Home Delivered Meals Outreach Specialist

TITLE: Home Delivered Meals Outreach Specialist

DEPARTMENT: Community Nutrition Program

REPORTS TO: Manager, CNP Data & AWD-HDM

LOCATION: 730 Polk Street, San Francisco

BENEFITS: Yes

STATUS: Full Time, Exempt

CLASSIFICATION: Professionals

POSITION SUMMARY:

At Project Open Hand, our medically-tailored food helps clients recover from illness, get stronger and lead healthier lives. Our nutritious meals improve health outcomes by lowering risks for disease, depression, and cognitive decline. We are seeking a dynamic individual to join Project Open Hand’s Community Nutrition Program (CNP) as the Home Delivered Meals (HDM) Outreach Specialist. This is an impactful role focused on providing nutrition to homebound adults with disabilities in San Francisco. The HDM Outreach Specialist will be responsible for implementing regular in-person and telephonic assessments, certifying eligibility for the HDM program, and ensuring participants are appropriately served.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

• 2+ years in field work experience primarily working with adults with disabilities or older adults
• 2+ years’ experience using CRM database systems
• Mental health or social work experience
• Experience working directly with a diverse community of clients with multiple diagnoses (i.e. mental illness, critical illness, substance abuse)
• Ability to maintain professional boundaries, remain calm and help deescalate participant incidents
• Excellent communication, organization, customer service and written documentation skills
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
• Must be able to travel within San Francisco via public transportation or personal automobile for the performance of job duties. If driving, valid California driver’s license, proof of insurance and excellent driving record as provided by the California Department of Motor Vehicles
• Schedule flexibility to work weekends as needed

QUALIFICATIONS DESIRED:

• BA in Social Work, Human Services, Public or Mental Health
• Bilingual in Cantonese or Spanish, written and spoken
• Familiarity with San Francisco Social Service resources
• Current food safety certification (or the ability to obtain within one month of date of hire)
• Experience using a trauma-informed and client-centered approach to provide services to a diverse community of clients, especially home-bound adults with disabilities

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Works closely with the Manager, CNP Data & AWD-HDM and the Department of Aging and Adult Services (DAS) to implement the day to day operations and ensure all program deliverables are met on deadline
• Monitor program waitlist, process applications for services and conduct in-home & route assessments quarterly throughout San Francisco to determine eligibility, meal type and other social service needs
• Maintain a confidential electronic file for each participant in an organized and professional manner including accurate and timely documentation
• Establish and manage participant records, data and reports in DAS and POH databases
• Answer and reply to inbound calls and emails by handling participant situations and requests about services
• Facilitate interdepartmental communication to ensure participants are efficiently served
• Make appropriate referrals to community resources and coordinate services for effective participant support
• Establish and maintain relationships with community partners to facilitate making client referrals including warm hand-off referrals
• Participate in departmental meetings, DAS meetings and professional development trainings
• Provide intradepartmental assistance for areas in need of critical support
• Deliver meals in emergency situations as needed
• Attend applicable community and social service meetings
• Act as liaison between participants and staff/volunteers/other agency departments
• Other duties as assigned

POH COMPETENCIES:

• A Team player: Demonstrates cooperative spirit, respects professional boundaries and is successful at sharing responsibilities with others
• Self-Led: Knows and completes responsibilities in assigned timelines, asks for clarifications when needed
• Sensitive to the circumstances and needs of the critically ill and seniors, as well as people with mental health and substance abuse issues
• Customer oriented: Works well with all customers (internal staff and external contacts), promotes a positive image of the agency and works diligently to resolve customer issues
• Poised: able to maintain a calm, positive and constructive attitude during interactions with diverse populations, sometimes in challenging situations
• Ethical: Honest, accountable, maintains confidentiality
• Decisive: Thoughtful when considering options, seeks input from others, makes difficult decisions when necessary
• Knowledgeable: Understands facets of job, keeps job knowledge current
• Well Organized: Information organized and accessible, maintains efficient work space, manages time well
• A Strong Communicator: excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Tech. Savvy: Skilled with computers, proficient with function appropriate technology, learns quickly, uses technology to enhance job performance with the interest and ability to learn new technology
• Creative: Ability to conceptualize fresh, compelling ideas for the department and agency
• Professional communicator: Excellent public speaking, written and verbal communication skills
• Agile: Able to move effectively between big-picture thinking and hands-on logistics
• Takes Initiative: Takes action, seeks new opportunities, strives to see projects to completion
• Problem solver: Strong analytical skills and able to creatively address and solve problems
• Leadership II: Is abreast of current projects and actively planning for the future. Leads and gains results through others through example, communication, delegation, and accountability. Is a representative of POH internally and externally
• Motivated: Looks for opportunities to increase knowledge, works to increase responsibility, and strives to achieve personal goals
• Detail Oriented: Meticulous and thorough when entering, reviewing and providing information
• Project Manager: Monitors status of projects, understands project details, holds project owners accountable, delivers clear and accurate feedback

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical demands: While performing duties of job, incumbent is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; talk and hear. Employee must occasionally lift and or move up to 50 pounds unassisted. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work environment: The noise level in the work environment varies from quiet to loud. The temperature in the work environment will range from cold to warm. The work environment will fluctuate between senior sites and POH offices in San Francisco and the East Bay.