Career Center Coordinator

Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois is seeking a fulltime Career Center Coordinator for our Freeport office. This position is the gateway to The Workforce Connection and will work to engage and welcome customers in a knowledgeable and friendly manner. This position will assess visitors’ strengths and needs, and provide initial services to address employment and training needs. Provide customers with information, resources, and referrals to appropriate services. 

Responsibilities & Essential Functions:

Customer Focus

• Provide a welcoming, knowledgeable, and professional first impression to all customers and guests at the Workforce Connection.
• Answer incoming calls, respond professionally to emails, order supplies and oversee all functions of the career center, including opening and closing.
• Find innovative solutions to customer and partner challenges and exhibit patience and compassion in dealing with issues.
• Maintain confidentiality and protect customers’ personal identifying information (PII) as required by law.

• Perform testing and assessments, utilizing available resources, assessments, and career exploration tools.

•   Maintain a clean and neat, welcoming career center by ensuring job postings and community resource information is up-to-date and workstations and tables in the career center are clean.

Workforce Services Knowledge

• Provide a rapid assessment to ascertain visitors’ needs and guide them to appropriate services.
• Maintain an understanding of entire center operations and activities to provide accurate center and partner information.
• Participate in position cross-training with a variety of staff.
• Become familiar with local, state, and federal policies and procedures.

Communication & Training

• Supervise and train volunteer, student worker assistants and work experience assistants as needed.
• Communicate with the Workforce Connection staff to ensure needs are met.
• Proactively work with customers in the Career Center, providing counsel, information, and connections. Assist in the computer lab creating resumes, completing job applications and more.
• Exhibit excellent communication skills, including active listening.

• Work with Career Center Manager and partners to insure career center staff coverage.

• Maintain professionalism, using tact and courtesy to establish and maintain effective relationships with persons contacted in the course of work.

Community Focus

• Promote consistent access to community partners and employers to utilize the One Stop American Job Center.
• Communicate with partners to ensure customer needs are met.
• Build and maintain employer and community partner relationships.
• Be knowledgeable about the region’s training institutions and offered trainings to effectively discuss training options.
• Become familiar with community social service agencies, make appropriate resource referrals, provide follow-up services, and track outcomes.
• Keep informed of local employment needs and proactively work to provide related workshops and job leads.

• Collaborate with Business Services, companies, and organizations to promote hiring events in the career center and the community.

Functional & Technical Work

• Perform clerical work, including inputting data, and providing reports.
• Utilize Internet and required data systems to track and report information.
• Monitor overall appearance of the Career Center, ensuring all areas remain safe, clean, and free of clutter.
• Coordinate, develop and assist with assigned services, records, reports, and program development.
• Keep accurate and detained case notes to document all customer interactions.

• Maintain multiple career center calendars. Schedule testing, workshops and arrange events.

• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications & Basic Job Requirements:

• High School Diploma or GED required, College degree preferred.

• Demonstrated ability to work with individuals with barriers to employment and understand and communicate with diverse groups.
• The ability to motivate and assist individuals in performing work.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• High customer service focus.

• Functional use of Microsoft applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

• Bilingual with Spanish language highly desired.

Compensation: $19.50 - $23.00/hour

Key Benefits We Offer

• Health & Wellness: Medical, dental, vision insurance, basic and voluntary life insurance as well as short-term disability and employee assistance program.
• Financial Security: Competitive salary, retirement plans with employer discretionary match, and bonus opportunity.
• Work-Life Balance: Paid time off, and flexible schedule.
• Professional Growth: Training programs, tuition reimbursement, and career advancement opportunities.
• Perks & Extras: Employee discounts, and a supportive, inclusive workplace.

Thank you for your interest in working at Goodwill.  If you need an alternative method to apply this for position, please contact Goodwill's Human Resource Department at SharethaH@goodwillni.org.