What are the responsibilities and job description for the Lead Youth Specialist (54945) position at YSS?
YSS is looking for an enthusiastic, compassionate, and confident Lead Youth Specialist to join our Emergency Shelter Team!
In this role, you’re more than a shift lead—you’re the steady presence that keeps everything moving, even when things get unpredictable. You’ll guide staff, support youth, and help create a safe, structured environment where young people can stabilize, reset, and feel respected.
As a Lead, you’ll lead staff through each shift, making real-time decisions that prioritize safety, well-being, and positive outcomes. You’ll balance leadership with hands-on support—mentoring staff, responding to crises, and building meaningful connections with the youth in your care.
You’ll help shape each day by creating structure, ensuring basic needs are met, and fostering an environment that is both safe and supportive. You’ll also serve as a key point of connection for clients and their families, helping navigate what can often be stressful and uncertain situations.
What You'll Do...
- Lead Youth Specialists each shift, guiding decision-making around client safety, escalations, and off-site activities
- Plan and coordinate shifts, delegating supervision, group facilitation, and med management
- Mentor and train staff to ensure consistency and confidence in their roles
- Act as liaison between floor staff and on-call leadership during crises or emergencies
- Provide direct supervision of clients, ensuring their safety, whereabouts, and well-being at all times
- Respond to crises with calm, effective intervention
- Complete and oversee all documentation, including client logs, intakes, discharges, and incident reports
- Facilitate group sessions and recreational activities that promote engagement and growth
- Support client basic needs and coordinate or provide medical care as necessary
- Receive referral and placement calls and support intake procedures
- Maintain knowledge of community resources to assist client needs
This is not a complete list of the responsibilities of this position. Duties may change at any time.
What We Provide...
We believe in your potential, we meet you where you are, and we invest in your future. Beyond the meaningful work, YSS provides the following benefits:
- Supportive leadership team and mission-driven culture.
- Flexibility and autonomy in a collaborative environment.
- Competitive salary
- Comprehensive benefits.
- Health insurance
- Voluntary dental insurance
- Voluntary vision insurance
- Life insurance and long-term disability coverage
- Supplemental accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity insurance
- Professional liability insurance coverage
- Flexible spending account/health savings account
- Supplemental compensation award
- Generous Paid Time off and Leave
- Four weeks of paid time off (PTO)
- Volunteer time off
- Paid holiday leave
- Birthday holiday
- Wellness Program Opportunities
- Paid membership to the Athletic Club of Ames
- Employee Assistance Program for all employees
- Flu shots
- Mental health support
- YSS is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness qualified employer.
- 403(b) retirement offerings
If this sounds like work you’d be proud to do—and a team you’d want to grow with—we’d love to hear from you. Let’s do meaningful work, together.
Qualifications:
We want to create a world where youth are valued and empowered to stand strong. To do this, we ask our staff to embrace YSS core values - Commitment, Collaboration, Compassion, Innovation, Integrity, and a “Can Do” Spirit. Additionally, we ask for the following:
MUST HAVES - Required Qualifications
- A bachelor’s degree in human services or similar field
- One year of related experience.
- Travel, including transporting clients, is required for this position. For YSS insurance purposes, you must:
- be 21 years of age,
- have a valid, state-issued, driver's license,
- have a clean driving record, and
- have adequate insurance coverage per YSS policy.
SHOULD HAVES - Preferred Qualifications
- Experience directing/monitoring the work of others.
- Professional or personal experience with shelter facilities.
- Understands the needs of young people experiencing housing instability or crisis.
- Ability to communicate, verbally and non-verbally, with excellent observational, listening, speaking, and writing skills.
- Ability to collaborate and able to work effectively with others regardless of backgrounds, identities, and status.
The IDEAL candidate:
- Be rooted in purpose and driven by equity, inclusion, and positive social impact.
- Bring humility, respect, and cultural awareness to every interaction.
- Speaks a language in addition to English (especially one spoken in our communities).
Who You Are...
You are calm under pressure, decisive, and compassionate. You lead with confidence, support your team, and keep youth safe while fostering respect and structure. You thrive in fast-paced environments, act quickly in crises, and approach every challenge with empathy and focus.
We Celebrate Your Story...
Have you navigated recovery from addiction, mental health challenges, trauma, or housing instability? Your lived experience offers a unique, compassionate perspective that can inspire real change. By sharing your story and serving as a role model or mentor, you can make a meaningful impact in the lives of youth and families. Your journey matters. If you’re ready to use it to uplift and empower others, we warmly encourage you to apply.
Who We Are...
We’re YSS - one of Iowa’s oldest & largest nonprofits dedicated to putting kids first. Our mission? To spark hope, create opportunities, and help young people thrive. With life-changing programs, an enthusiastic leadership team, and our brand-new 50-acre recovery campus, we’re growing fast and thinking big. Check us out at yss.org!
At YSS, we celebrate the unique backgrounds, identities, and experiences that each team member brings. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we’re dedicated to creating a respectful, inclusive, and empowering environment where everyone can grow and succeed. And we’re always working to do better together.
YSS is a nicotine-free workplace.
Heads Up! Don’t Miss Our Messages! - We communicate with applicants via email - straight from our Paycom system. So be sure to keep an eye on your inbox (and your spam/junk folder too). Got questions? Email yss@yss.org - we’re happy to help!
The YSS Hiring Process
- Apply - Fill out the online app at yss.org/ysscareers.
- Assessment - We’ll check out your skills and experience.
- Interview - Phone, video, or in-person - we’ll chat and get to know you.
- References - Send us three people who can sing your praises.
- Screening - Background and driving checks (plus license verification if needed).
- Offer - If it’s a match, you’ll get a formal offer through Paycom.
Salary : $18 - $26