Careers Job Description
General Description
The Director of Career Pathways will be responsible for a suite of programs and services for people with lived experience in the justice system that increase their access to employment and professional advancement, with a particular focus on human services jobs and careers. The Director will develop and deliver trainings and certificate programs for individuals with lived experience in the justice system to increase their employability (soft skills) and foundational job skills (hard skills), partnering as appropriate with consultants who are subject matter experts, John Jay faculty, and other PRI staff. The Director will build capacity for individuals who have been involved in the criminal justice system to draw on that experience in the service of helping other people change their lives. The Director will also develop content and resource materials and deliver trainings for practitioners in the criminal justice field and workforce development professionals. Through these activities and other opportunities that arise over time, the Director will build capacity and effectiveness of those providing employment services for people with justice system involvement. The Director will take a dynamic, collaborative approach to the creation of new training programs and resources, thus ensuring buy-in from an array of internal and external stakeholders.
About Career Pathways
The Career Pathways team will advance PRI’s mission by increasing access to employment and career pathways for people who have been involved in the criminal justice system. CP will have a special focus on the field of human services jobs and careers for people with lived experience in the justice system through a scaffolded approach to professional development for individuals and their supervisors. Career Pathways will offer services directly to participants within PRI as well as to workforce professionals seeking to be more effective with people with criminal histories. CP staff will partner with other PRI staff to improve workforce outcomes for students pursuing higher education who have had contact with the justice system.
CP will support PRI’s efforts to bridge the worlds of workforce development, higher education, and criminal justice reform:
- bringing the best practices of workforce development to PRI and other practitioners working in criminal justice organizations, and incorporating evidence-based risk reduction strategies into workforce development
- teaching workforce development policymakers and practitioners about the particular concerns of justice-involved individuals seeking employment/advancement
- assisting institutions of higher education as they seek to provide career services for their students who have been involved in the justice system.
Serving students and participants across all of PRI, Career Pathways will foster the beliefs and behaviors that lead to workforce success for individuals whose lives have been impacted by the justice system. From the work of direct service to individuals, CP will surface the policy issues that, when resolved, will mean greater workforce access and success. CP work will therefore inform PRI policy advocacy, and CP staff will partner with other PRI staff on a range of policy, educational, and other efforts.
Other Duties
The CP Director will:
- Develop and deliver a suite of certificate training programs for people with lived experience in the justice system, including Navigator Certificate training, introductory technology training, technology for human services training, and training for supervisors of people with lived experience in the justice system. Responsibilities include participation in curriculum development (in partnership with other PRI staff or consultants and other stakeholders), recruitment and enrollment of training participants, coordinating participant support and retention services, and providing post-training placement services.
- Deliver and/or manage job readiness, job development, and job placement services for PRI students and participants, directly and/or through the training of other staff to provide these services.
- Assist with the development of training content and delivery for workforce development professionals and other practitioners who provide employment services for justice-involved individuals. Responsibilities include managing content development for online modules and in-person training, as well as overseeing training delivered by other staff or consultants.
- Work closely with multiple stakeholders to achieve program goals, including John Jay administrators and faculty, CUNY colleagues, expert trainers and other consultants.
- With guidance from the PRI Director of Program Monitoring and Evaluation, develop data collection and reporting mechanisms for all Career Pathways initiatives. Develop and implement Excel spreadsheets for immediate data collection and reporting. Contribute to the creation of agency-wide Salesforce database. Manage data collection (including demographics, attendance, and program evaluation data) and prepare reports and contribute to the to support quality assurance and program improvement.
- Recruit and supervise staff for the CP team in accord with PRI policies and culture. Conduct onboarding and teambuilding in support of program goals. Team includes Training Associate and part-time instructors. Over time, develop internship/supported work opportunities within the CP team to support the work of staff and provide workforce experience to training graduates.
- Increase coordination and partnerships across the ecosystem of “peer” training and employment.
- Prepare brief monthly written summary of program activities and contribute to funder reports and proposals. Participate in funder calls and meetings.
- Represent PRI at relevant networks and conferences (e.g. NYCETC, REAP, Jobs First NYC, Jobs for the Future, Reentry Task Forces, etc.)
- Maintain self-education and contribute to increasing the staff knowledge base across PRI in workforce development best practices and other core competencies.
- Contribute to growth of CP and PRI by identifying training needs across the field of practice and opportunities for additional partnerships.
Qualifications
- Minimum 5+ years experience in criminal justice or human services field.
- Experience working in and/or managing peer counseling, peer education, peer mentoring programs
- Leadership and/or training/teaching experience
- Workforce development experience
- Bachelor’s degree/Social Work degree or equivalent experience
- Strong written and oral communication skills; comfort speaking in public forums
- Prior supervisory or management experience
- Ideal candidate will have familiarity with trauma-informed practice and evidence-based practices such as Motivational Interviewing and cognitive behavioral interventions.
- Individuals with relevant life experience are encouraged to apply.
- Able to work evenings and occasional weekend hours.
Please include resume with cover letter describing your interest and qualifications, as well as 2 writing samples.
RFCUNY Benefits
RFCUNY Employee Benefits and AccrualsAbout the Research Foundation
The Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY) was established as a not-for-profit educational corporation chartered by the State of New York in 1963. RFCUNY supports CUNY faculty and staff in identifying and obtaining external support (pre-award) from government and private sponsors and is responsible for the administration of all such funded programs (post-award).
RFCUNY stands between CUNY’s principal investigators (PIs) and the sponsors who support them and strives to fulfill its essential responsibilities to both groups. Working closely with individual PIs and Grants Officers on the campuses, RFCUNY oversees employment, accounting, audit, reporting, purchasing, and special responsibilities that include management of a planned giving program; liaison with governmental agencies and foundations; negotiation of agreements; facility construction and renovation; protection and commercialization of intellectual property; and compliance with applicable standards in research involving human subjects, animal care, environmental and radiological safety, and conflicts of interest.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Key Features
John Jay College Prisoner Reentry Instit
Full Time
Depends on Qualifications
Mar 26, 2019 (Or Until Filled)