Job Placement Coach

We're ZABS Place - a thrift boutique in Matthews, NC with a mission of training, employing, and placing local young adults with special talents based on their interests and abilities.

We're all about learning, sharing, making mistakes, growing, making dreams come true, and having tons of fun. We absolutely love what we do and it seems that the community does too, because we're growing! That's why we're looking to hire someone to join our Coaching and Placement team.

The Placement Coach works with our Placement Coordinator, Job Coaches, and of course our Special Talent to help ease the transition into paid employment at local businesses that are aligned with the dreams, interests and unique skills of each of our Talent. The goal is independent employment at a time that's just right.

So how will you know if you're the right fit for ZABS Place?

Think of great sports coaches. They don't really teach the game, they help their players understand the fundamentals, guide practice, slow down the game to work on technique, give lots of encouragement, and stay on the sidelines so the players can shine on their own. That’s you! You’ll be focused on supporting our ZABS Grads in their new job so they can successfully master the skills they're already good at and be amazing new employees. 

Overview:

The mission of this position is to help our Special Talent make their dreams reality by providing transition coaching so they will be successful in their new positions. 

Here’s What You’ll Do: 

• Meet the Talent: Work alongside our Job Coaches to support our graduating Special Talent and learn about their skills and interests. 
• Learn the Job: You’ll need to learn the jobs your Talent will be doing so you can guide them.
• Walk Backwards: Our goal for our ZABS Grads is independent employment. You'll need to assess their new job responsibilities and create a plan they can follow to help them master the job and be able to work independently.
• Be a Ninja: Every job is made up of many tasks and that can be overwhelming to learn. You’ll need to break down the tasks into steps to help them master the skills more easily.
• Be a Model! Be an example of how a professional behaves while at work.
• Master the Balance Beam: You’ll be providing some one-on-one support, encouraging independence, and teaching real-world problem-solving techniques. Sometimes you’ll need to teach a new task and show how it’s done, other times you’ll need to step back, watch, and be a cheerleader. It’s a balance.
• Juggle Hats: Teacher, Translator, Advocate, Cheerleader, Counselor, and Anticipator of Potential Issues (weird name for a hat, we know).
• Be an Advocate: It’s up to you to offer input and feedback about your ZABS Grad's progress. Provide specific guidance and best practices to new employers so they can provide the right amount of support for their new employee.
• Practice Disappearing: Each ZABS Place Graduate is coached in their new place of employment until they, and their new employer, agree they are ready for independent employment. When that happens you'll ease out and come back for check-ins.

Qualifications:

• Experience working with people with developmental differences
• Strong communication skills
• Organization
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Creative-thinking and problem-solving
• Recommended: Education/Experience equivalent to an Undergraduate Degree in Special Education, Social Services, Business, Personnel Management, Vocational Services, Sales or Recruitment experience, or other related fields

If you got this far, we'd love to meet you for an interview!