Community Specialist

Job Summary

The Community Specialist (CS) supports Plymouth residents by working in a team environment, maintaining high quality service delivery based on the values inherent in Plymouth’s mission, the principles of cultural proficiency, the tenets of harm reduction and trauma-informed care, and the 'housing first' philosophy. The CS educates new residents with the goal of understanding how the building functions and building expectations, and serves as part of an onsite permanent supportive housing team (PSH) that is committed to supporting the well-being of residents.

Essential Job Functions

• Supports tenants by identifying community building activities that are of interest to the residents - social activities, health, life skills, educational opportunities, treatment, peer groups, field trips, etc.
• Responsible for activities calendar, including planning and executing events.
• Actively outreaches residents to participate.
• Welcomes all new residents to a safe and inclusive environment for all and supports the orientation and onboarding program to acclimate residents to their new home, understand building expectations, and form relationships with staff and residents.
• Identifies and secures materials and supplies needed for events; maintain supply of “welcome baskets” for new tenants.
• Arranges for and/or distributes food to tenants during events.
• Creates respectful and trusting relationships with tenants.
• Transports groups of tenants to external activities using company vehicles.
• Creates schedules for community bus service or transportation, including local shopping or destination trips.
• Mediates conflict using de-escalation and other techniques; intervenes in crisis to respond to emergencies as necessary.
• Assists with resident’s complaints and concerns, escalating them to the Residential Services Manager as needed.
• Distributes newsletters, brochures, and other relevant materials to residents, ensuring that communicate accommodates language differences, cultural difference, visual impairments, and other necessary accommodations as requested by residents.
• Collaborates with tenants, building team and behavioral health partners to plan and execute events and meetings as needed.
• Coordinates with internal departments to calendared activities, schedules meetings, and collects client information.
• Ensures significant events involving residents and building operations activities are recorded accurately in daily log and all necessary information during shift, reads log daily at start of shift; maintains and or assists with other program documentation as needed.
• Performs other duties as assigned by Site Director.

Essential Job Qualifications

• Education: High School Diploma GED certification or an equivalent combination of relevant work experience.
• Experience: Two (2) years’ experience working in the human services field, preferably with low-income, diverse, homeless, and special needs clients.
• Licensure/Certification: Valid Washington State Driver License with fully insurable driving record.
• Knowledge, Skills & Abilities: Ability to communicate and listen effectively and successfully de-escalate potential volatile situations with staff members and tenants. Ability to be calm and exercise good judgement during emergency and stressful situations. Ability to work independently and with high motivation. Ability to work cooperatively in partnership with community stakeholders and resources. Ability to be flexible, supportive and to work cooperatively with staff as a member of a multi-disciplinary and diverse team. Experience with Microsoft Office applications; particularly Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and Zoom. Strong written and oral communication skills. Advanced knowledge of general office practices and procedures; strong customer service skills and excellent organizational and time management skills. Extraordinary attention to detail skills.

Desired Qualifications

• Familiarity with trauma-informed care and de-escalation is desired.
• Experience coordinating events is desired.

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package for Full-Time employees, including Medical, Dental, Vision, PTO, and 403(b) options. Additionally, employees have access to supplementary benefits such as the Employee Assistance Program, a subsidized ORCA pass, and more. This is a full-time position with benefits. Join us and be a catalyst for positive change!

Plymouth Housing is an equal opportunity employer. We recruit, hire, train and promote employees based on merit and business needs, and without regard for race, color, citizenship status, national origin, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, age, weight, religion, creed, physical or mental disability, marital status, veteran status, military status, political affiliation, or any other factor protected by law.