Careers at Family Service

Outreach Coordinator

Family Service is looking for an energetic, people-first Outreach Coordinator to help us grow our presence in the community, connect with other agencies, and make sure the people who need us can find us. This role now includes leadership of our Self-Help Center, which means you'll also be a go-to resource for the network of community support groups across Champaign County.

What You'll Be Doing

Attracting Clients to Family Service

You'll think creatively and strategically about how we reach people who need our services but don't know we exist yet. That might mean tabling at a community event, partnering with a local organization, or finding an unexpected channel to get the word out. This is a role where your initiative and imagination will matter.

Representing Family Service in the Community

You'll speak on behalf of Family Service at community events, panels, and public gatherings. You'll also host an annual workshop for community members and professionals who lead or want to start support groups. You don't need to be a polished orator, but you do need to be comfortable with a microphone and confident talking about who we are and what we do.

(Of course, you'll get plenty of guidance and materials to craft your messaging.)

Building Relationships with Other Agencies

A big part of this role is cultivating relationships with caseworkers and staff at neighboring social service agencies. You'll be our ambassador in the professional community. This entails making calls, attending meetings, and nurturing the kind of mutual trust that leads to great referral partnerships. If you love networking and find it energizing rather than exhausting, you'll thrive here.

Supporting the Self-Help Center

Family Service runs the Self-Help Center, a community resource that connects people with self-help groups, supports group leaders, and helps new groups form and grow. You'll be the primary contact for self-help group leaders across the county by consulting with them individually and helping them solve problems. You'll also maintain our database and printed directory of local support groups, develop informational materials and resources, and organize CEU-granting events for professionals.

Finally, you will host Advisory Committee meetings and use their recommendations to guide the direction of the Self-Help Center.

Running Our Social Media

You'll manage our social media presence, which involves planning, writing, and posting content that reflects our mission, promotes our services, and keeps our community engaged. Experience with Facebook, Linked In, Instagram, and similar platforms is a must. Bonus points if you can record and edit short videos.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in communications, social work, public relations, marketing, or a related field, or equivalent experience

• Experience in outreach, community engagement, social services, or a closely related field

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Comfortable representing an organization in public settings and one-on-one with community members

• Hands-on experience managing social media accounts for an organization or cause

• Ability to work independently, manage your time, and balance multiple priorities

• Genuine warmth and respect for people of all backgrounds, cultures, and circumstances

• Basic database management skills (e.g., data entry, running reports)

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in the nonprofit or social services sector

• Familiarity with self-help groups, peer support, or community mental health resources

• Existing connections within the Champaign-Urbana social services community

• Experience with graphic design tools (e.g., Canva) and basic video editing

• Bilingual a plus

You must also be able to pass a background check. The small print:

Any individual who is the subject of a pending investigation by the Department of Children and Family Services for child abuse or neglect, or who has been the subject of an indicated abuse or neglect report which has not subsequently been overturned on appeal, is not eligible for employment at Family Service. Current investigation by or substantiation of elder…