The Community Outreach Partner is responsible for building, strengthening, and maintaining regional relationships that support Future Plans’ work with youth, adults, employers, schools, community organizations, and partner systems. This role serves as a key connector between Future Plans and the assigned region’s community ecosystem. The Community Outreach Partner does not serve as the primary direct coach or participant support role. Instead, this position focuses on outreach, partnership development, referral pathway coordination, community engagement, and regional intelligence. The Community Outreach Partner helps ensure that Future Plans has the relationships, resources, community visibility, and partner connections needed to support effective service delivery. As part of a regional team, the Community Outreach Partner works under the direction of the Regional Leader and collaborates closely with Adult Career Mentors, Career Navigators, Workforce and Economic Development staff, and other Future Plans team members. While Adult Career Mentors provide direct coaching and individualized participant support, the Community Outreach Partner helps identify and maintain the community, school, employer, workforce, and service-provider partnerships that support participant success. The Community Outreach Partner will engage with schools, employers, workforce agencies, community organizations, courts, correctional facilities, treatment and recovery providers, developmental disability service providers, elected officials, nonprofits, and other local stakeholders. This role helps identify regional needs, workforce trends, service gaps, community resources, and partnership opportunities that can strengthen Future Plans’ work across the assigned region. The success of this role is measured by the strength, usefulness, and coordination of regional partnerships, referral pathways, community relationships, and workforce connections that support Future Plans’ service delivery. Key Responsibilities: Regional Outreach and Partnership Development - employers, workforce agencies, community organizations, nonprofits, elected officials, courts, correctional facilities, treatment and recovery providers, developmental disability service providers, libraries, OhioMeansJobs offices, and other local stakeholders.
- Serve as a visible Future Plans representative in the assigned region by attending community meetings, coalition meetings, school-based events, workforce development meetings, employer convenings, and other regional activities.
- Increase awareness of Future Plans’ mission, services, and regional priorities among community partners and stakeholders.
- Identify new partnership opportunities that can expand access to Future Plans services and strengthen youth and adult career pathway work.
- Help partners understand the Future Plans model and how to connect individuals, schools, employers, or organizations to the appropriate Future Plans staff or service pathway.
Regional Team Collaboration - Work as part of a regional team that includes the Regional Leader, Community Outreach Partners, Adult Career Mentors, Career Navigators, and other assigned team members.
- Collaborate with Adult Career Mentors by sharing current information about regional partners, referral resources, community supports, employer needs, workforce opportunities, school contacts, and service gaps.
- Support Adult Career Mentors by identifying partner organizations, referral pathways, community resources, and service connections that may assist their direct work with participants around barrier removal, employment readiness, and placement opportunities.
- Support clear internal handoffs by sharing relevant partner, referral, or community resource information with the appropriate Future Plans team member when participant, school, employer, or partner needs require follow-up.
- Coordinate with the Regional Leader to ensure outreach activities, partner relationships, and community engagement efforts are aligned with regional priorities.
- Help reduce duplication across the regional team by ensuring that partner communication, outreach, and relationship management are coordinated.
- Share relevant regional information with the Workforce and Economic Development Department, Adult Career Mentors, Career Navigators, and other internal team members as appropriate.
Community Resource and Referral Pathway Development - Identify and maintain knowledge of regional organizations, agencies, programs, and resources that support barrier removal and address the social determinants of work.
- Develop and maintain referral pathways with organizations that provide support related to transportation, housing, childcare, recovery, reentry, legal needs, food access, basic needs, education, training, digital access, disability-related supports, and other needs that may impact career and employment success.
- Share current resource and referral information with Adult Career Mentors, Career Navigators, and other Future Plans team members.
- Identify gaps in regional services and communicate those gaps to the Regional Leader and appropriate internal team members.
- Support regional capacity-building efforts that help partners work together more effectively to reduce barriers to career pathway development and employment.
School, Youth, and Education Partnerships - Build and maintain relationships with schools, districts, career technical centers, youth-serving organizations, and education partners in the assigned region.
- Support school-based and youth-related Future Plans initiatives by helping coordinate partner communication, outreach, scheduling, community connections, and implementation support.
- Collaborate with Career Navigators, school workforce staff, Adult Career Mentors, and other Future Plans team members to support alignment across youth and adult career pathway work.
- Help identify opportunities for students and young adults to engage in career exploration, assessment, work-based learning, employer connections, and career pathway development through appropriate Future Plans staff and programs.
- Represent Future Plans professionally in school-based and youth-serving settings and follow all applicable school or partner-site expectations.
Workforce, Employer, and Economic Development Connections - Build and maintain relationships with regional employers, workforce development organizations, economic development partners, chambers of commerce, training providers, and industry partners.
- Monitor regional workforce trends, employer needs, in-demand industries, training opportunities, and emerging employment pathways.
- Share employer and workforce intelligence with the Regional Leader, Adult Career Mentors, Workforce and Economic Development Department, and other appropriate Future Plans team members.
- Help identify opportunities for employer engagement, participant placement, career pathway development, work-based learning, and training partnerships.
- Support alignment between Future Plans’ regional services and local workforce and economic development priorities.
Facility, Court, Reentry, Recovery, and Specialized Partner Engagement - Build and maintain relationships with partner systems that serve priority populations, including courts, correctional facilities, reentry programs, treatment centers, recovery organizations, developmental disability service providers, and related community-based systems.
- Help identify opportunities for Future Plans to provide services in facilities, partner locations, schools, and other approved community-based settings.
- Coordinate with the Regional Leader and appropriate Future Plans staff to support access, scheduling, communication, and partner expectations for service delivery in specialized settings.
- Understand and follow partner-site requirements, confidentiality expectations, safety protocols, and background or clearance requirements when engaging with facilities, schools, courts, and other partner locations.
Community Engagement, Presentations, and Communication - Conduct community presentations and partner briefings to increase awareness of Future Plans’ services, regional priorities, and career pathway opportunities.
- Represent Future Plans at community events, workforce events, school events, partner meetings, and public-facing activities.
- Translate Future Plans’ work into clear, accessible messages for community partners, employers, schools, participants, and stakeholders.
- Identify partner, community, and participant success stories and share them with appropriate internal team members for possible use in reports, storytelling, grant reporting, testimonials, and public communications.
Data, Documentation, and Reporting - Maintain accurate and timely records of outreach activities, partner contacts, community meetings, referrals, presentations, and regional engagement efforts.
- Maintain updated partner information, including key contacts, relationship status, referral processes, partner expectations, and follow-up needs.
- Support data collection and reporting related to regional partnerships, community engagement, referral activity, workforce trends, and partner needs.
- Share relevant information with the Regional Leader and appropriate Future Plans team members to support planning, decision-making, program improvement, and stakeholder communication.
- Use Future Plans systems, CRM, databases, or other tracking tools to document outreach, partnership development, partner relationships, referrals, and regional engagement activities.
Other Duties - Attend required Future Plans meetings, regional team meetings, trainings, and planning sessions.
- Represent Future Plans in a manner that reflects the organization’s mission, values, and commitment to helping individuals and communities move toward greater opportunity.
- Additional duties as assigned
Qualifications & Skills: Qualifications - Minimum of three years of relevant experience in community outreach, workforce development, education, business engagement, human services, nonprofit work, community leadership, or a related field.
- Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with schools, employers, community organizations, public systems, workforce agencies, and other regional partners.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to communicate professionally with individuals at various levels of business, government, education, nonprofit, workforce, and community leadership.
- Ability to work effectively with diverse populations, including youth, adults, justice-involved individuals, individuals in recovery, dislocated workers, adults with developmental disabilities, and individuals facing barriers to employment.
- Ability to maintain appropriate confidentiality, professional boundaries, and role clarity when working with partners, community members, and internal team members.
- Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple relationships, meetings, outreach activities, and follow-up items.
- Confidence in public speaking, presentations, meeting facilitation, and community engagement.
- Ability to work independently in the field while staying aligned with regional team priorities and supervisor direction.
- Proficiency in Microsoft 365, including Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and virtual meeting platforms.
- Ability to use CRM, database, or tracking systems to document outreach activity, partner relationships, referrals, and follow-up.
- Reliable transportation, valid driver’s license, and minimum state-required auto insurance.
- Ability and willingness to travel throughout the assigned region.
- Successful completion of all required background checks, screenings, and clearances, including Ohio’s criminal background check and any additional background checks, school-based requirements, facility clearances, or partner-site approvals necessary to perform the role.
Preferred - Experience working in or with schools, workforce agencies, community-based organizations, courts, correctional facilities, recovery organizations, reentry programs, treatment providers, developmental disability service providers, employers, or economic development partners.
- Experience supporting regional partnership development, community engagement, coalition work, or cross-sector collaboration.
- Knowledge of regional workforce trends, employer needs, career pathways, training programs, and community resources.
- Experience working with youth and adult populations, including individuals navigating complex life challenges or barriers to employment.
- College experience preferred but not required. Equivalent experience, skills, and demonstrated community knowledge will be considered
Skills - Relationship-building and partnership development.
- Community engagement and outreach.
- Cross-sector collaboration and coordination.
- Public speaking and facilitation.
- Regional workforce and community resource awareness.
- Strong follow-through and documentation.
- Ability to connect people, organizations, and opportunities.
- Ability to work collaboratively as part of a regional team.
- Ability to communicate regional needs, partner feedback, and service gaps clearly to internal teams.
- Ability to support alignment between community partnerships, workforce opportunities, and Future Plans’ regional priorities.
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