Education Specialist

IRC in Denver’s Economic Empowerment Department seeks to support clients’ immediate needs for stability, while ensuring that near-term demands do not overshadow longer-term economic health. Under the supervision of the Education Coordinator, the Education Specialist offers a range of supports to adult clients so they clients can better access, participate in, and benefit from IRC’s economic empowerment programs and other community resources and services. Coordinating services with the broader IRC in Denver team, the Education Specialist is part of a holistic service team that aims to partner with individuals and entire families to advance their goals.

Working directly with clients and in close collaboration with the Education Coordinator, employment team, and other direct service staff across the IRC in Denver, the Education Specialist is responsible for implementing the Digital Skills in Economic Empowerment Program to provide one-on-one coaching that enhances clients’ digital skills, prioritizing support for those seeking employment. The Education Specialist also provides adult clients with community navigation, cultural orientation, and digital-based job readiness training that includes job searches, understanding American workplace expectations, writing resumes, building interview skills, and other employment-related training. Additionally, the Education Specialist supports transportation orientation and initial English as a Second Language (ESL) enrollment for all newly arrived refugees and other eligible clients, conducts regular outreach to ongoing clients to support continued participation in ESL and other educational programs, and identifies and initiates referrals to relevant programs and services in support of client goals.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

Major responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Receiving client referrals and conducting initial assessments of client needs and skills.

• Working with clients to set goals and provide one-on-one digital skills coaching, and following up routinely to gauge progress toward goals.

• Assisting all newly arrived refugees and other eligible populations with ESL enrollment, based on their location, English and literacy levels, childcare needs, work and family schedules, and other considerations.

• Regularly monitoring clients’ English attendance and progress, and supporting clients with re-connecting to ESL or modifying ESL enrollment as applicable.

• Running English conversation circles and supporting the volunteer in-home/digital ESL tutoring program.

• Collaborating with the Education Coordinator to ensure foundational digital skills are integrated into job readiness training and related programming.

• Liaising with caseworkers, employment specialists, other IRC in Denver team members, and external partners where relevant to develop and implement plans that are effective in enhancing clients’ digital skills.

• Documenting case notes, entering key program data points, and completing reports accurately, timely, and in accordance with donor requirements, using the IRC’s internal Efforts to Outcomes (ETO) database and other systems, including the Colorado Refugee Services Program (CRSP) Geneva database.

• Monitoring and evaluating progress at the individual, household, and program level through analysis of client assessments and other key data tracked in ETO.

• Participating as a member of the multi-site Digital Skills in Economic Empowerment Program to share experiences and learn about resources, approaches and tools to build digital skills within IRC’s Economic Empowerment programs.

• Ensuring that services are delivered in accordance with relevant quality assurance standards and compliant with requirements for the Reception & Placement (R&P), Matching Grant (MG), and Reach programs where applicable.

• Participating in training and professional development relevant to the role, including training on motivational interviewing and Wellbeing Inventories and Plans as required for the Reach program.

• Completing other duties as assigned.

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:

Position Reports to: Education Coordinator

Position Directly Supervises: N/A; may supervise interns and volunteers engaged in ESL tutoring, cultural orientation, digital skills or related education services.