Director needed for the Brooklyn Workforce1 Career Center

TITLE: Center Director
REPORTS TO: Senior Vice President, Human Services

OVERVIEW:
The Brooklyn Workforce1 Career Center provides a full suite of employment services to jobseekers and businesses in New York City. The Career Center, located in downtown Brooklyn serves any jobseeker looking for a new job, a new career, or for counseling and training to help them achieve the next stage of their career. In addition, the Career Center serves business customers by screening and referring qualified candidates for job opportunities, as well as by cross the Business Solutions suite of business services.

Since opening in 2004, the Center has achieved over 16,000 placements. Over the next 5 years the Brooklyn Career Center is poised to achieve significant growth by improving its operations, staffing model, and efficiencies related to sourcing and matching job candidates and opportunities.

The Career Center is run through a partnership of NYC’s Department of Small Business Services, NY State Department of Labor and Goodwill Industries of New York and New Jersey, a not-for-profit vendor. Additionally, the Career Center works closely with the co-located Brooklyn Business Solutions Center, operated by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce to develop and fulfill job opportunities with small and medium sized businesses.

JOB DESCRIPTION:
The Center Director leads both the strategic and daily operations of a large scale workforce development program that serves nearly 17,000 unique new customers per year. The Center Director will be responsible to lead and champion significant change management and operational improvement projects to enhance system and Center performance. The Center Director is responsible for creating a culture of strong customer service towards businesses and jobseekers by empowering staff to achieve goals while constantly innovating and improving service delivery and Center operations.

The Director is responsible for the Center’s job preparation services (coaching, career development and training), placement services (at least 4,000 individual placements per year) and retention service (ensuring stable employment up to 6 months after placement). In addition, the Center Director oversees the smaller Career Advancement and Community
Outreach programs. The Center Director is the face of the Center with external partners, the business community, Small Business Services, and with Goodwill Industries (the vendor to whom the Center is contracted).

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the Brooklyn Workforce1 Career Center and its workforce development program.
• Champion performance improvement projects that focus on improving customer service, Center operations, and clarifying staff roles that maximize program efficiency.
• Serve in a senior leadership capacity for Goodwill, collaborating with other Directors and Executive Management in organizational governance and strategy.
• Work closely and collaboratively with the Brooklyn NYC Business Solutions Center, run by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, to fulfill job orders for small and medium employers in Brooklyn.
• Ensure that the Center meets all of its contractual and programmatic goals for placements, training and job preparation, job search assistance and outreach through community-based organizations in line with current policy from the Department of Small Business Services.
• Represent the Center with external partners, external organizations and employers.
• Develop and execute annual Strategic Operating plans.
• Develop and execute employer service strategies to maximize hiring opportunities that enhance economic development in Brooklyn. Identify and work closely with economic development organizations to achieve these goals.
• Maintain an appropriate balance between jobseeker services and employer services, ensuring that the needs of both customer bases are met.
• Develop and implement standardized approaches for candidate assessment, career counseling, job matching, job preparedness assistance and prescriptive training.
• Work closely with other Center partners such as the Department of Labor, the Disability Program Navigator and others to ensure that our shared customer base has access to the maximum amount of services to which it is entitled.
  

A Note About Leadership: Critical to all interpersonal relationships within the job scope is the Center Director’s leadership capabilities. The relationship between the Director and his/her staff must be characterized by mutual caring and respect, while simultaneously driving excellence and superior performance. As such, we seek a professional candidate who embodies a spirit of servant leadership – respectful, professional, and supportive of those who report to him/her. The Center Director must demonstrate excellent emotional skills and be high-energy, hospitable, self-aware, optimistically warm and caring, and empathetic to the staff and customers of the Center. By managing the team in a spirit of servitude and support, the Director will create a work environment from which excellent customer service can emanate. The Center Director must simultaneously align the staff to achieve superior outcomes by communicating and relating an appropriate sense of urgency, embodying a disciplined and focused approach to meeting or exceeding the Center’s goals, and motivating the team to continually strive for excellence in their work.

Finally, the Center Director must formulate a strong, open, and congenial relationship with the SBS Center Director from the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, and should associate in formal and informal manners to forge strong linkages between the two practices and drive results for jobseekers and businesses alike.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Masters Degree with 2 years related experience in managing a service delivery operation, including but not limited to workforce development and recruiting/staffing
• Bachelors Degree with 5 years related experience in managing a service delivery operation, including but not limited to workforce development and recruiting/staffing
• Excellent computer skills, including Internet, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint
• Excellent written and oral presentation skills
• Cheerful and professional demeanor
• The ability to lead a combined staff of 30+ people in the spirit of mutual caring and respect
• A strong capability to serve multiple program and organizational stakeholders with different goals
• Experience in and understanding of the challenges and opportunities inherent in a performance-based environment
• Curious, creative and energetic problem solving attitude
• Bilingual candidates (English/Spanish) highly desirable

SALARY RANGE: $90,000 - $110,000

HOW TO APPLY:
All candidates interested in applying for this position should email a cover letter and resume to: humanservicejobs@goodwillny.org no later than September 1, 2009.

For more information on Goodwill Industries of New York and New Jersey please visit www.goodwillny.org. For more information on the New York City Department of Small Business Services and the Workforce1 Career Centers, please visit: www.nyc.gov/workforce1.