Community Specialist

JOB SUMMARY

The Community Specialist (CS) supports Plymouth residents by  working in a team environment, in 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 and educates new residents with the goal of understanding how the building functions and building expectations, and also serves as part of an onsite permanent supportive housing team (PSH) that is committed to supporting the well-being of residents and includes staff presence in buildings, creating strong positive connections among tenants and staff to foster a sense of community, safety and home. Specific tasks related to this position (but are not limited to) include collaboration with tenants, building staff and partners to offer regular culturally relevant activities in and outside of the building that meet a wide range of tenant needs and interest.

This position is generally assigned to an individual Plymouth building but may be reassigned on a short or long-term basis, based on business/service needs.

Work Schedule: This position works a 40-hour work week, and at times requires working weekday evenings and one weekend day along with the willingness to work select holiday mornings.  

This is a unionized position, represented by Local 8 of the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU). 

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

(Responsibilities, accountabilities, and competencies; may not include all duties of this job.)

Supportive and Community Services 

• In partnership with tenants, building team and behavioral health partners, identifies 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. 
• Arrange for and/or distribute 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. 
• Distribute 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.

 Collaborative 

• Plan and execute events and meetings as needed. i.e., identify resources, recruits and manages support needed to facilitate community events (coordinate with building staff, partners, volunteers, etc.).
• Provides support, guidance, and oversight during communicatee events for all volunteers and interns. 

• Helps manage the milieu to promote safety and community by maintaining a proactive presence during non-event hours.
• Proactively seeks tenant input and feedback and encourages tenant leadership.

• Participates and attends staff/supervisory and team meetings. 

• Participates in Plymouth committees and workgroups as appropriate.

• Practices a cooperative work approach and promotes teamwork among co-workers. 

• Works collaboratively across Plymouth departments to uphold organization mission, vision and core values.
• Responds to emergencies, initiating emergency maintenance actions 
• Serves and provides additional support to building team as needed.

Administrative

• Coordinating with internal departments of calendared activities, scheduling meetings, and collecting client information.
• Ensure 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.  i.e., Incident Reports, tenant satisfaction surveys.

Other 

• Performs other duties as assigned by Site Director.

ESSENTIAL JOB QUALIFICATIONS

(Any equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, abilities, education, and experience.)

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:

• Committed to working toward diversity, equity, and inclusion in providing services to tenants and working with Plymouth staff. Able to communicate and work effectively with a diverse group of voices in support of Plymouth’s goal of being an anti-racist organization.

• 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.