Social Services Coordinator, Newark, NJ

About KIND

Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), launched in 2008, is a global leader in the protection of unaccompanied and separated children. KIND centers the needs, rights, and voices of children migrating alone in search of safety. Through a holistic approach, we combine legal services, advocacy, and partnerships across the private sector, philanthropy, government, and civil society to advance protections for unaccompanied and separated children. We work to ensure that migration systems recognize these children first and foremost as children.

Position Summary

KIND seeks a Social Services Coordinator to work with KIND’s child clients and their families to identify needs and gaps in services, assist families in accessing services related to education, health, mental health, housing, mediation, and childcare and provide leadership in establishing and sustaining relationships with local and state social services partners.

Essential Functions

• Develops and maintains a knowledge base of social services available to clients in assigned work areas.
• Develops relationships with community coalitions in areas of high client concentration.
• Establishes working relationships and partnerships with local service providers and administrators in each service area to enhance the referral process.
• Conducts assessments of referred clients, including the larger context in which the child is living, identifying needs, barriers, and safety concerns.
• Maintains documentation regarding attempts to access services and service delivery.
• Tracks and reports client data, outreach actions and outcomes, and general information for program evaluation, performance quality, and development purposes.
• Completes referrals to services, assists families in completing intake requirements for these services, and follow up as necessary.
• Assists KIND legal staff in working with families in crisis and transition.
• Works with other KIND Social Services Coordinators nationally to develop best practices, protocols, and provide training and support on relevant topics for KIND staff.
• Conducts training to support pro bono attorneys and community social providers.
• Works closely with other legal services providers, law firms, corporations, and law schools in relevant jurisdiction(s) to identify and support resource-sharing amongst these partner agencies.
• Supervises interns and volunteers.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Undergraduate degree in Social Work or related field, preferably in counseling, or related specialty.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience working with immigrant populations; experience working with unaccompanied minors preferred.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience working with children, preferably unaccompanied minors, immigrant and refugee children, or experience working with survivors of abuse, human trafficking, or other trauma.
• Ability to work collaboratively, and preferably, prior experience working with attorneys, law firms, or other legal service providers.
• A strong record of intercultural responsiveness, sensitivity and awareness, and cross-cultural communication skills.
• Experience working with a diverse team of social service providers and advocating on behalf of clients.
• Ability to verbalize and implement therapeutic-focused strategies for children/families.
• Ability to effectively conduct training to diverse audiences in person and virtually, including attorney training and diverse presentations for child clients.
• Familiarity or ability to work with adult immigrant caretakers, or training in trauma-informed parenting.
• Ability to manage, create and oversee various events that aim towards bringing resources and services to child clients.
• Ability to network with local coalitions to establish strong relationships to allow cross-referrals.
• Ability to travel as assigned.
• Ability to work within an office environment, have regular interaction via telephone, teleconference, IM, and email with KIND’s team, and have in-person meetings with clients
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Spanish (for direct communication with the children we serve and their caregivers, the majority of whom are Spanish speaking).
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (such as Teams, Excel, etc.).
• Ability to work collaboratively and multi-task in our KIND environment, managing numerous priorities and emerging opportunities.
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to work on multiple projects in a deadline-oriented environment; ability to prioritize tasks and delegate as appropriate.
• Ability to multitask and work with a sense of urgency in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Committed to practicing and supporting wellbeing and a work-home life balance.
• Experience working and communicating in a remote environment preferred but not required.

Our Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance with KIND paying 100% of the employee only portion of the premium for one of the three medical plan options, dental, and vision.
• Pre-tax flexible spending account (FSA) for both medical and dependent care.
• Pre-tax transit and parking spending account.
• Employer-paid life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment insurance.
• Employer-paid short and long-term disability insurance.

For a complete list of benefits, please click here.

Our Focus on Wellness

KIND recognizes that our ability to help our clients starts with helping our team members. KIND has prioritized wellness for employees through Mindfulness and Wellness Trainings, Wellness Platforms, Employee Assistance and Resilience Programs, Time Away and Office Wellness Activities.

For more information regarding our Wellness initiatives please visit this link.

Application Instructions

To be considered for this role, please submit an employment application at supportkind.org/join-the-team, along with your resume and cover letter.

Disclaimer: KIND is committed to an ethical recruitment and hiring process and maintains a firm “no fees” recruitment policy. We will never charge a fee or ask for money as part of the application process. KIND also conducts all interviews via telephone or video conference, and at no time will KIND engage in a text or mobile app-based application or interview process. For more information, please visit the following website: https://supportkind.org/join-the-team/kind-employment-practices/.