DIRECTOR, HARM REDUCTION OUTREACH SERVICES
Start Date: November 18, 2019
The Director of Harm Reduction Outreach Services (herein referred to as “Director”) provides intra-agency consultation, training, and support regarding harm reduction and safety-based strategies. The Director will provide harm reduction programmatic support and technical assistance, including training, capacity building, harm reduction program and content development, organizational development activities, and guidance for program implementation. The Director provides direct services to program participants and communities with a focus on health and quality of life. This position will begin in mid-November.
Essential Job Functions:
- Developing and providing outreach/engagement services to individuals in need of support, including individuals using drugs/alcohol, people living with HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and other blood-borne pathogens, individuals involved in sex work/survival sex, individuals at risk for violence, etc.
- Developing, managing and maintaining the mobile outreach project, and identifying critical areas of need in Lake, McHenry, Suburban Cook, and DuPage counties
- Develop an outreach strategy appropriate to harm reduction practice in a suburban and rural setting, incorporating respondent-driven sampling strategies to maximize participant recruitment
- Lead outreach activities to engage individuals at risk of overdose, people who care about them/loved ones, and professionals serving them (first responders, mental health providers, etc.), including on-the-spot overdose response training and naloxone kit distribution
- Develop Harm Reduction committee of volunteers and key community stakeholders, incorporating people reflecting the populations we serve
- Provide advocacy for program participants and linkage to HIV, HCV and STI testing/treatment, medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and other primary and specialty care services
- Link participants to recovery-oriented services provided by LiveLali and its partners
- Develop agency curriculum, tools, and resources for staff, interns, and volunteers in various roles focused on harm reduction principles and skills in their work
- Produce and maintain thorough, accurate, and timely documentation and data as required by agency policies, and relevant contracts and regulatory agencies
- Maintain quality, risk-averse services by establishing and reinforcing program/agency standards in all interactions with program participants
- Attend and participate in supervision, meetings, and training sessions, as required and as scheduled
- Perform other duties as assigned
Job Qualifications:
- Have an understanding, appreciation, and commitment to the philosophy and mission of Live4Lali, with particular expertise in harm reduction and recovery-oriented services
- Minimum Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health, Masters preferred
- Three years of experience in community-based public health work in an area related to the duties described above
- Advanced knowledge of health equity and harm reduction practice and theory, including syringe access services
- Practice providing health education training, overdose prevention, hepatitis C and HIV prevention and treatment, substance use and co-occurring issues
- Advanced knowledge of data collection and evaluation, and public health research methods
- Ability to engage people who use substances, their loved ones, and their service providers in a non-judgmental manner
- Ability to engage with a wide variety of audiences including community organizations, addiction treatment professionals, government agencies, and other groups
- Excellent oral and written communication skills, organizational skills, and attention to detail
- Must be proactive, a self-starter, organized, self-motivated, and committed to working in a diverse environment
- Embody sensitivity to people of various ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds, gender identities, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic conditions
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team and to multi-task in a fast-paced, high volume environment
- Must have valid driver’s license and proof of insurance,
- Must have lived experience
- Bilingual, Spanish speaking a plus
Live4Lali is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and culturally responsive workforce. We strongly encourage people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender and gender non-conforming persons to apply. Involvement with the criminal justice system will not be considered a deterrent.
Please send a cover letter, resume, and references to [email protected]. Use “Director, Harm Reduction Outreach Services” in the subject line.