Regional Community Outreach Specialist - Psychiatry

Regional Community Outreach Specialist

Medicine | Psychiatry Department:
The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health

The SOAR (State of Ohio Adversity and Resilience) Study is seeking a part-time Regional Community Engagement Specialist to assist in the implementation of a Community Awareness, Outreach and Engagement Plan across regions in the State of Ohio. The overall goal of this initiative is to seek to understand root causes of mental illness, persistent distress and drug addiction and abuse in an effort to identify modifiable risk factors to promote resilience.

As part of this project, this position will work with SOAR Coalition as well as community representatives across a wide range of sectors involved in mental health and substance abuse (state agencies, community leaders, public health, justice, law enforcement etc.) to promote awareness of the SOAR project to potential participants as well as outreach efforts to encourage individuals from the community to express their concerns, wants and needs related to mental health issues.

• Northeast Region (Counties include, but are not limited to Ashland, Ashtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Coshocton, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Harrison, Holmes, Huron, Jefferson, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Tuscarawas, Wayne)
• Northwest Region (Counties include, but are not limited to Allen, Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams, Wood, Wyandot)
• Southeast Region (Counties include, but are not limited to Athens, Belmont, Gallia, Guernsey, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Vinton, Washington)
• Southwest Region (Counties include, but are not limited to Adams, Brown, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Darke, Fayette, Greene, Hamilton, Highland, Logan, Madison, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, Shelby, Union, Warren)

The part-time Regional Community Engagement Specialist is the primary contact and serves as the person responsible for managing all regional SOAR Awareness, Outreach and Engagement activities; facilitating the SOAR initiative within the community as well as with partner sites. This includes identifying and meeting with potential collaborators, scheduling and attending community events, scheduling and preparing materials for speaking engagements for investigators, assisting with any recruitment activities such as updates for the website, social media, and advertisements, as well as coordinating with other community regional engagement liaisons within partner sites and their communities, including students and volunteers from SOAR Academic Partners.

The Regional Community Engagement Specialist will be responsible for representing the SOAR Initiative for their regional community, facilitating organizational and community discussions around the project and assisting research staff to engage community stakeholders and members in discussions related to the project and its implementation.

A successful candidate will be skilled in developing strong relationships, community engagement and facilitation. The position is minimum of 75% in-state travel and requires evenings and weekends. Valid Ohio Driver’s license, reliable transportation, and willingness to use for statewide travel. Requires successful completion of a background check. Selected candidates may be required to complete a pre-employment physical, including a drug screen.

Bachelor’s degree and at least two (2) years of experience working in an organization that conducts community-based projects required. Experience…