Youth Development Specialist

Job Title: Youth Development Specialist

Location: ELIZABETH HS

Department Name: YES Grant-Halsey

Req #: 0000266036

Status: Hourly

Shift: Day

Pay Range: $29.21 - $30.75 per hour

Pay Transparency:

The above reflects the anticipated hourly wage range for this position if hired to work in New Jersey.

The compensation offered to the candidate selected for the position will depend on several factors, including the candidate's educational background, skills and professional experience.

At RWJBarnabas Health, our School Based Youth Services Program teams operate at the heart of our communities, delivering innovative prevention and mentorship networks that directly support adolescent development. As a Youth Program Coordinator, you become part of a purpose-driven environment where teamwork, compassion, and excellence create meaningful experiences every day. In this vital role, you will design impactful prevention-based services, build strong community partnerships, and provide career counseling to help students navigate their futures. Joining RWJBarnabas Health means joining a supportive care community committed to enhancing youth success, nurturing peer relations, and making a lasting impact on families across New Jersey.

A Typical Day:

• Developing Mentorship Programs: Collaborating with program leadership to design, coordinate, and implement structured programming for our student Mentor and Leadership Groups.
• Delivering Career Counseling: Providing direct career and employment counseling services, including resume writing workshops, job readiness coaching, and interview etiquette training.
• Building Community Partnerships: Forging strong partnerships with local agencies, community stakeholders, and institutions of higher learning to secure vital student resources.
• Facilitating Youth Engagement: Coordinating recreational activities and prevention-based workshops that nurture positive peer relations and strengthen student connectedness to school.
• Supporting Caregiver Networks: Engaging in targeted outreach activities to support students' caregivers, optimizing family well-being and student outcomes.
• Ensuring Compliance & Intakes: Providing direct support to referred students in individual or group settings, documenting care details, and submitting timely data reports to the Program Director.

This Role Might Be For You If:

• You Are a Youth Advocate: You possess a deep, empathetic passion for creating a welcoming, non-judgmental, and therapeutic environment for adolescents.
• You Excel at Communication: Clear, compassionate communication defines how you interact with students, families, school personnel, and multidisciplinary care teams.
• You Thrive on Connection: You value collaborative teamwork and excel at networking with community social service agencies to build a seamless continuity of care.
• You Value Operational Pride: You set a high bar for your documentation, taking pride in logging accurate pipeline metrics and meeting strict organizational compliance timelines.

To Be Considered:

• Education & Experience: A minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology, sociology, human services, or a related field is required; OR an Associate Degree accompanied by documented proof of at least three (3) years of full-time experience as a youth service worker.
• Clinical Skills: Prior experience delivering career counseling, workshop facilitation, youth mentorship, or community resource tracking is highly preferred.
• Licensure: Must possess and maintain a valid Driver’s License to assist with regional community engagement.
• Physical Demands: Physical coordination to manage occasional standing, walking, sitting, filing, and local driving, with the communication stamina to constantly engage in verbal and auditory triage.