Career Navigator

Why work with YWCA Seattle King Snohomish?

YWCA SKS is the region's largest non-profit organization with a 120+ year legacy, focused on the needs of women, with programs serving 7,000 people each year. When you work with YWCA, you make a difference.

We're women and BIPOC-led, family-centered, and supportive of employees. As a full-time YWCA employee (30+ hours), you'll enjoy a benefits package including medical insurance, generous vacation, holiday, sick leave plans, and an outstanding retirement plan. Put your passion for racial equity and social justice to work - apply today!

What You'll Do

The career navigator works with people experiencing low income who are "furthest from opportunity" to enroll them into the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) program to assist them to find full time employment that supports their career and housing goals. The career navigator provides career navigation, counseling, and coaching, as well as critical job readiness skills, connections to WorkSource and community resources, and job placement and job retention assistance with area employers.

This position has a social justice component that requires critical thinking through the lens of racism and intersections with poverty. Knowing the core principles of antiracism and grounding those principles in everyday work are required job skills and core values. As an equal opportunity employer, we highly encourage people of color to apply.

Expectation of your role

• Recruits participants from the community, then interviews, and screens applicants to determine eligibility.
• Assists participant to identify dependable strengths and helps participant identify gaps and barriers including those rooted in racist policies and systems.
• Provides participant-centered job search training and coaches participants to develop key job skills, impactful resumes and cover letters, and effective job search techniques.
• Assists participants with job readiness, job placement, job retention, wage progression, housing stability and financial capability goals.
• Connects participants with culturally relevant resources (e.g. transportation, housing, medical, mental health, childcare, domestic violence, financial assistance, etc.) and provides financial support services on an as-needed basis
• Maintains accurate participant files and consistently and thoroughly enters client data into funder-required databases including the ETO database
• Travels to multiple locations to meet with participants and provides remote career navigation utilizing Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Adobe Sign, and other software.
• Actively engages in agency-wide Race & Social Justice Initiative (RSJI), participates in Racial Equity Workplans, and strives for racially equitable outcomes; takes responsibility for creating and maintaining a safe and welcoming community by making room for people of color, trans and gender-non-conforming folks and other populations who routinely encounter systemic oppressions.

Must have's to be successful

• At least (2) years of demonstrated experience required performing work related to participant recruitment and enrollment, career assessment and planning, workforce development, file management, data entry, and outcomes reporting.
• Understanding of issues related to racism, poverty, homelessness and the employment, housing, governmental, educational, and social service systems that serve or disserve low-income people of color
• Demonstrate ability to interact with people of different cultures, races, ethnicities, nationalities, genders, and other backgrounds.
• Demonstrated commitment to anti-racist principles.
• Sensitivity to the needs of YWCA participants who are experiencing homeless, are low income, and who may be impacted by racism, domestic violence, immigration, chemical dependency, the criminal justice system, and/or other challenging circumstances
• Familiarity with Windows, Word, Excel, Outlook and database
• Candidate must be able to travel independently between multiple work sites.
• Knowledge of career navigation and employment best practices preferred.

Hours, Rate, and Benefits

• Hourly Rate: $25.00
• Hours: 40 hrs per week
• Excellent benefits package including vacation, holiday, and sick leave plans
• At the time of hire, employees may enroll voluntarily in the Fidelity 403b Plan
• After two years of employment, employees are eligible to participate in the YWCA Retirement Fund

Physical Requirements

• Continuously exchanges information through listening and talking with clients, agency staff, employers, representatives of community organizations and other individuals in the community
• Frequently stands, walks, sits, and climbs in performing duties in the office and in traveling to off-site meetings
• Frequently reaches and grasps in using telephones, computers, fax machines and other office equipment and supplies
• Frequently lifts and carries up to 5 lbs. of paperwork, files, and training materials, occasionally up to 40 lbs.
• Frequently to occasionally performs close work while updating files, reading program information, and using computer
• Occasionally kneels, bends, pushes and pulls in obtaining files in drawers
• Occasionally stands for long periods of time while conducting training programs or attending job fairs.

$25 - $25 an hour

YWCA encourages applicants with a variety of experiences to apply!

At YWCA, we recognize that lived expertise is a powerful asset. This refers to the insights, knowledge, and skills developed by those who have navigated systems and experienced inequity.

Valuing lived expertise helps build trust with program participants, develop culturally responsive programs, and break down barriers to equity. It enriches our collective understanding and enhances our ability to serve communities that are furthest from opportunity.

Mental Health Considerations

All employees of the YWCA interact with clients who have experienced or are experiencing trauma in various forms, including but not limited to, racial trauma, domestic violence, sexual violence, homelessness, unemployment, and financial hardship. As a result, employees are at risk of secondary trauma. We encourage employees to seek support inside and outside the workplace and maintain self-care routines.

Equal Opportunity Employment

YWCA Seattle King Snohomish is an Equal Opportunity Employer. To read more about this, view the EEO is the Law Poster and this EEO is the Law Poster Supplement.

For more information

Contact us at careers@ywcaworks.org with any questions or if you need accommodation for your application.