Migrant and Seasonal Farm Worker Outreach Specialist - Bilingual

Posting number: 27-00652

Department: 309 Iowa Workforce Development

Job classification: Workforce Advisor

Posting type: Open

Categories: Human Resources

Summary

IowaWORKS has an opening for a bilingual (English/Spanish) dynamic, customer focused, Migrant Seasonal Farm Worker (MSFW) Outreach Specialist to provide critical services to agricultural workers and employers in Iowa located in our IowaWorks Council Bluffs, IA office. In this important role, you will provide outreach to MSFWs where they live, work and gather to ensure they receive equitable access to important workforce related services and referrals.

Position Details

• Location: 300 W Broadway #13, Council Bluffs, IA
• Schedule: Full-time | Monday – Friday | 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
• Hybrid telework and alternate work schedule opportunities after 6 months of employment and training have been completed

What You’ll Do

As an Outreach Specialist, you will have the opportunity to:

• Conduct outreach to Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers (MSFWs) in their workplaces, living areas, and community gathering locations.
• Meet with MSFW participants to assess employability, eligibility for workforce services, and employment barriers or challenges.
• Explain available IowaWORKS services, including employment, training, Employment Service, and Employment-related Law Complaint System resources.
• Provide information on farmworker rights, employment terms and conditions, and organizations serving MSFWs in the area.
• Encourage MSFWs to access services at IowaWORKScenters and provide on-site services when individuals cannot or do not wish to visit a center.
• Refer job seekers to seasonal, permanent, agricultural, and non-agricultural employment opportunities.
• Promote and connect customers with workforce programs and services, including Unemployment Insurance, Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA), Veterans assistance, PROMISE JOBS, food assistance, and other Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) programs.
• Collaborate with partner agencies, including National Farmworker Job Grant, Legal Aid, Migrant Education, and Braking Traffik.
• Provide courteous, respectful, and professional customer service to internal and external customers.
• Collaborate with the One-Stop workforce system to improve customer experience and access to services.
• Interpret and explain applicable workforce rules and regulations to MSFW participants.
• Document and enter daily and monthly outreach activities, services, and reports into the appropriate electronic system.

Partner Agency Coordination & Referral

• Identify and maintain knowledge of services provided by partner agencies and service-based organizations that assist MSFW participants.
• Contact service organizations to plan outreach activities and compile available services electronically.
• Exchange monthly updates and current information regarding services available to MSFWs.
• Refer MSFW participants to appropriate partners and service agencies for applicable services.

Agricultural Employer Outreach & Support

• Maintain regular contact with agricultural employers to assist with assessments and staffing needs.
• Provide assistance to employers and community-based organizations regarding presentations, the Agriculture Recruiting System, Worker’s Rights, and Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker programs.
• Maintain an up-to-date tracking log for services provided to employers.
• Present or coordinate presentations for agricultural employers and agriculture-related employer groups.
• Provide information on MSPA, child labor laws, OSHA, tax information, and Worker’s Compensation.
• Conduct presentations in both small- and large group settings.

Case Management & Participant Services

• Perform case management functions, including assessing participants’ transferable skills, education, and work experience.
• Develop participant goals and objectives to identify employment-related opportunities that provide experience and support progress toward self-sufficiency.
• Identify additional supportive service needs and connect participants with appropriate resources.
• Maintain an organized electronic case file for each participant.
• Follow all program rules, policies, and procedures.
• Coordinate co-enrollment with partner agencies and programs, including the National Farm Job Program, WIOA Title I, Veterans, Vocational Rehabilitation, and Migrant Education.

A successful candidate with a passion for people and advocating on behalf of farm workers in Iowa.

About Us: Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) is a state agency committed to providing employment services for individual job seekers and to connecting employers to available workers through our IowaWORKSpartnership.IWD continually strives to improve processes and align the organization to provide effective, demand-driven products and services.

IWD consists of administrative services, disability determination services, information technology, labor market information, unemployment insurance services, vocational rehabilitation services, and workforce services. The agency also maintains a statewide delivery system of IowaWORKS Centers and satellite offices where both employers and job seeking Iowans can receive workforce assistance.

Benefits: Joining the IWD team and becoming a State of Iowa employee comes with a range of valuable benefits, including:

• Excellent health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Generous paid time off, including nine paid holidays, vacation, and sick leave with no cap on the sick leave accrual.
• Prepare for the future with the IPERS retirement package, as well as an additional optional deferred compensation retirement plan.
• Flexible Spending Accounts for medical and dependent care.
• Free Life and Long-term Disability Insurance with the option to purchase additional coverage.
• Employee Assistance Programs and Discount Programs for support.

Click here to learn more about all of the amazing benefits the State of Iowa offers.

If you’re looking for a career with a well-respected organization that values its employees and customers, you’ve come to the right place!

The State of Iowa participates in E-Verify; a federal program that helps employers confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. Within the required timeframe, new hires will be verified through the E-Verify system to ensure authorization to work in the United States. The State of Iowa also complies with the federal Right to Work laws, which protect employees’ rights to work without being required to join a labor organization. For more information, please visit www.e-verify.gov.

No applicant for employment with the Iowa Department of Workforce Development can have a current, ongoing overpayment balance with Iowa Workforce Development without a payment plan in place. Select positions will be subject to a criminal background check.

Examples of duties

863 Spanish Language (Customer Service) The ability to understand, speak, read, and write Spanish to provide service to Spanish speaking customers.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements to qualify for positions in this job classification:

1. Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a degree in any field.
2. Four years of full-time work experience in career services, teaching or training to improve skills, job coaching, providing human services to individuals in need, sales, customer service, call center operations, or human-resources-related services involving interviewing, reviewing job applications, conducting employment-related assessments, or job placement.
3. A total of four years of education and/or full-time experience (as described in number two), where thirty semester hours of accredited college or university coursework in any field equals one year of full-time experience.
4. Current, continuous experience in the state executive branch that includes twelve months of full-time work as a Workforce Associate.

For additional information, please click on this link to view the job description.