Community Partnerships Specialist

Since 1982, over 160,000 youth have been helped with Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Y.O.U.) programs. Y.O.U. helps teens and young adults, ages 14-24 living in economically distressed communities succeed by providing educational and workforce opportunities, skills development, and access to career pathways. We offer school-based and community-based programs designed to meet the needs of Northeast Ohio employers, with a focus on those industry sectors that provide the most opportunities for career success. At Y.O.U., we are dedicated to excellence and continuous improvement of the quality of our services to youth, employers, and the community.

Job Purpose

The Community Partnerships Specialist primary role will be to support our Community Partners and the Community Partner participants. In addition to developing and sustaining meaningful community partnerships throughout Cuyahoga County, this role will have a special focus on developing efficient and effective collaboration with the CMSD Works and Built Environment programming. The Community Partnerships Specialist will support the Manager of Community Partnerships and Academies through executing departmental goals, refining engagement processes, serving as a main contact between assigned Community Partner representatives and Y.O.U, and for families connected to Community Partners throughout the intake and orientation processes. This role will require strong communication with Community Partners, families, and between internal departments, especially employer partnerships and operations. 

Essential Functions

• Implement and execute goals and strategies outlined by the Senior Manager of Youth Employment Programs and Director of Work Experience Programs to position Y.O.U.’s Community Partnerships as a leader in youth and family engagement in Greater Cleveland. 
• Attend strategic meetings and gatherings with SYEP Partners to provide thought leadership and create opportunities for program alignment and integration. Share relevant learnings and information with appropriate Y.O.U. Staff in a timely manner. 
• Evaluate and explore connections between Y.O.U. programs and Community Partner programs and services, including connection of Resource & Support Specialists and Employer Partnership staff with key partners when appropriate. 
• Assist in the management of Y.O.U.’s Salesforce CommYOUnity including creating training and reference materials, conducting live orientation trainings, troubleshooting errors, ensuring all data is accurate, and working with technical team to coordinate any updates and enhancements. 
• Document all interactions with partners in Salesforce database in a timely manner to increase transparency and consistent messaging across the organization and to provide realistic, measurable data regarding partner engagement; ensure that all existing partners have up to date contact information. 
• Assist community partner registration pipeline annually, clearly communicating partnership expectations, sharing critical program information such as strategic updates and deadlines to ensure partners are successfully registered to participate and understand their commitments 
• Coordinate any offsite Intake/Eligibility Determination Sessions for Community Partner referred families as determined necessary by the manager. 
• Conduct on-going tracking, monitoring and follow-up of community partners and the participants served. 
• Compile data and create reports about programs and readily provide to leadership and funders upon request; review data for accuracy and trends. 
• Establish and maintain knowledge of and partnerships with community agencies that focus on youth and young adult education and workforce development such as promoting referrals to and from the Y.O.U. programs. 
• Connect “Good News” stories to Y.O.U. Communications team for year-round promotion and fundraising opportunities; assist the Development and Communication Department in coordinating news coverage, donor visits, participant interviews, etc. with Community Partners 
• Utilize software platforms such as Salesforce to maintain data and dashboards that allow the Y.O.U. Leaders, Staff, and outside organization to stay aligned with our goals and objectives. 
• Work with overall Work Experience team to enhance connections with Y.O.U.’s other programs to enable easier connections for participants to move toward their personal and career goals. 
• Perform other duties as assigned. 

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision benefits available with coverage beginning the first of the month following date of hire.
• Company paid life insurance, AD&D, Short-Term Disability, Parental Leave, Employee Assistance Program and Long-Term Disability 
• Retirement Plan with generous employer contributions
• Generous paid time off package including 19 paid holidays
• Professional Development Assistance Program
• Access to a gym facility at the Y.O.U. Downtown Cleveland Office
• Paid Parking in Downtown Cleveland

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university preferred.
• An additional 4 years of work experience can be substituted in lieu of a bachelor’s degree. High School Diploma required.

Requirements

• Possess the ability to work well with internal and external customers and partners 
• Have experience coordinating/managing multiple projects. 
• Have excellent written and verbal communication skills 
• Have experience working with underrepresented communities in various demographic backgrounds 
• Must pass a background BCI/FBI check as a condition of employment.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Belief and commitment to Y.O.U.’s mission, vision, and values. 
• A clear belief in the value of collaboration and partnership as a means to better deliver the Y.O.U. mission.
• Understanding or experience with program development

Work Environment

• This is a hybrid position. The position will work remotely (out in the community) 3 days a week and will be scheduled to work in the office 2 days a week. It will require regular travel to partner organizations. 
• Moderate supervision from managers with intermittent prompts. Social interaction with team members, with Y.O.U. colleagues in other departments, with County officials, with outside agency staff and participants is required frequently. Majority of work is done in a controlled environment. The environment in which the job is performed outside a normal office space may include exposure to extreme temperature, noise, heights, or other hazards. 
• When working remotely, must have a workspace free of distractions and background noise (Pets, children, television, radio, etc.)

All applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, parental status, veteran status, military service, family medical history, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.