Community Navigator (Voices for Health)

*Position available in both Iowa City and Des Moines*

Overview

The Community Navigator serves as a bridge between families, social service providers, and healthcare partners, connecting community members with opioid and substance use prevention and treatment to health and social services through culturally and linguistically responsive outreach and support. Working in close partnership with the community-based organizations, healthcare providers, substance abuse prevention programs and social service agencies, the Community Navigator conducts outreach through home visits, tabling, and community events; facilitates learning circles; provides translation and interpretation support; and helps families navigate mental health, substance use (including Opioid Use Disorder), Medicaid, and local community resources.

Responsibilities

Service Navigation

• Refer families to applicable programs for mental health and substance use needs, and support families through the “warm-handoff” process.
• Identify and address barriers that may prevent families from accessing or successfully connecting to the needed services (language, cultural, transportation, eligibility, etc.) and other access-related barriers, and coordinate with appropriate partners and service providers.
• Assist families in understanding and accessing Medicaid and other local services and resources.
• Provide cultural navigation and follow-through to ensure families successfully connect with necessary services.
• Support the translation of program and outreach materials, coordinating with independent proofreaders to ensure accuracy and quality
• Follow up with families to confirm connections were made and identify additional barriers.
• Provide day-to-day supervision, coaching, and guidance to AmeriCorps members and volunteers, fostering a positive and productive service environment.

Partnership Development

• Establish and maintain working relationships with school nurses, bilingual liaisons, community school coordinators, teachers, and case workers.
• Develop and strengthen school and healthcare referral pathways to improve families' access to mental health, substance use, and other needed services.
• Build and strengthen school and healthcare partnerships that support the program's referral pathways.
• Communicate regularly with project staff and healthcare partners to coordinate services and resolve barriers for families.
• Assist with volunteer recruitment, onboarding, and retention efforts to build and sustain an engaged volunteer base.

Public Health Awareness Campaign Outreach

• Conduct grassroots outreach to raise community awareness of public health priorities, including Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) prevention and mental health.
• Develop and deliver presentations to community groups, families, school audiences, and partner organizations.
• Facilitate trainings for community members, peer leaders, and other audiences to support program and campaign goals.
• Organize community members and activities that advance public health awareness campaign objectives, including working with Program Coordinator to recruit participants, coordinate events, and mobilize peer networks.
• Adapt campaign messages and materials to be culturally and linguistically appropriate for the community served.
• Gather community feedback and identify emerging needs or barriers to inform future outreach and campaign activities.
• Monitor program performance and provide strategic guidance to ensure activities meet established goals and objectives.

Documentation and Data Collection

• Record progress notes documenting outreach activities and family interactions.
• Maintain case notes for home visits, and records and notes for community conversations and one-on-one interactions.
• Coordinate with the Data Impact Coordinator to ensure timely, accurate, and complete data collection and documentation, support data quality improvement, and provide information needed for data analysis, reporting, and program performance monitoring.

Core Competencies

• Cultural awareness: Deep familiarity with the community served and the ability to engage families in a way that respects language, culture, and lived experience.
• Relationship building: Skill in developing trust with families as well as with partners across school and healthcare settings.
• Public speaking and facilitation: Comfortable in presenting to groups of different sizes and facilitating trainings, workshops and other community activities.
• Communication: Ability to communicate clearly and appropriately with different audiences.
• Confidentiality and judgment: Sound discretion in handling sensitive health, family, and personal information in compliance with HIPAA and other applicable laws, regulations, and organizational policies.
• Organization and documentation: Consistent, accurate, and timely record keeping across multiple tracking systems.
• Adaptability: Comfortable with field-based, self-managed work that requires independent problem solving.
• Collaboration: Ability to work effectively within a multi-partner team that includes project staff, healthcare partners, school personnel, and advisory groups.

Required Qualifications

• Experience in conducting field-based work, including home visits and community events that may occur during evenings and weekends.
• Ability to deliver presentations and facilitate group discussions in community settings.
• Proficient computer literacy sufficient for data entry, documentation, and use of program tracking tools.
• Fluency in English and in at least one language within target communities in Arabic, French, Spanish or Swahili.
• Lived experience with, or have strong ties to the communities served.

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of public health or social work principles, developed through any combination of formal education, professional training, and practical experience.
• Experience in a community health, navigator, or a similar outreach, case management, or family support role.
• Familiarity with school systems, or Medicaid enrollment processes.
• Experience using referral databases, secure tracking systems, or program management software.
• Experience with grassroots outreach, community organizing, or public health education campaigns.

Pay: $20.00 - $23.07 per hour

Expected hours: 40.0 per week

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Work Location: On the road

Salary : $20 - $23