New Director

The John D. Young Memorial Lions Blind Center is currently looking to hire a new Director. The Center provides a wide array of services for blind and visually impaired residents of Atlantic County and others in Southern New Jersey. The six core services of the Center are:

· Information

· Referral

· Peer support

· Training

· Job readiness skills

· Advocacy

Within this framework, the Director creates an atmosphere where disability does not impede learning for anyone, whether blind or visually impaired. All individuals experiencing sight loss, from infants to senior citizens, and their families, are welcomed and assisted, without charge.

The duties of the Director include:

· Partner with all Federal, State and County agencies also dedicated to alleviating the condition of blindness and to promotion of an independent life.

· Assist participants in creating an individualized plan with achievable goals and measurable outcomes.

· Welcomes the community into the Center by managing volunteers through recruitment interviews and background checks; and creates an opportunity for the volunteer that enhances the Center and the volunteer.

· Seeks funding from all sources, both public and private, to promote programs within the Center.

· Fields all inquiries, shares information, and encourages the BVI individual to access the services and to participate fully at the Center.

· Mentors a peer support group which meets monthly to share information and to air concerns.

· Manages the computer lab and schedules classes utilizing up-to-date accessibility software and hardware. The specialized reading machines, both CCTV and the SARA are kept available for use for participants, and training is available through the Director.

· Reports monthly to the Board of Trustees relating daily activities, successes, challenges and plans for upcoming events.

· Represents the Center at meetings, public hearings, conferences, both at the Center and elsewhere, to gather current information, changes within the laws governing disability, and to continue the partnership with agencies and consumer groups which serve the broader disability community and specifically the blind and visually impaired.

· Enters basic consumer intake information into the database from which statistical reports of goals set and met can be generated. There is an annual activity report shared with the Board of Trustees in December.

· Accepts all donated items, acknowledges the gift with a written “thank you” and then rededicates the item as deemed appropriate.

· Coordinates meetings with job coaches, counselors, trainers and teachers from other agencies, with participants at the center, to promote the goals of the individual.

· Enhances public relations and marketing for the Center, as a Lions Good Will Ambassador, by attending dinners, luncheons and other functions which are an opportunity to share information about the center and the services provided.

· Alerts program participants and other interested parties by electronic mail about upcoming events, educational and cultural opportunities in the community and at the center.

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