Transition Workforce Specialist

Transition Workforce Specialist

SALARY: $63,564.80 to $66,913.60

TYPE OF EMPLOYMENT: Full

ISSUE DATE: 10/24/25

THE FINAL DATE TO FILE APPLICATIONS: 11/30/25

DATE THAT THIS ANNOUNCEMENT SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM POSTING: 11/30/25

RESIDENCY: Candidates must have been legal residents of Tompkins County or one of the six adjoining counties (Cayuga,

Chemung, Cortland, Schuyler, Seneca, Tioga) for at least one month immediately preceding the date of application and maintain

residency. For Examinations: The eligible list resulting from the examination will be established in accordance with the final

earned numerical ratings of passing candidates regardless of residence. A municipality or district may exercise its right under

section 23-4-a. of Civil Service Law to request a certification of eligible candidates who have been residents of that municipality

or district for at least one month prior to appointment. After the names of residents have been exhausted, Tompkins County must

then certify the names of non-residents on the list.

Tompkins County Workforce Development is hiring a Transition Workforce Specialist to empower young people ages 14-24 to

build successful careers and bright futures. As part of our WIOA Youth Program, you'll work directly with teens and young

adults, connecting them with meaningful work experiences, training opportunities, and the support they need to thrive. You will

provide case management, career guidance, and access to education and training opportunities. The program is designed to help

young people overcome barriers to employment and achieve long-term career success and self-sufficiency.

This is also more than a job—it's an opportunity to be a mentor, advocate, and champion for young people navigating their career

paths. You'll be out in the community, building relationships with youth and worksite partners across Tompkins County, creating

pathways to success, and playing a vital role in shaping the workforce of tomorrow.

This position requires regular travel to worksites throughout the county (mileage reimbursed at the government rate), so a valid

NYS driver's license and reliable personal transportation are required. If you're passionate about youth development, equity,

hands-on community engagement, and making a tangible difference, we want to hear from you You'll collaborate with a

supportive team dedicated to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Ready to help young people reach their potential? Apply today

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

(a) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered four year college or university with a Bachelor's degree;

OR

(b) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered two year college or university with a Associate's degree

or possession of at least 60 college credit hours AND two years of full-time paid (or the equivalent part-time and/or volunteer)

experience working in a public agency, not-for-profit human services agency or in an educational facility; OR

(c) Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma AND four years of full-time paid (or the

equivalent part-time and/or volunteer) experience working in a public agency, not-for-profit human services agency or in an

educational facility; OR

(d) Any combination of training and experience equal to or greater than that specified in (a), (b), and (c) above as determined by

the Commissioner of Personnel.

Tompkins County is Committed to Equity and Inclusion. We encourage those with similar values to apply.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: The successful candidate will possess a valid NYS Driver's license at the time of appointment

and maintain such license throughout the life of employment. The employee is required to use his or her own personal

transportation to perform the duties of this position. The employee will be required to travel to worksites across Tompkins

County on a weekly basis. Mileage between the office/home office and worksites will be compensated at the current government

rate.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS:

The work of the Transition Workforce Specialist is to provide transition, employment, training and support services to teens and

young adults ages 14-24 in Tompkins County. The work includes interviewing eligible young people, assessing current skills and

training needs, placing youths in work experiences at partner businesses and non-profits, providing on-going support and case

management, identifying supportive service needs and making appropriate referrals, determining eligibility for training and

education funding, assisting with job placements, and follow- up case management. A key component of this position is

relationship building and on-going communication with youth participants and worksites supervisors in the community. The

Transition Workforce Specialist works under the general direction of the Director of the Office of Employment & Training, part

of the Workforce New York system, and reports directly to the Workforce Development Coordinator, who oversees youth

employment and training services and programs. The successful applicant will be able to work independently and exercise good

judgment in interactions with fellow staff, youth clients, and volunteer worksite supervisors in the community. An employee in

this class may occasionally be required to supervise an entry level clerical worker or a youth intern, in the absence of the

Workforce Development Coordinator. The employee will be expected to work a hybrid working model, with some hours at home,

some hours in the office located in Center Ithaca, and some at local worksites across Tompkins County. The successful candidate

must demonstrate they can work autonomously and successfully in a hybrid home/office model. The incumbent will perform all

related duties as required.

TYPICAL WEEKLY WORK ACTIVITIES:

• Provides ongoing case management and follow-up services to assist in employment and workforce development;
• Communicates weekly/bi-weekly with youths and worksite partners and performs in-person worksite visits;
• Works collaboratively with youths and worksite supervisors to assure positive worksite placement outcomes and future

success of youth;

• Provides supportive services to youth including, but not limited to: referrals to counseling, assistance with transportation,

assistance with resume writing and interview preparation, etc.;

• Visits youth in person at their designated worksite;
• Performs data entry and recordkeeping;
• Creates and maintains paper files and case notes and documentation in electronic database OSOS;
• Assures all client records are in compliance with federal and state regulations governing the funding;
• Attends and participates in internal staff meetings, including meetings with Tompkins Workforce NY Director and full

staff, meetings with youth staff, and 1:1 supervision time;

• Attends youth workshops, participates as a role model, and serves as a mentor in breakout rooms;
• Reviews applications for WIOA JobLink and the Summer Youth Employment Program.(funded by Temporary

Assistance for Needy Families TANF);

• Determines eligibility for programs and makes appropriate referrals for ineligible applicants;
• Interviews eligible applicants, using a strengths-based approach;
• In collaboration with youths, discovers and evaluates client skills, interests, abilities, qualifications, needs, and systemic

barriers to employment the youth is facing;

• In collaboration with youth and host worksite, develops individual service strategy, and job training plans and assists

with goals to achieve self-sufficiency;

• Places youths at partner worksites in the community;
• Performs additional tasks including but not limited to: researching, preparing and presenting training for youth

workshops, performing outreach and recruitment (online or in person) to community referral agencies, youths, and

families, developing appropriate community worksites for youths in the public and private sector, assisting worksite

employers in developing job descriptions and training plans and processing worksite agreements;

• All other tasks as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS:

• General knowledge of systemic barriers and issues of access and equity for marginalized populations;
• Demonstrated commitment to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity, objectives put forth by Tompkins County;
• Demonstrated history forming positive relationships with populations of youths who may experience systemic barriers to

employment including populations with disabilities, homelessness, experience in the foster care system, those who did

not complete high school, those who have had contact with the justice system, and youths who are pregnant/parenting,

have substance use disorders, mental health challenges, and are from low-income households;

• Demonstrated success establishing and maintaining positive working relationships with adult community leaders from

diverse backgrounds;

• Demonstrated ability and willingness to work cooperatively in a small, supportive team environment;
• Ability and willingness to gracefully give and receive constructive feedback at work;
• Working knowledge of federal, state, and local regulations as it pertains to youth populations;
• Working knowledge of services available to youth and potential barriers to employment;
• General knowledge of local community service organizations and their programs;
• Ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with partner agencies;
• Demonstrated experience organizing work and carrying out duties autonomously;
• Demonstrated ability to write professional emails, case notes, and reports;
• Demonstrated experience researching, preparing and presenting training curricula on Zoom using Microsoft PowerPoint

Software or other presentation software;

• Experience preparing and maintaining clear and accurate reports and records;
• Demonstrated ability and comfort to efficiently operate a personal computer and smartphone;
• General knowledge of Zoom and the Microsoft 365 Suite and Cloud applications including Outlook, Calendar, Word,

Excel, People, PowerPoint, OneDrive and SharePoint;

• Demonstrated ability to learn new skills required of the changing workplace and seek out training when needed;
• Growth mindset, life-long learner.

Position Created: 04/2007

T32

FURTHER INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS

Falsification of any part of the "Application for Employment" will result in disqualification.

Accepted candidates will be notified when and where to appear for the examination. If you do not receive your notice to appear at least three days before the

date of the written examination, call Tompkins County Department of Human Resources at If an application is disapproved, due notice will be

sent. This department does not make formal acknowledgment of the receipt of an application or take responsibility for non-delivery or postal delay.

Applicants must answer every question on the application form and make sure that the application is complete in all respects. Incomplete applications will

be disapproved.

ACTIVE MILITARY PERSONNEL, VETERANS OR DISABLED VETERANS desiring to claim additional credit will request the Veterans Credits

application form, at any time between the date of application for examination(s) and the date of the establishment of the resulting eligible list. You must

meet the requirements set by NYS for these credits and they may be used only once. YOU MAY NOT CLAIM ADDITIONAL CREDITS AFTER THE

ELIGIBLE LIST HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED. IT IS THE CANDIDATE'S RESPONSIBILITY TO REQUEST THE VETERANS CREDIT

APPLICATION FORMS AND TO SUBMIT THESE FORMS AND ANY SUPPORTING PAPERWORK BEFORE THE ELIGIBLE LIST IS

ESTABLISHED.

Tompkins County's written examinations are prepared and rated by the New York State Department of Civil Service in accordance with Section 23-2 of

Civil Service Law. The provisions of the New York State Civil Service Rules and Regulations, which deal with the rating and review of the examinations

apply.

The duration of the eligible lists may be fixed for a minimum of one and a maximum of four years and may be extended beyond four years if there has been

a restriction against the filling of vacancies in that title.

The candidates must complete a separate "Application for Employment" for each open-competitive and/or promotional examination that the candidate is

eligible to take.

All experience required meeting the acceptable training and experience is full-time experience. (Part-time experience will be credited on a prorated basis).

Appointment from an eligible list must be made from the top three candidates willing to accept the appointment.

Tompkins County is an Equal Opportunity Employer. As part of its efforts to provide employment opportunities to the physically handicapped, Tompkins

County Civil Service has adopted a rule permitting the employment of qualified physically handicapped persons without competitive examination (pursuant

to Section 55 of Civil Service Law). If you meet the minimum qualifications for this position and wish to know more about this rule, please contact the

Tompkins County Department of Human Resources Office.

Unless otherwise notified, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand-held, and solar or battery powered calculators. Devices with Typewriter Keyboards,

Spell Checkers, Personal Digital Assistants, Address Books, Language Translators, Dictionaries or any similar devices are prohibited. You may not bring

books or other reference materials.

CROSS-FILING - APPLYING FOR CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATIONS IN MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS WHEN EXAMINATIONS ARE

SCHEDULED ON THE SAME DATE: When applying for examinations across multiple jurisdictions - all of which are scheduled on the same day - you

must submit a Tompkins County Cross-Filing Form. This form must be submitted no later than 4:30 PM on the final filing date of the examination. On this

form, list each examination that you are taking and then tell us where you would like to sit. The purpose is to ensure that all of the test materials for the

various examinations that you are taking will be available in one location. If you do not provide the cross-filing form to us by the final filing date, we cannot

ensure that we can accommodate your desire to cross-file. If any of the examinations are State level examinations, you must sit at the State test center. You

will still need to complete the Tompkins County cross-filing form. If sitting at the State site, the State will notify you of when and where to report for your

examination(s) and you should bring all admittance letters to the State site. If you are not taking a State examination, bring all admittance letters to your

chosen testing site. If you have any question please call Tompkins County Department of Human Resources Department The Cross File

form is located at http://www.tompkins-

FOR RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION AND HANDICAPPED PERSONS: If special arrangements for testing are required, please indicate this on

your application.

ALL CANDIDATES FOR EMPLOYMENT FOR POSITIONS IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND BOCES GOVERNED BY TOMPKINS COUNTY

CIVIL SERVICE MAY HAVE THE FOLLOWING SPECIAL REQUIREMENT. PER CHAPTER 180 OF THE LAWS OF 2000, AND BY

REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION, TO BE EMPLOYED IN A POSITION DESIGNATED BY A SCHOOL

DISTRICT OR BOCES AS INVOLVING DIRECT CONTACT WITH STUDENTS, A CLEARANCE FOR EMPLOYMENT FROM THE

STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT IS REQUIRED.

In conformance with Section 85-a of the Civil Service Law, children of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duties shall be entitled to receive

an additional ten points in a competitive examination for original appointment in the same municipality in which his or her parent has served. If you are

qualified to participate in this examination and are a child of firefighter or police officer killed in the line of duties in this municipality, please inform this

office of this matter when you submit your application for examination. A candidate claiming such credit has a minimum of two months from the

application deadline to provide the necessary documentation to verify additional credit eligibility. However, no credit may be added after the eligible list has

been established.◝

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: Applicants may be required to undergo a State and national criminal history background investigation, which will

include a fingerprint check, to determine suitability for appointment. Failure to meet the standards for the background investigation may result in

disqualification.

TOMPKINS COUNTY PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT, 125 EAST COURT STREET, ITHACA, NY 14850

Salary : $60,000 - $80,000