Outreach & Employment Specialist

Position summary

The Outreach & Employment Specialist is the primary point of contact for young people entering the Young Adult Job Centers, and the person who walks alongside them from first contact through a job that lasts.

This role has two halves. 1) Outreach means actively getting in front of young people at our housing sites, across our programs and in the community, bringing them into employment services. It is not a passive, wait-for-referrals role. 2) Employment services means career counseling, job readiness training, coaching, placement, and retention support for the young people who engage.

Performance context: This program carries defined contractual targets, including an annual enrollment goal and a placement rate at exit into unsubsidized employment, education, or training. This role directly drives both. We are looking for someone who can build genuine trust with young people who have been failed by systems before and who can also deliver on real numbers.

Duties & responsibilities

The following is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the Outreach & Employment Specialist. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned as needed.

Outreach & Engagement

• Conduct proactive, consistent outreach to young people across 3rd Street's programs: housing, behavioral health, health, education, and youth development, and in the surrounding community.
• Build visibility and trust through regular presence where young people already are, rather than waiting for them to come to you.
• Develop and maintain referral relationships with internal program teams, community organizations, schools, and partner agencies.
• Staff and animate the drop-in resource centers, creating a welcoming, low-barrier front door into employment services.
• Re-engage young people who disengage, treating return as a warm re-entry rather than a lockout.

Career Counseling, Planning & Enrollment

• Conduct career counseling and planning sessions with real conversations about a young person's goals, interests, and job search strategy.
• Complete intake, eligibility verification, assessment, and enrollment documentation.
• Develop Individual Service Plans with each participant and update them as progress is made.
• Conduct regular one-on-one coaching to monitor progress, remove barriers, and keep momentum.

Job Readiness Training

Facilitate workshops and group sessions, open to any young person, covering:

Resume and cover letter development; interview preparation; mock interviews:

• Professional communication and workplace expectations
• Job search strategies and digital literacy
• Financial literacy and career exploration

Prepare participants for employment through coaching, practice, and skill-building.

Job Placement & Retention

• Identify employment, internship, apprenticeship, and training opportunities aligned with participants' goals.
• Match participants to opportunities, coordinate interviews, and make warm introductions to employers.
• Support participants through hiring and onboarding.
• Maintain regular contact after placement, providing coaching and problem-solving to support job retention.
• Conduct required follow-up contacts and document employment status in accordance with OEWD standards.
• Coordinate supportive services to help participants stay employed.

Documentation & Collaboration

• Document all services accurately and on time in WorkforceCentral and Apricot, meeting monthly data deadlines.
• Work with 3rd Street's compliance and reporting partner to ensure data is complete and accurate.
• Maintain confidential participant records.
• Collaborate with Housing, Behavioral Health, Youth Development, Education, and Case Management teams to coordinate wraparound support and surface youth for employment services.
• Participate in staff meetings, trainings, case conferences, and community events.

About you

Skills, Knowledge & Abilities

Successful candidates will demonstrate

• Genuine ability to build trust with young people who may be testing whether you're for real
• Comfort with proactive outreach initiating contact, showing up consistently, and bringing people in

• Knowledge of workforce development and employment readiness practices
• Strong coaching, mentoring, and relationship-building skills
• Workshop facilitation and group work abilities

• Knowledge of trauma-informed and culturally responsive service delivery
• Strong organizational skills and reliable documentation habits
• Ability to manage a caseload and deliver on performance goals
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and cloud-based case management systems

Education & Experience

Required

• Associate's degree in Human Services, Social Work, Workforce Development, Education, Business, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Relevant lived experience is valued and may substitute for formal education.
• Minimum two years of experience providing direct services to youth or young adults.
• Experience in workforce development, employment services, career coaching, education, or case management.
• Ability to travel between program sites and throughout San Francisco.

Preferred

• Lived experience reflective of the young people and communities we serve
• Experience working with Transitional Age Youth, including justice-involved and formerly homeless young people
• Experience conducting outreach and community engagement
• Familiarity with OEWD, WIOA, or similar workforce programs
• Familiarity with WorkforceCentral, Apricot, Salesforce, or similar data systems
• Bilingual or multilingual abilities

Physical demands & availability

• Frequent sitting, standing, walking, and computer use
• Ability to facilitate workshops and group activities
• Ability to travel throughout San Francisco for outreach, employer visits, and participant support
• Ability to occasionally lift up to 25 pounds
• Full-time position; some evenings and occasional weekends to support programming, employer events, and outreach
• General info: This position is a salary exempt and full time role.
• This position is based at our TAY Navigation Center in San Francisco and will travel to 3900 3rd Street and community partner locations throughout San Francisco
• This position reports to the Job Center Manager.

Compensation & benefits

• This position has an annual salary of $75,000.
• 3rd Street Youth Center & Clinic offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, retirement benefits, paid holidays, vacation, sick leave, professional development opportunities, and employee wellness resources.

EEOC statement

• About Company ---

Program information

3rd Street delivers this as an organization-wide In-House Employment Program, anchored by a Young Adult Job Centers embedded within the Lower Polk TAY Navigation Center and the Just Home Transitional Housing Program.

Rather than operating workforce services as an isolated program, 3rd Street provides generalized employment support to participants across the entire organization. Youth served are drawn from across all of 3rd Street's programs,including housing, behavioral health, health, education, and youth development so that young people can access employment support wherever they are already connected to us. The program primarily serves, but is not limited to, justice-involved TAY and youth ages 18–27 experiencing homelessness who are living in transitional housing sites.

The program provides career counseling and planning, job readiness training, employment placement, and retention services, with the Job Centers will serve as the hub that coordinates and delivers this support across the organization.