Media Outreach Specialist (Upland)

**Please note that the HR team will reach out to candidates early January 2025. 

BASIC POSITION FUNCTION

Under the direction of the Program Manager of the Community Health and Policy Department, the Media & Outreach Specialist will play a key role in advancing substance use prevention through policy-driven and community-based strategies. This position will focus on building and strengthening collaborative networks with individuals, organizations, and public agencies to support the development and implementation of prevention policies. The Media & Outreach Specialist will also deliver targeted outreach and on-site services aimed at reducing substance use disorders, with an emphasis on youth and historically underserved, lower socioeconomic populations.

• $24.16/hour

Benefits:

• Cost and no-cost options for health insurance.
• Reach Out pays 100% of its employee’s dental, vision, and life insurance.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Paid vacation and sick leave.
• 13 holidays per year.
• 403(b) retirement plan
  • Reach Out matches after 1 year at the start of the following quarter.
• Professional development.
• Work laptop provided.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Effectively communicate substance use intervention and programs to the public, including youth and diverse socioeconomic populations. 
• Translate community- based planning objectives to reduce substance use disorders with specific policy goals through media advocacy.
• Community outreach, conduct presentations, community involvement and participation on key committees, organizations, collaboratives in the Inland Empire. 
• Engaging community members in community programs/coalitions and providing advocacy and organizational efforts to programs.
• Establish and maintain partnerships with local agencies and neighboring cities, communities, businesses, and agencies.
• Conduct extensive research regarding substance use trends among communities served.
• Enact and expand local policies and ordinances.
• Conduct Substance Use Prevention (SUP) policy research and stakeholder engagement to ensure data-driven decision-making.
• Review and revise SUP outdated ordinances to reflect current community values and needs.
• Introduce new SUP ordinances that promote public safety, and a safe environment for youth.
• Facilitate inclusive public input processes, such as town halls, surveys, and advisory committees around SUP and other factors.
• Empower residents to co-create policies through participatory planning and budgeting initiatives, such as coalitions.
• Collaborate with regional agencies, neighboring municipalities, and advocacy organizations on SUP policy alignment and ordinance Effectiveness.
• Monitor SUP state and federal policy trends to inform local ordinance development and advocacy strategies within designated cities or county.
• Collect, analyze, and enter data around substance use. 
• Cross-department collaboration, training and support with interns, volunteers, and staff. 
• Accurately maintain records and reports, as asked by department or by agency. 
• Engage in media, campaigns, and marketing efforts related to substance use prevention programs.
• Create social media content regarding substance use prevention (Videos, flyers, reels, etc.)
• Through the use of social media platforms, support team in disseminating SUD information.
• Ensures the adequacy of information delivered to the community and the provision of high quality, culturally sensitive referrals in front of diverse audiences.

Professional Development

• Attend agency-approved workshops, conferences and conventions related to this position.
• Attend all agency training sessions and staff meeting

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

• Willingness to sign a Training Agreement, if required, for participation in mandatory trainings related to program compliance and government funding requirements.
• Ability to work flexible schedule including nights and weekends.
• Provide translation support for documents and verbal communications if fluent in Spanish.
• Ability to drive throughout the Inland Empire on a regular basis.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned. 

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent in this position. Employee(s) will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments.

Required Experience:

• Training in Prevention or Policy/Ordinances Competencies with relevant experience.
• At least one (1) year providing prevention services or campaigns or 40 hours of training within the Prevention Professional Competencies (or be able to complete 40 hours of training upon hire.)
• At least one (1) year participating in the development, analysis, and implementation of local policies and ordinances. 
• At least one (1) year collaborating closely with city officials and law enforcement agencies to develop, revise, and implement local laws and public safety policies, ensuring legal compliance.
• Experience conducting outreach to culturally diverse communities.
• Experience with various software and virtual platforms to facilitate meetings.

Preferred Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree from four-year college or university in Public Policy, Political Science, Public Administration, or a related field.

 Preferred Experience:

• Working with substance or alcohol prevention.
• Providing youth with health risk AOD presentations
• Media and/or marketing related experience.
• Fluent in Spanish/English.

Knowledge of:

• Policy and Ordinance work - Demonstrated experience and knowledge in developing substance use prevention policies at the city and county level. Ideal applicants will have a background in policy design, stakeholder engagement, including collaboration with public health agencies and law enforcement and experience implementing or evaluating prevention strategies. We are particularly interested in those who have contributed to local ordinances, community-based initiatives, or cross-sector policy efforts aimed at reducing substance use.
• Creative Thinking – Discovering new opportunities and solutions for problems by looking beyond current practices and using innovative thinking.
• Engagement - Mobilizing people, organizations, and partners in developing goals, executing plans and delivering results. Laying the groundwork for success by building coalitions with key players and building momentum by communicating clearly and consistently. Using negotiation skills and adaptability to encourage recognition of joint concerns, collaboration and to influence the success of outcomes.
• Innovation/Initiative - Using information from a variety of sources, identifying immediate action needed to address current issues, seizing the opportunity to enhance performance and advance horizontal/vertical goals. Attending to imminent issues while maintaining an awareness of emerging opportunities.
• Relationship/Network Building - Building and maintaining effective and constructive working relationships, partnerships, or networks of contacts with people who are, or might someday be, instrumental in achieving work-related goals.
• Teamwork/Cooperation- Readily sharing information, knowledge, and personal strengths. Seeking to understand and building on differing perspectives of others to enhance team efficiency and quality outcomes.
• Values and Ethics - Serving the Company with integrity and respect in personal and organizational practices. Includes respecting democratic, professional, ethical and people values. Building respectful, bilingual, diverse, and inclusive workplaces. Ensuring decisions and transactions are transparent and fair. Holding themselves, their employees, and their department accountable for their actions.

Ability to:

• Provide technical support to the public, including youth and diverse socioeconomic populations.
• have excellent organizational and time management skills to manage and prioritize high and varied activity levels.
• Be proficient in Microsoft Office and platforms to develop marketing material.
• Be an excellent representative of the agency to the community.
• Have excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Interact with individuals effectively and successfully from diverse socio-economic/ethnic groups.
• Be proactive, flexible, creative, and enthusiastic in attitude.
• Make sound judgments and use critical thinking to follow complex directions.
• Work with diverse groups of stakeholders, including parents, youth, and community officials.
• Work in a high-paced, high-demand environment.
• Travel to and attend meetings throughout San Bernardino and Riverside County.
• Attend as needed out of State or County conferences per contract requirements.
• Publicly speaking, give presentations, facilitate workshops, etc.
• Work with diverse populations.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to adequately perform each essential duty. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

• Language Skills - Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.  Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.  Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of the organization. 

• Reasoning Ability - Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out detailed but uninvolved written or oral instructions.  Ability to deal with problems involving multiple concrete variables in standardized situations. 
• Mathematical Skills - Ability to add and subtract two-digit numbers and to multiply and divide with 10's and 100's.  Ability to perform these operations using units of American money and weight measurement, volume, and distance. 
• Physical Demands - While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit; stand, walk and use their hands to complete various tasks. The employee is occasionally required to react quickly with hands and arms.  The employee is occasionally required to climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.  The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 20 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 45 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, and ability to adjust focus. 
• Work Environment - While performing the duties of this job, the employee is infrequently exposed to extreme outside weather conditions.  The employee is infrequently exposed to wet and/or humid conditions. On occasion the employee could be exposed to fumes or airborne particles. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate as found in an office environment. 

Training Agreement Requirement

Participation in certain trainings may be required for your position, as these sessions are mandated by program compliance standards and by our government funding agreements (federal, state, or local). If you are required to attend such trainings, you will be asked to sign a Training Agreement that details the terms and conditions—including any reimbursement obligations—associated with the training. You are welcome to review a sample of this agreement upon request, particularly once a specific training has been identified for you.

Reach Out is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, religion or religious creed, disability or handicap, pregnancy, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. 

Salary : $24