Under general supervision, the Independent Living Skills Instructor teaches clients with moderate to severe physical and behavioral disabilities to live on their own in the community. Employees in this job class teach clients living skills to include; health, nutrition, hygiene, budgeting and money management, laundry, cooking, shopping for household and personal items, making and keeping appointments, medication, and other related life skills. This job requires knowledge of self-help and independent living and the ability to patiently teach clients with disabilities skills to become more independent.

TYPICAL DUTIES:
1. *Communicates with clients, their families, doctors, dentists, employers, pharmacists and others on items that relate to the client and his/her well being. Teaches clients to effectively communicate with those who they interact with.
2. *Teaches clients with mental and/or physical disabilities how to live without continual care. Skills taught include cooking, housekeeping, budgeting and money management, personal, home and public safety, grocery and general shopping, and how to live independently in the community.
3. *Teaches clients health, nutrition, and hygiene and their relative importance. Examples include how to make and keep doctors appointments and manage their health through nutritional guidance and medication maintenance.
4. *Acts as an advocate for clients. Some situations include; clarifying information with medical staff, helping resolve disputes with apartment managers, resolving issues with local merchants and professionals.
5. *Maintains case files to include case notes, incident reports, health and safety risk assessments, Independent Living Plan, time cards, employee evaluations, performance summaries, wage evaluations, work assessments and related paperwork on a daily basis.
6. Performs other duties and special projects as assigned.

* Denotes Essential Job Function

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
• Must be at least 25 years of age;
• One or more years of experience working with people with disabilities preferred;
• Prior experience providing direction and assistance to others, preferably disabled individuals;
• Ability and patience to work with disabled individuals and help them acquire life skills over time;
• Ability to communicate effectively and respond to questions and requests from team, customers and others;
• Effective written communication skills using appropriate business English;
• Human relations skills to maintain effective working relationships with team;
• Effective customer service skills;
• Intermediate computer literacy including knowledge of word processing, spreadsheet, database and presentation software;
• Basic mathematical ability including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division;
• Demonstrated customer service, problem solving and common sense skills.

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:

High School Diploma or GED

CERTIFICATES OR LICENSES REQUIRED:

The following licenses or certificates may be required depending on local, state and/or contract requirements:

Valid Driver's License

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

Employees must have the ability to perform the following physical demands for extended periods of time with or without assistance:

• Maneuvering to and around equipment
• Bending, kneeling, stooping, and reaching
• Transporting to various locations within customer site
• Viewing computer screens
• Utilizing keyboard

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

Work is performed in a variety of locations including in a business office, customer worksite, and community environments. Driving to and from various locations is required including transporting clients.

DISCLAIMER:

The above information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees to this job. Employees are expected to follow their supervisor’s instructions and to perform the tasks requested by their supervisors.

At PRIDE, we make a difference in the lives of many, one job at a time.