Youth Development Specialist

Unit: Exempt (With Benefits)

Department: Administration

Grade: 12

Salary Range: $70,611.14 - $88,689.31

Posting Date: Thursday, January 29, 2026

Application Deadline: Thursday, February 12, 2026

Application Procedure: Please submit a cover letter and resume detailing your qualification.  No phone calls or letters. Submit your resume, cover letter, and any additional materials to jobs@bostonhousing.org. Deadline: Thursday,February 12, 2026.  Please be sure to identify the position you are applying for.

General Description:  
ABOUT THE JOB: Under the supervision of the Senior Advisor for Youth Programs, the Youth Development Specialist will be responsible for providing case management services for residents aged 14-24 years old at the BHA’s Mildred C. Hailey development in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood to improve their post-secondary education and employment opportunities. With this new role, we are seeking a dynamic self-starter to build relationships with youth and young adults at the site and provide them with individual support that prepares them for the workforce, connects them to employment opportunities, and enrolls them in programs or education opportunities and that help youth and young adults identify and pursue their professional aspirations. The Specialist will be responsible for developing and managing new community and professional partnerships that increase the opportunities available to youth at Mildred C. Hailey, and providing mentoring and case management support that collectively build the self-sufficiency and workforce readiness of youth at the development. The Development Specialist will be responsible for forming positive relationships with youth at the site and recruiting them to utilize the services. The Specialist will be responsible for identifying action items with the young people and consistently and frequently following up with them to ensure they complete these items.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Provide broad spectrum of support for youth at site to reduce education and employment-related barriers and prepare youth for professional opportunities. This may include providing individual career counseling, referring and enrolling youth in programs and accompanying them to initial program start, forming partnerships with community organizations and advocating for more opportunities and resources, and identifying supportive resources, among others
• Develop professional goals with participants and screen for barriers to employment. Develop individual work plans with steps to address these barriers and assist youth in reaching professional goals. This may include education and vocational planning and career research and planning to ensure that youth are aware of diverse career opportunities and paths to achieve these goals
• Provide individual job readiness support such as skill development, resume assistance, interview practice and skills, and soft skills. Refer participants to workforce readiness programs where the Development Specialist is not suited to develop more technical skills
• Develop relationships with service partners, local employers, and program providers to improve youth access to these opportunities, develop new employment and internship opportunities, and increase the competitiveness of Hailey applicants. Coordinate with partners on support for youth jointly served by Development Specialist and service provider
• Refer and enroll youth in other supportive services that will grow their opportunities for gainful employment, such as those that address social-emotional health, housing stability, food insecurity, etc. Provide counseling on life and soft skills needed in professional setting such as time management, maturity, financial literacy, communication and interpersonal relationships, as well as cultural biases
• Consistently and frequently follow up with participants to ensure they are attending programming and following through on work plans and goals. The Development Specialist may need to meet with participants daily, weekly, or monthly depending on the level of support and follow through needed to help youth achieve their goals and overcome barriers. If youth become unresponsive, then Development Specialist will be responsible for pursuing all avenues of contact to try to re-engage participant in services. Development Specialist will also follow up and monitor progress of participants as they enter other services and programs
• Conduct outreach to all households at site with member between ages of 14-24 years old to enroll participants in case management services. Outreach should be ongoing as long as caseload remains less than full. If caseload is full, then outreach should resume once youth move on from services or utilize the services less frequently
• Digitally track progress towards individual goals and case management services provided
• Maintain database of community partners, employers, and programs and their opportunities provided as well as those utilized by young people
• Create library of employment-related resources to share with participants as relevant
• Track key metrics on youth support in alignment with the BHA’s youth strategy, such as number of youth served, programs enrolled, and referrals made
• Collaborate effectively in a hybrid in-person and remote workplace setting, with expectation of daily work at Mildred C. Hailey development in Jamaica Plain
• Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications & Experience:

• At least five years of experience providing case management services to underserved youth and/or young adults
• Masters of Social Work can replace two years of experience
• Experience in community organizing and working with low-income populations required
• Experience working/living in the Boston community required, and in public housing a plus
• English proficiency required, conversational Spanish is strongly preferred
• Familiarity with community resources, local employers, workforce development programs, youth programs and services, education and training opportunities, and labor market trends required
• Self-starter with ability to work independently to launch initiatives with limited resources and minimal supervision
• Excellent conflict management and customer service skills
• Must be proficient in Microsoft systems and demonstrate the ability to learn and utilize new software
• Demonstrated communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work independently and in teams
• Attentive to detail, intellectually curious, and issue driven
• Applicant has a commitment to professional development and receiving and giving feedback 

BHA BENEFITS: BHA’s generous benefits package includes 14 paid Holidays, 4 Personal Days, 3 weeks of vacation, 3 weeks of paid sick leave, MBTA discount, participation in the City’s pension plan, and healthcare through the Commonwealth, and much more.                                 
ABOUT US:
Boston Housing Authority (BHA) fosters sustainable communities by providing quality affordable housing, bringing stability, opportunity, and peace of mind to thousands of low and moderate-income families across Greater Boston and the City of Boston as a whole. As the largest provider of affordable housing in Boston, one of the most expensive cities in the country, BHA understands housing as a crucial platform for individual, household, and community stability. Through our public housing communities and rental assistance programs, BHA provides housing assistance and services to more than 62,000 low and moderate-income households, including families with children, older adults, and individuals with disabilities. As a housing authority, we recognize the historical role that residential segregation has played in the City of Boston. In all aspects of our operations, internally and externally, BHA is committed to breaking down the barriers to justice in housing and related fields that disproportionately impact the communities we serve.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY:
BHA is a proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, and qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, age, sex, religion, physical or mental disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, and military and veteran status, or any other basis protected by local, state or federal law. To the greatest extent possible, it is the policy of BHA to give preference in employment to BHA public housing and leased housing residents, and to low-income persons.