Community Outreach Worker

Community Outreach Worker

The Department of Health, Behavior & Society is seeking Community Outreach Workers who will support the conduct of a research project. Collects and organizes data through study-specific procedures that may include community outreach, data collection, sample collection, laboratory work, and/or field work. Provides general administrative support for meetings/events, communications, reporting, etc.

The Community Outreach Workers will specifically support Check It, which is an innovative, low-barrier mobile overdose- and HIV-prevention intervention that provides mobile point-of-care drug checking, HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), wound care, syringes and other safer drug use supplies, and other harm reduction services to people who use drugs in Baltimore and neighboring counties. As part of a team, Community Outreach Workers will provide specialized support, referrals, and harm reduction services to clients who visit the study's mobile van, lead efforts to build and maintain relationships with community members and other organizations/service providers, maintain a referral network, collect data related to service delivery and distribution of supplies, provide HIV testing and counseling, make healthcare and social service referrals, distribute safer drug use supplies, and distribute naloxone and train clients and community members on its use. Other responsibilities may be required as project services evolve and/or expand.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

• Assist in developing operational plans to meet research goals.
• Set up tools and procedures for data collection and study processes.
• Collect and organize data per study requirements, e.g. participant interviews, administer questionnaires, conduct background research, laboratory processing, etc.
• Process data by organizing data records and study files.
• Run basic analyses and prepare routine reports.
• Perform literature searches, abstract data from literature searches and index gathered data.
• Other duties as assigned.

In addition to the duties described above

• This role will require community-based work at least 90% of the time. Community Outreach Workers are expected to take independent initiative to complete tasks and be able to make independent decisions about the direction and conduct of the work.
• Build rapport with community members, including people who use drugs, through outreach, and attendance at community association meetings.
• Engage in harm reduction-based street outreach, promoting the program's services, distributing promotional items, and providing harm reduction education.
• Develop referral networks and maintain relationships with service providers and pharmacies in intervention areas. Make referrals to medical, social, treatment, and other support services, including warm hand-offs as appropriate.
• Prepare for, engage in, and document client interactions and service/supply provision; organize and track supply inventory.

Minimum Qualifications

• High school diploma or graduation equivalent.
• One year of related experience.
• Additional education may substitute for required experience, and additional related experience may substitute for required education beyond a high school diploma/graduation equivalent, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience doing community outreach in syringe services or other harm reduction programs.
• Valid driver's license and ability to drive large vehicles.