Becoming part of the Sweetser family means you can make a difference in the lives of Maine children, adults, and families every day. As a nationally recognized and accredited leader, we offer competitive salaries, a wide range of benefits and the opportunity to join a passionate team of more than 700 employees.
Start Over with your Job Search Returning Applicant? Login Now
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:Vocational/Employment Duties and Responsibilities• Provide consultation, training and guidance for the Employment Specialist Team on how to conduct vocational assessment, vocational goal setting/planning, job placement, and follow-up support.• Provide consultation, training and guidance for the Employment Specialist Team on how to assess rehabilitation readiness, perform functional assessments, and help determine client strengths and interests in conjunction with client’s psychosocial assessment.• Participates in the hiring, training, and evaluation process of employment specialists and conducts monthly group supervision following the principles of IPS supported employment.• Provides individual consultative support for employment specialists. Supervision includes some office-based sessions, as well working side-by-side with specialists. Provides field mentoring for specialists who are new to their jobs, and those with outcomes that are less than desired.• Collects client outcomes and shares outcomes for the program, as well as individual practitioners, with the IPS supported employment team as needed. • Helps team members set goals for improvement. Reviews individual outcomes with each practitioner and develops written plans for improvement. • Works with the office of Vocational Rehabilitation to coordinate services. Requests meetings between Vocational Rehabilitation counselors and IPS team members as needed to discuss how to help people served by both agencies. • Arranges for IPS supported employment fidelity reviews. Assists with the development of fidelity action plans based on recommendations from the fidelity report.• Participate in relevant meetings to help with IPS supported employment implementation and sustainability.• Provides IPS supported employment services to a caseload of a minimum of 10 people. • Help develop employment-search related skills (resume writing, interviewing, filling out applications, making calls to prospective employers).• Assist clients in identifying options for jobs, volunteer, and training opportunities.• Achieve vocational placements by locating best fit placements and helping to create reasonable accommodations in the workplace.• Support clients in maintaining employment, training, education and volunteer activities.• Facilitate transportation to and from interviews, training, education, job, volunteer activities.• Facilitate utilization of employment and training services already available in the community.• Establish relationships with local employers. Act as liaison/contact person to employers. Develop employment focused partnerships in support of work opportunities for clients in the cover area.• Establish and maintain relationships with agencies that provide employment and training services.• Provide psycho-education regarding employing people with mental illness.• Research and develop new ways to increase opportunities for clients to work/volunteer/havegenerative activity (grants, new programs, existing programs)• Collaborate with team members regarding vocational/educational goals, sharing specializedexpertise vocational rehabilitation field.• Provide collaborative support, in conjunction with adult community support workers and clinicians,in assisting clients to reach their vocational and educational goals ISP goals.• Complete comprehensive assessments and develop treatment plans in collaboration with client.• Provide case management services to the clients, including: Street and community outreach Housing location/stabilization Assisting in provision and maintenance of basic needs, linkage and support with other services such as vocational, educational, social/recreational, and transportation Quarterly outcome report to the state on number of our clients working in competitiveemployment Linkage with and advocacy for entitlements such as Medicaid and Social Security Participating in discharge planning when clients are hospitalized.• Coordinate with other service providers and/or family members involved with the client.• Provide medication education and monitoring, as well as delivery of medication as needed.• Identify and document unmet needs.• Assist in skill development of independent living skills, hygiene, nutrition, exercise, general healthmaintenance.• Provide supportive counseling and problem-solving assistance.• Supervise student interns as appropriate and needed.GENERAL EXPECTATIONS:• Maintain relationships with consumers that promote dignity, equality and self-determination.• Maintain productive and supportive collaboration with peers/colleagues in the same program andacross programs.• Maintain productive and collaborative relationships with other Sweetser staff.• Understand and comply with all Sweetser policies and procedures as well as program values.• Maintain clinical documentation to program standard.• Actively participate in required supervision as determined by the program manager and inaccordance with licensure level.• Accurately complete and submit administrative paperwork (e.g. activity registers, expense forms,etc.) in a timely manner as established by the program manager.• Actively participate in administrative meetings, including program meetings and general staffmeetings.• Maintain minimum number of training hours as mandated by professional licensure and required bythe Division of Mental Health.• Be committed to the mission, vision, and values of the organization.• Work collaboratively as a member of a team with various groups of staff, depending on the issueaddressed.• Assure quality in work performed to facilitate the delivery of quality services.• Ability to support and recognize the important role volunteers play. Sweetser employees work with,support, collaborate with volunteers, and promote opportunities for volunteer engagement.• Always represent Sweetser positively to the public.• Follow Suicide safer care practices.• Other duties as assigned.QUALIFICATIONS:Previous supervisory experience is valued, as well as previous experience in the mental health field (for IPS programs serving people with serious mental illness).
EDUCATION:• Master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling or related field is preferred. • Bachelor’s degree is required, Certified Rehabilitation Counselor certification or Employment Specialist Training approved by the Maine Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services required.
CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS REQUIRED:• Maintain a valid state driver’s license.• Certified Rehabilitation Counselor certification or designation as a Certified Employment Specialistunder DBDS Section 17 regulations required.AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA):External and internal applicants, as well as position incumbents who become disabled as defined underthe Americans with Disabilities Act, must be able to perform the essential job functions (as listed) eitherunaided or with the assistance of a reasonable accommodation to be determined by management on acase-by-case basis.HIPAA REQUIREMENTS:This position may involve working with information covered by the Health Insurance Portability andAccountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and incumbents will be required to be in compliance with HIPAA inthe handling of this information.DISCLOSURE:All statements in this document are intended to describe the general nature and level of work beingperformed by people assigned to this job. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilitiesand duties required.
