About The Career Foundation: The Career Foundation is a dynamic non-profit organization that offers a wide range of employment, training, and HR services to job seekers and employers. Since its inception in 1988, The Career Foundation has steadily expanded its services. Operating out of seven locations, we now help thousands of people each year successfully accomplish their employment goals. Our team of dedicated professionals have described The Career Foundation as caring, compassionate, innovative, and team oriented. For more information about us and our services, please visit our website at CareerFoundation.com.

Some of the benefits and features available to our employees include: 

• Competitive compensation
• A comprehensive Health Benefits plan that includes massage therapy, naturopath services, travel coverage, and much more
• A comprehensive Dental Insurance plan
• An Employee & Family Assistance program
• An RRSP Matching plan
• A Wellness program

Program and Role Description: The Career Foundation’s Empowering Abilities Program (EAP) assists individuals with disabilities in overcoming barriers to employment by enhancing their employability to make a successful transition to employment, or to return to school to further their career goal. The project consists of up to 10 weeks of pre-employment workshops followed by 12 weeks of a wage subsidy placement.

The Disability Employment Liaison is an important member of the team, responsible for establishing new relationships with employers to find appropriate job placement opportunities for participants of The Career Foundation’s Empowering Abilities Program, and ensuring job retention is achieved. The Disability Employment Liaison is also responsible for providing job coaching to program participants, and other essential duties.

Position Type: 26 hours per week, one-year contract with strong potential to lead to permanent employment opportunities with The Career Foundation

Number of positions: 1

Reporting to: Program Coordinator

Location requirements: This opportunity is currently structured as a hybrid-remote position comprised of on-site work at The Career Foundation’s Hamilton office, frequent local travel within the communities served to perform essential duties, and remote, work-from-home days. The successful candidate must be willing to work from The Career Foundation’s Hamilton location on a consistent schedule and possess a valid Ontario G driver’s license with access to a reliable vehicle for essential work-related travel. The hybrid-remote schedule is contingent on the successful candidate possessing a private work-from-home space with reliable, high-speed internet. Company laptop, cell phone and other equipment provided.

Experience required: 2 + years

Start date: As soon as possible  

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Job Development and Participant Coaching

• Develops relationships with 2-3 new employer contacts each week and 8-12 new employer contacts each month in a variety of industries, for the purpose of generating job placement opportunities for participants of The Career Foundation’s Empowering Abilities program.
• Delivers enhanced employer services to a minimum of 2 companies per month.
• Places program participants into job placements through successful employer outreach and job development initiatives, ensuring that milestone targets are achieved.
• Develops accommodation plans with employers and utilizes appropriate support funds from the program’s budget to best serve participants.
• Administers placement agreements with and without wage subsidies, including collecting required paystubs and processing payment claims.
• Monitors program participants on-the-job during their job placements to help ensure successful outcomes, and mediates issues that arise, as needed.
• Maintains relationships with employer contacts to continuously develop job placement opportunities for program participants.
• Completes personalized needs assessments with program participants, including analyzing, evaluating and interpreting collected information to support them in targeting the most suitable employment opportunities based on their experience, education, and disability, as well as existing labour market factors.
• Collaborates with other team members to complete participant assessments using established assessment tools and interprets results pertaining to core job functions.
• Ensures quality of work placements for program participants by appropriately matching each person’s skills with the job requirements and adhering to other program requirements for job placements.
• Plans and delivers job search workshops, conducts cold calls to employers, and facilitates mock interviews, to prepare program participants for position-specific interviews.
• Conducts job retention functions with program participants and employers, including coaching participants on how to overcome barriers during their work placements.
• Works collaboratively with fellow team members to schedule approved, short-term training to ensure that participants are best prepared for the local labour market.
• Participates in group intake functions and participant selection.
• Maintains documentation of assigned participant files, including records of service and participant progress reports on internal database.
• Regularly monitors personal performance against program targets to ensure the achievement of the expected results.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Participant Outreach and Recruitment

• Attends networking events and hiring fairs to connect with new employers to promote The Career Foundation’s Empowering Abilities program.
• Performs outreach to recruit eligible participants into the program from equity deserving groups, including LGBT2Q+, racialized minorities and others, through community events, job fairs, social media channels, and other outreach functions.
• Presents the program to community partners and potential participants ensuring that they understand the program objectives and the time requirements.
• Other related duties as needed.

Qualifications/ Skills Required:

• College diploma or university degree in business, marketing, or related field is preferred, or an equivalent combination of education and experience is required.
• A minimum of 2 years’ direct service experience in job development, community outreach, business development and/or job coaching, or work experience that is directly transferrable to the position is required.
• Candidates who possess all the above qualifications as well as existing relationships with employers that can be relied upon to provide employment opportunities for participants of The Career Foundation’s Empowering Abilities program, will be prioritized.
• Prior experience in vocational counselling/job coaching, serving persons with disabilities, utilizing the Disability Severity Assessment tool, and/or experience with government-funded employment programs, considered strong assets.
• Ability to effectively apply principles of the sales process to generate job leads and secure positions for participants of the program.
• Must be willing to work from base office location in Hamilton on a consistent basis and possess a valid Ontario driver’s license with access to a reliable vehicle to perform essential job functions that require local travel within the GTHA.
• Must be results-driven in nature with a demonstrated ability to achieve targets.  
• Exceptional relationship-building skills in order to establish connections with employers and participants of the program.
• Excellent verbal and written English communication skills with ability to clearly communicate information verbally and in writing.
• A professional and courteous approach to client service with a high level of respect for the diversity of the people served, including clients who face barriers to employment.
• Ability to maintain sensitive information, exhibit tact, diplomacy and good judgment, with high standards of professionalism, ethics and confidentiality.
• Knowledge of current labour market trends considered an asset.
• Exceptional customer service skills and ability to uphold the organization’s service standards, policies, and core values.
• Outstanding organizational skills, time management, and ability to multi-task in order to meet deadlines and achieve program targets and objectives.
• Punctual, self-motivated and self-directed.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel), as well as Zoom, and Outlook 365 applications, including Teams and SharePoint. Must possess aptitude and willingness to learn and work with new online systems and technologies.
• Must be a positive and flexible team player with willingness to occasionally work outside of normal business hours, when needed, to support participants in real-time.
• Willingness to take initiative to lend assistance where needed to ensure that the team is successful in meeting project goals.

The Career Foundation’s Commitment:

The Career Foundation is committed to diversity and inclusion and aims to create a healthy and rewarding environment for all. We welcome applications from qualified individuals who represent the diversity of the people we proudly serve, including, but not limited to, visible minorities, women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, and individuals of all genders and sexual orientation. The Career Foundation, in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), is also committed to accommodating applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. We will work with candidates requesting accommodation at any stage of the hiring process.