apprentice and alumni advocate

job description
The Apprentice and Alumni Advocate is a licensed social worker whose clients are Rocking the Boat's 16 high school-aged Job Skills Apprentices, 10 to 14 college-aged Program Assistants, and the body of Rocking the Boat alumni. The position works in concert with the Boatbuilding and Environmental Job Skills Program Directors, who focus on technical skill building, to help young people address social and emotional issues and successfully transition to college and the working world. The position also collaborates with the Student Advocate, Rocking the Boat's other social work position, who offers individual and group support to the students in the primary Youth Development program.

duties include:
• Meeting at least three times per semester with Job Skills Apprentices for individual counseling
• Planning and implementing college tours and professional explorations
• Organizing regular job and life skills workshops
• Arranging job shadowing experiences for Apprentices
• Managing personal crises and making referrals to other supports when necessary
• Assessing programmatic impact through bi-monthly Apprentice and Program Assistant evaluations
• Engaging parents, including hosting a Parent Open House event each semester
• Maintaining an active alumni network, including managing a Facebook Alumni Association group and organizing an Alumni Week event each semester
• Maintaining a job announcement listing for alumni
• Recording all interactions in a client database
• Assisting Development staff in collecting student data for reports and proposals

requirements:
• Registration as a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW)
• Minimum three years post-graduate work experience
• Experience working with high school-aged youth in an out-of-school environment
• Strong organizational skills and an ability to work independently
• Excellent communications skills
• Spanish-speaking preferred
• A valid (NYS) driver's license

rocking the boat offers:
• Full-time salaried position commensurate with experience
• Full benefits package
• Opportunity for weekly supervision and hours toward LCSW licensure
• Opportunity to work with a creative, well-funded organization committed to community development and youth empowerment

Job Start Date: September 1, 2010

Please email cover letters and resumes to Adam Green at: adam@rockingtheboat.org

Rocking the Boat, Inc.
812 Edgewater Road
Bronx, NY 10474
Phone: (718) 466-5799
Fax: (718) 466-2892

Rocking the Boat uses boats to help young people challenged by severe economic, educational, and social disadvantage develop into empowered and responsible adults. Participating during the school-day, after-school, and summer in hands-on wooden boatbuilding and on-water education programs, young people in the South Bronx develop the self-confidence to set ambitious goals and the skills needed to achieve them. Adam Green launched Rocking the Boat in 1996 as a volunteer project in an East Harlem junior high school. It has since developed into a fully sustainable independent non-profit organization annually serving 3,000 young people and community members. Kids don't just build boats at Rocking the Boat, boats build kids.

Rocking the Boat, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer