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Employment & Financial Empowerment Case Manager

Location: In office 3 days/week; virtual 2 days/week

Salary: $58,000-60,000 per annum, with benefits

Position type: full-time, permanent

About the Role

The Employment & Financial Empowerment Case Manager supports clients to build stability, confidence, and choice in their economic lives. This role works with individuals to identify their financial, education, employment, and career goals, reduce barriers, and develop realistic plans to move toward greater independence and long-term well-being.

Clients may be exploring a return to school, re-entering the workforce, changing careers, managing financial stress, building employment readiness, or trying to understand what kind of work fits their life, caregiving responsibilities, skills, values, and future goals.

This position is ideal for someone who is client-centred, trauma-informed, practical, encouraging, and skilled at helping people move from feeling stuck or overwhelmed to having a clear and achievable path forward.

Key Responsibilities

Client Support & Case Management

• Provide one-on-one, client-centred case management to support employment, education, career, and financial empowerment goals.
• Work with clients to assess strengths, barriers, interests, skills, financial needs, education history, work experience, and personal circumstances.
• Support clients to develop individualized action plans with clear, realistic steps toward their goals.
• Help clients identify and navigate barriers such as childcare, transportation, confidence, digital literacy, credential recognition, housing instability, income insecurity, trauma, caregiving responsibilities, or lack of work experience.
• Provide ongoing encouragement, accountability, follow-up, and problem-solving support.

Employment & Career Planning

• Support clients with employment readiness, including resumes, cover letters, job searches, applications, interview preparation, workplace communication, and confidence-building.
• Help clients explore career options that align with their strengths, interests, values, income needs, family responsibilities, and long-term goals.
• Support clients to understand labour market information, transferable skills, training pathways, and realistic steps toward career advancement.
• Assist clients in identifying short-term employment options as well as longer-term career goals.
• Connect clients to appropriate employment programs, training opportunities, mentorship, placements, volunteering, or upgrading programs.

Education & Training Pathways

• Support clients who are considering returning to school, upgrading, certification, micro-credentials, apprenticeship pathways, or professional training.
• Help clients research programs, admission requirements, timelines, costs, financial aid, OSAP or other funding options, and support services.
• Assist clients in creating education plans that are realistic based on their current life circumstances, responsibilities, and financial situation.
• Work with partners to set up and implement groups and workshops that support client success (minimum 5 workshops set up per month)

Financial Empowerment Support

• Provide basic financial empowerment support, including budgeting, goal setting, understanding expenses, improving financial confidence, and connecting clients to income supports or benefits.
• Support clients to identify financial barriers and develop practical strategies to stabilize or improve their economic situation.
• Connect clients to appropriate services for debt support, tax filing, benefits access, housing supports, food security, legal supports, or financial counselling where needed.
• Help clients understand how employment, education, benefits, and income changes may affect their overall financial situation.

Community Referrals & Systems Navigation

• Build and maintain knowledge of local employment, education, financial, settlement, housing, childcare, mental health, and community resources.
• Make warm referrals and support clients to navigate systems, applications, and appointments.
• Develop relationships with community partners, employment agencies, training providers, schools, funders, and other relevant services.
• Advocate with and for clients where appropriate, while supporting client self-determination and choice.

Documentation & Program Support

• Maintain accurate, timely, and confidential case notes, service plans, referrals, and outcome tracking.
• Collect data and client feedback to support program reporting, evaluation, and continuous improvement.
• Participate in team meetings, supervision, training, case consultations, and organizational planning.
• Support workshops, groups, or information sessions related to employment readiness, financial empowerment, career exploration, or education planning as needed.

Qualifications

• Post-secondary education in social work, social services, career counselling, employment counselling, community development, financial empowerment, psychology, education, or a related field; or equivalent experience.
• Experience providing case management, employment support, career planning, financial empowerment, or systems navigation.
• Strong understanding of barriers that may affect employment, education, and financial stability, particularly for women, newcomers, survivors of violence, low-income individuals, caregivers, and people experiencing systemic inequities.
• Knowledge of local employment services, education and training pathways, income supports, financial resources, and community services.
• Experience using a trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, strengths-based, and client-centred approach.
• Strong communication, coaching, problem-solving, documentation, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to support clients with practical tools while respecting their pace, choices, lived experience, and goals.
• Comfortable supporting clients with resumes, job searching, interviews, applications, budgeting, and goal planning.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage a caseload independently.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, databases, and virtual service delivery tools.

Assets

• Experience working in a women-serving, family-serving, anti-violence, settlement, employment, or community-based organization.
• Knowledge of Ontario employment systems, OSAP, income supports, social assistance, ODSP/OW, childcare subsidy, and community financial empowerment resources.
• Certification or training in career development, financial empowerment, trauma-informed practice, motivational interviewing, or case management.
• Ability to speak additional languages.
• Lived experience or deep understanding of navigating employment, education, caregiving, migration, poverty, trauma, or systemic barriers.

Key Competencies

• Client-centred and non-judgmental
• Practical and solutions-focused
• Trauma-informed and anti-oppressive
• Strong listener and relationship-builder
• Organized and reliable
• Encouraging and empowering
• Comfortable with complexity and ambiguity
• Able to balance emotional support with concrete planning
• Respectful of client choice, dignity, and self-determination

Working Conditions

• Evening appointments in person one day per week
• occasional weekend work may be required.
• The role may involve supporting clients experiencing financial stress, trauma, family violence, housing instability, or other complex challenges.
• A satisfactory vulnerable sector check and registration with a college required.