Employment Development Specialist (OKC)

Public Strategies Overview
Public Strategies is a nationally respected consulting, project management, and marketing firm based in Oklahoma City. We provide innovative solutions for federal, state, and local clients, including project and program management, training and technical assistance, technology, event management, research and evaluation, video production, and strategic communications. We also deliver research-informed direct services to financially vulnerable Oklahomans, with a focus on strengthening families and improving employment opportunities.

We are a collaborative team of thinkers, creatives, strategists, communicators, builders, researchers, and change agents committed to touching lives, driving change, and doing good well.

Position Summary
Work Ready Oklahoma (WRO) offers programs that serve several special population groups, including veterans, the historically unemployed or underemployed, individuals with a criminal background including those reentering communities from incarceration, incumbent workers, and low-skilled or low-wage workers. Over the years, WRO has developed a reputation for and continues to demonstrate the value and efficacy of well-thought approaches to incorporating soft skills, vocational training, continuing education, job placement, job coaching, and career advancement in ways that make obtaining consistent employment with a living wage more accessible. Additionally, WRO continuously looks for opportunities to innovate within the workforce development field and, where appropriate, develops and fosters social enterprises that include employment opportunities for the populations served and whose financial success can be reinvested in the services and resources needed to build the WRO model.

The Employment Development Specialist will be responsible for identifying and developing meaningful partnerships with businesses and employers for the Work Ready Oklahoma (WRO) program. Work Ready Oklahoma is a joint effort of Its My Community Initiative (IMCI) and Public Strategies, to develop research-informed workforce solutions throughout Oklahoma. WRO offers programs that serve several special population groups, including veterans, the historically unemployed or underemployed, individuals with a criminal background including those reentering communities from incarceration, incumbent workers, and low-skilled or low-wage workers. Over the years, WRO has developed a reputation for and continues to demonstrate the value and efficacy of well-thought approaches to incorporating soft skills, vocational training, continuing education, job placement, job coaching, and career advancement in ways that make obtaining consistent employment with a living wage more accessible. Additionally, WRO continuously looks for opportunities to innovate within the workforce development field and, where appropriate, develops and fosters social enterprises that include employment opportunities for the populations served and whose financial success can be reinvested in the services and resources needed to build the WRO model.

The Employment Development Specialist is a critical member of this team, identifying labor market trends, engaging employers in active partnerships, finding sustainable jobs for program participants, and managing vital relationships that directly correlate to the programs long-term success.

Essential Job Functions
Use a variety of relationship-building, marketing, and communication techniques to market and represent the WRO program, including its clients and services
Initiate and manage ongoing contacts with a variety of business and industry representatives, as well as job placement/training agencies, to promote participant placement
Engage employers in the design and execution of training programs, as appropriate, to ensure WRO is equipping participants with relevant, industry-required skills and certifications
Collect job orders, including job requirements and skills to match with program participants and find qualified candidates
Refer candidates to jobs and coordinate with other team members to ensure the successful removal of barriers to retaining employment
Assists in recruitment activities
Conduct follow-up with both employers and participants after applicants are placed to ensure employer satisfaction, future partnership opportunities, and employee retention
Organize outreach and recruitment activities, engaging with other team members to participate, as needed
Routinely use data and evidence-based practices to target sectors and employment partners to create appropriate career exploration activities and internships to prepare participants for successful job placement
Help program participants understand the concept of career ladders, utilizing current employment and training opportunities to increase their marketability, earnings, and job satisfaction
Assist participants with job readiness activities to be best positioned to know their skills and assets to improve individual-level marketing to employers
Meet with team members regularly to ensure appropriate information sharing, coordination of program activities, successful job placements, and retention
Monitor local labor market trends and employment opportunities in both the public and private sectors
Build a network of employers that understand the value of WRO services in supporting a range of business objectives for Oklahoma employers
Make the business case for the benefits of working with those with criminal backgrounds and maintain an active list of employers in the Central Oklahoma area that will hire individuals with criminal backgrounds
Build a network of employers that both understand the mission of WRO and are willing and eager to align their company objectives with the program objectives
Input and maintain participant information, progress, and business and referral data into MIS. Other duties as assigned
Education/Training
Bachelors degree and/or related experience in Marketing, Public Relations, Business, or another related field, is preferred.

Experience
Proven experience marketing and representing a program and its services to stakeholders
Marketing, sales, or job placement experience, required
Knowledge of the demand-driven approach to employment services, job development strategies, and labor market trends in a range of occupational fields, preferred
Proven experience managing business and community relationships to achieve objectives

Special Requirements
Utilize time management techniques to organize and prioritize work, meeting timelines/deadlines
Ability to work independently and as part of a team to achieve project goals
Understand the methods and techniques of job development and client placement and/or current practices in vocational education
Comfortable and a willingness to work with the populations referred to in the Position Summary, including occasional work in correctional facilities
Ability to motivate participants towards full-time employment

Essential Physical Requirements
Sufficient mobility and strength to move about the facility. Ability to be mobile throughout the community.