modern racial wealth divide not just through the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow, but through the more recent race-based discrimination in hiring, housing subsidies, tax subsidies, and veteran benefits as well as other implicitly and explicitly racist public policies.

Everyone deserves human dignity and empowerment.

To uphold this belief, we do all of our work in a manner that values human dignity and eliminates shame, humiliation, and stigma by building on the strengths that help our participants and community survive loss and trauma and rebalance the power dynamic between participants and authority figures.