Harm Reduction Specialist

Overview

• Job:
  Harm Reduction Specialist
• Status:
  Full-Time, Non-Exempt
• Location:
  
  New Brunswick, NJ
• Salary: $53,500 - $64,000 (the majority of candidates will start at the lowest end of this salary band)

New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition (NJHRC) operates a Middlesex County Harm Reduction Center (HRC) located in New Brunswick, NJ. The Middlesex County HRC is a full-service syringe access program with three service lines: a drop-in center, mobile outreach and delivery, and healthcare kiosks. The Harm Reduction Specialist is a key member of the team and will provide support across service lines.

Incorporated in January 2020, NJHRC is a growing and fast-paced nonprofit organization whose mission is to create a New Jersey that values the safety and dignity of all people who use drugs, and to make evidence-informed harm reduction public health resources widely available to everyone in our state. We are working toward a world where there is no drug war or stigma against people who use drugs, and where all people have all the resources needed to stay alive and thrive.

NJHRC accomplishes this through direct harm reduction services, training and technical assistance, and policy advocacy. Our direct services are focused on two Harm Reduction Centers: the Middlesex Harm Reduction Center and the Statewide Harm Reduction Center (which is mail-based and uses nontraditional digital outreach and engagement methods). This job is based in the Middlesex Harm Reduction Center.

The Harm Reduction Specialist will support all service lines of the Middlesex County HRC while having either a primary focus on mobile outreach (including delivery and kiosks) or on-site services. The primary focus will be determined by the HR Specialist’s skills, strengths, and team composition; but the HR Specialist will be required to flex into other service lines, as needed.

• Attending and contributing to program meetings
• Facilitating mobile syringe exchanges and harm reduction counseling with community members
• Organizing outreach supplies
• Stocking and driving the mobile van
• Conducting crowd engagement
• Facilitating syringe sweeps
• Delivering harm reduction supplies to members’ households
• Delivering harm reduction supplies to Middlesex County kiosks
• Responding to overdoses and other critical incidents in the community if they occur during outreach shifts
• Collecting and entering data

• Attending and contributing to program meetings
• Facilitating syringe exchange and harm reduction counseling with community members within our offices at 18 Abeel Street
• Facilitating syringe sweeps
• Conducting participant engagement
• Facilitating group participant activities and/or workshops
• Organizing and stocking on-site supplies
• Playing a key role in responding to overdoses and critical incidents if they occur within our building
• Collecting and entering data

• Driver license:
  You hold a valid driver license, the ability to drive NJHRC’s two outreach vehicles (Ram Promaster and minivan), and meet the guidelines for drivers of agency-owned vehicles
• Lived/Living experience:
  Personal experience with drug use or harm reduction is required. The ability to connect with clients through shared experience is critical to this role
• Relationship-building:
  You develop and maintain strong, collaborative working relationships with a diverse group of stakeholders, including people seeking Harm Reduction Center services, staff, neighbors, and organizational partners
• Comfort responding to overdoses:
  You have experience and demonstrated ability in responding to overdoses in a community setting
• Commitment & experience with Harm Reduction best practices:
  You have a demonstrated commitment to harm reduction, racial justice, health equity, and the dignity and autonomy of people who use drugs. You have prior experience and training in harm reduction and implementing harm reduction best practices within an organization

• Problem-solving skills:
  You demonstrate initiative when approached with a problem and have experience successfully leading…