Placement Specialist

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The Reading Service Program connects a visually impaired person with a reading volunteer who helps accessing otherwise often inaccessible written and electronic materials. We provide programming in a vision sensitive environment that enables people with vision impairment attain their goals and live independently. This opportunity is ideal for a problem solver, with an outgoing personality, and strong computer skills who understands how to get things done.

Position: Reading Service - Placement Specialist

Location: 250 West 64th Street, 6th Floor New York, NY 10023

Opportunity Summary: This position helps implement and administer the Reading Services Program by matching clients and volunteers. The responsibilities will range from outreach to potential clients; identifying volunteers and candidates for the program; and recruiting and placing volunteers to support the client’s reading needs and volunteer’s desire to help the client. In addition, this position will post volunteer reading opportunities; coordinating schedules, receiving onsite clients and volunteers; mediate the reading pair relationship, manage client and volunteer info in databases and CRM; overall making sure pairs work well together.

Principle duties and responsibilities:
- Manage the pairing of clients and volunteers.
- Conduct research and outreach efforts to get volunteer readers.
- Completing intake and assessment of client’s needs and volunteer’s qualifications
- Answer Volunteer Center phones.
- Receive onsite volunteers and clients.
- Manages scheduling, cancellations and updates as well as makes appropriate notifications.
- Identify volunteer readers to fill vacancies.
- Escorts visually impaired clients if needed.
- Distributes assistive devices for reading.
- Manages client and volunteer databases and CRM
- Update monthly onsite/offsite volunteer times for reporting
- Fills in as reader for onsite visually impaired clients when necessary.
- Support the administrative needs of the department and duties as assigned.

Qualifications:
- Strong verbal and written communication skills.
- Good interpersonal and telephone skills with the ability to correspond with clients and volunteers consistently via telephone and face to face communications.
- Able to handle confidential information.
- Able to arrive on time and be ready to work.
- A strong customer service orientation, good interpersonal skills.
- Basic to Intermediate knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel and Access required.
- The ability to take and follow instruction and apply critical thinking skills.
- Experience managing a project independently to completion required.
- The ability to exhibit excellence in the execution of your responsibilities required.