Military Family Employment Advocacy Program (MFEAP) Navigator

Job Summary

The Military Family Employment Advocacy Program (MFEAP) Navigator plays a vital role in supporting the career success of military spouses and dependents. Frequent relocations and unique lifestyle demands can make employment challenging for military families; this position ensures they receive priority workforce development services, tailored guidance, and direct connections to employment opportunities.

The MFEAP Navigator serves as a dedicated advocate within CareerSource Tampa Bay Career Centers and military base family support centers, helping military families access employment, training, and supportive services. The Navigator also builds strong partnerships with employers, community organizations, and military support agencies to expand opportunities and promote the value of hiring military family members.

Essential Job Functions

Direct Support to Military Families

• Provide individualized job counseling, career planning, job search assistance and placement services to military spouses and dependents.
• Connect job seekers to education, training programs, apprenticeships, and supportive services.
• Assist with referrals to partner agencies for non-employment barriers, ensuring comprehensive support.

Coordination and Collaboration

• Coordinate employment assistance services across: Military base family support centers, CareerCenters and Veteran support organizations.
• Serve as a visible advocate at military installations and community events.
• Work with internal staff to ensure understanding of military family needs and available services.

Employer Engagement

• Promote the benefits of hiring military spouses and dependents to employers, industry groups and economic development partners.
• Conduct outreach to expand employment opportunities for military families.
• Support employers in connecting with qualified military family candidates.
• Monitor and analyze industry and labor market data to identify trends and inform strategy.
• Provide effective communication and information flow between businesses, community partners, and internal teams.

Training and Capacity Building

• Train CareerCenter managers and staff on the unique employment challenges faced by military families and transferable skills and strengths of military spouses and dependents.
• Share best practices, resources, and program updates with internal teams.
• Participate in industry groups and professional associations to stay current on trends and workforce needs.

Program Compliance and Reporting

• Ensure all services align with Wagner-Peyser program goals and state requirements.
• Participate in required technical assistance meetings with CareerSource Florida and FloridaCommerce.
• Maintain timely and accurate case notes and activity tracking in EmployFlorida and Salesforce.
• Track and report quarterly progress toward employer service and participant activity goals.
• Maintain compliance with expenditure guidelines and grant reporting requirements.

Customer Experience & Continuous Improvement

• Maintain frequent follow-up with business partners to assess satisfaction and identify new opportunities.
• Promote sharing of workforce intelligence between Business Services and Career Center staff.
• Strive to achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction for participants, employers, and partner organizations.
• Perform additional duties as assigned

Minimum Education & Training

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Development, Public Administration, Human Services, or a closely related field.
• Strong understanding of employment challenges faced by military families (personal or professional experience preferred).
• Florida Workforce Professional Certification Tier I required.
• Obtain Business Services Consultant Certification within one year of beginning role.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, etc.).

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Knowledge of workforce development systems, programs, and employer services.
• Experience working with military populations, veterans, or dependents.
• Familiarity with Employ Florida, Salesforce, or similar case management systems.
• Strong understanding of business operations and industry workforce needs.
• Ability to perform market research and analyze industry and labor market data.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including public speaking and presentation.
• Proven relationship-building and consultative sales skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to plan, coordinate, and execute employer-focused initiatives and events.
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail and documentation.
• Strong change management skills and ability to pivot quickly.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively across teams.
• Ability to handle confidential information with discretion and professionalism.

Work Environment

• Local travel for meetings, trade shows, employer visits, and industry events.
• Occasional evening and weekend work and local travel are required.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: 

• Stooping. Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist. This factor is important if it occurs to a considerable degree and requires full motion of the lower extremities and back muscles.
• Reaching. Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction.
• Standing. Particularly for sustained periods of time.
• Walking. Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another.
• Lifting. Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position-to-position. This factor is important if it occurs to a considerable degree and requires substantial use of upper extremities and back muscles.
• Talking. Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word. Those activities in which they must convey detailed instructions to other or important spoken workers accurately, loudly, or quickly.
• Hearing. Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discriminations in sound.
• Sedentary work. Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.
• The worker is required to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; visual inspection involving small defects, small parts, and/or operation of machines (including inspection); using measurement devices; and/or assembly or fabrication parts at distances close to the eyes.
• The worker is subject to both environmental conditions. Activities occur inside and outside.