Troop 6000 Social Worker, LMSW
GSGNY Background
For over a century, Girl Scouts has been instilling generations of girls with the skills and knowledge to become young women of courage, confidence, and character, to speak out and be leaders. Today, Girl Scouts of Greater New York (GSGNY) is delivering its message of empowerment and engaging more than 25,000 girls of every race, background, and religion.
GSGNY’s vision is a New York City in which every girl feels empowered to lead in her community, the workplace, and the world. GSGNY has become a hub for innovation within the broader Girl Scouts movement, presenting new ways to engage and inspire the next generation of young leaders.
Recent investments and initiatives include:
- The Leadership Institute provides middle and high school-aged girls with 21st-century leadership skills and subject-specific knowledge and experiences that will help girls reshape their views on leadership and about their own potential to transform into powerful agents of change while equipping them to succeed in school and their future careers.
- Troop 6000 is the first Girl Scout program specially designed to serve the thousands of girls currently living in the New York City homeless shelter system.
- Cybersecurity Programs at Girl Scouts were designed to serve the evolving needs of New York City’s girls and New York City’s workforce. With the goal of encouraging girls to consider careers that require STEM skills, this program ensures girls have the tools and knowledge they need to safely navigate our increasingly tech-driven world.
- Anti-Racist and Anti-Bias Training: We teach girls to lead by example, and to that end, we are committed to doing the work necessary to become an anti-racist organization. We are working to partner with experts in the areas of race, inclusion, and equity to conduct a series of trainings for both staff and volunteers.
- Camp Kaufmann: The camp experience is an essential part of Girl Scouting – and as the only Girl Scout council in the nation in which 100% of the girls we serve are growing up in an urban environment, we prioritize offering high-quality outdoor education opportunities to New York City girls. We recently upgraded and enhanced facilities at our 425-acre Camp Kaufmann in Dutchess County, including the construction of a new swimming pool.
Guided by an ambitious strategic plan and its dynamic CEO, Karen Lundgard, Girl Scouts of Greater New York aims to expand to reach more girls while serving as an innovating force within the national Girl Scout movement.
Troop 6000 Background
Troop 6000 is a program of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York that serves female-identifying youth ages 5-17 and their families who are living in the NYC shelter system. Meetings are held on a weekly basis, inside shelters across the city, and are led by trained troop leaders who include adults also living or working in the shelter system and adults living in the neighboring community.
Research has shown that girls who are Girl Scouts for three years or more develop stronger leadership skills, reach a higher socio-economic status, and are more civically engaged. Thus, our goal is to retain girls for three years or more, even after they leave the shelter system for permanent housing. 7-years since the start of Troop 6000, the program continues to expand across the five boroughs and also offers specialized programing to further support the influx of migrant and asylum-seeking families who are now in the NYC shelter system.
Position Description
The Troop 6000 Social Worker is primarily responsible for ensuring that Girl Scouts and their families, who are living in shelter or have recently transitioned to permanent housing, receive the support, services, and resources needed that reduces barriers to participating in Girl Scout programming. They will conduct routine shelter site visits to troop meetings to engage, assess, and provide support to Girl Scouts and their parents to cultivate success inside and outside of the program. This person is responsible for providing excellent customer service, emotional support, case management, and crisis intervention services for Girl Scouts and their families. The Troop 6000 Social Worker will report to and work closely with the Troop 6000 Director of Social Work Services.
This person is also responsible for supporting volunteer troop leaders in best-practices for working with this population of Girl Scouts. They will provide training and guidance around group dynamics, behavior modification plans, and accommodation support needed for Girl Scouts in meetings. They will work collaboratively with shelter site staff and advocate to ensure Girl Scout families’ case management needs are being met. The Social Worker will maintain consistent and adequate notes and metrics and will deliver clear and concise oral and written reports for a multidisciplinary audience.
Responsibilities
The Troop 6000 Social Worker will:
Girl Scout Support:
- Engage, assess, and intervene with Girl Scouts experiencing homelessness by visiting weekly troop meetings at shelter locations.
- Perform effective crisis response and management services for Girl Scouts and their families.
- Serve as an advocate for migrant Girl Scouts living in the NYC shelter system by educating participants and parents about available services and connecting them to mental health, social service, and community resources.
- Maintain contact with transitioned Girl Scout families once they move out of shelter to provide continuity of care.
- Develop creative and effective solutions to challenging problems and issues facing this population in conjunction with the Troop 6000 team.
- Make quick, sound decisions independently around crisis intervention, child safety and wellbeing, etc.
Troop Leader Support:
- Encourage, coach, train, and continuously mentor volunteer leaders around best-practices with this Girl Scout population.
- Identify the need for and provide problem solving and conflict resolution in a timely manner.
- Provide guidance to leaders on Girl Scout needs, accommodations, and individualized plans as needed.
Qualifications
- LMSW required. LCSW preferred.
- Bilingual English & Spanish required.
- SIFI certified preferred.
- Experience working with homeless individuals and families. Experience working with migrant, immigrant, asylum-seeking populations is preferred.
- Working knowledge of social, economic, and political issues relevant to low-income and immigrant communities and trends in the field of homelessness and female empowerment.
- Knowledge of DHS/DSS, ACS, and DOE policies, protocols and resources.
- Knowledge of child development, child mental health, and clinical interventions for youth.
- Experience with community outreach and advocacy.
- Excellent interpersonal skills; have a strong sensitivity to cultural differences present among staff, participants, and volunteers within our organization.
- Prior experience and current interest in organizing and executing group trainings a plus.
- Ability to work flexible hours including evenings and some weekends.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Windows, Word, Excel, and Outlook.
Compensation & Benefits:
- 70k -75k annual salary.
- Comprehensive benefits including options for health, dental & vision coverage, Flexible Spending Account/FSA, commuter benefits, 403(b) retirement savings plan with employer match, and generous PTO.
- The Girl Scouts of Greater New York Team is currently working in a team-specific, hybrid style with some employees working from the office and others working partly remote.
The Girl Scouts of Greater New York are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to you without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, age, veteran status, medical condition or disability, genetic information, gender identity, or any other protected status under federal, state, or local law.
This job description should not be interpreted as all-inclusive. It is intended to identify the essential functions and requirements of this job. Incumbents may be requested to perform job-related responsibilities and tasks other than those stated in this description. Any essential function or requirement of this job will be evaluated as necessary should an incumbent or applicant be unable to perform the function or requirement due to a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Reasonable accommodation(s) for the specific disability will be made for the incumbent or applicant when possible.