Information About Us:

AbilityFirst provides a variety of programs designed to help people with disabilities achieve their personal best throughout their lives. We do this by creating targeted programming to help an individual successfully transition from childhood to adult life.

Our Mission:

Looking beyond disabilities. Focusing on capabilities. Expanding possibilities.

Description of Role:

The Community Navigator coordinates with individuals, their parents, care providers, service coordinators, and other professionals to determine the most appropriate program and resolve related problems. Works with individuals with developmental and/or physical disabilities to identify Person-Centered goals and objectives. The Community Navigator is also responsible for developing and implementing an effective community-based program designed to experience activities that are important to the individual.

Primary Duties:

• Participates in the development of the client’s individual employment plan; identifies client needs and abilities for employment in community employment.
  • Matches client's qualifications to employer needs.
  • Provides job-seeking support and coaching.
  • Spends 90-95% of the time in the field working with clients.
• Promotes AbilityFirst to the business community in order to develop jobs for clients:
  • Participates in networking opportunities to promote the needs of clients for jobs.
  • Develops relationships with community businesses to establish their needs for employees to determine where AbilityFirst clients might be employed.
• Conducts surveys of the community labor market to identify market trends and prospective job openings.
• Develops and maintains all necessary documents for client intake files; ensures accuracy and compliance with AbilityFirst policies and procedures, state licensing, and other requirements; enters information in case records, gathers data, and prepares a variety of reports on employment activity for management use and decision-making.
• Maintains effective communication with clients and employers to ensure a smooth transition for the client into a job; follows up with the employer periodically to ensure clients are working out as planned, resolves problems, and promotes further opportunities for clients.
• Provides transportation and/or provides mobility training to clients.
• Facilitates communication between employer and American Sign Language using clients.
• Develops and maintains skills in the job development field through seminars, workshops, or other forms of training/education.

Required Skills:

• To perform effectively in this position, the Job Developer is required to have:
  • Working knowledge of developing jobs and vocational habilitation methods for adults with developmental and/or physical disabilities
  • Skills and experience in developing individual employment plans for developmentally and physically disabled adults
  • Demonstrated marketing/sales skills
  • Demonstrated leadership skills
  • Demonstrated conflict resolution/problem-solving skills
  • Personal computer skills including database/record-keeping and word processing
  • Very effective oral and written communications skills
  • Ability to work independently and make mature business decisions
  • Current California driver’s license and a driving record acceptable to the Agency’s insurance carrier

Work schedule:

Full-Time

Benefits:

• Medical through Kaiser
• Dental
• Vision
• Paid Time Off
• 10 Paid Holidays
• Employee Discount Program
• Reimbursement for mileage/cellphone (eligible positions)