Client Engagement Specialist

Job Type

Full-time

• Shift: Night (8:00pm - 4:00am)
• Shift Differential: $1.00 per hour
• Days Off: Tuesday, Wednesday
• Benefits: Dental, Life, Long-term Disability, Medical (no premiums/payroll deductions for employee coverage)
• Other Benefits: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (34 days per year), Retirement Plan
• Union Representation: This position is a part of a union and is represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW.

DESC (Downtown Emergency Service Center) is a nonprofit organization working to help people with the complex needs of homelessness, substance use disorders, and serious mental illness achieve their highest potential for health and well‑being through comprehensive services, treatment, and housing. Our vision is a community where no person is abandoned, ignored, or experiencing homelessness. As the region’s leading provider of services to multiply disabled adults who have experienced chronic homelessness, DESC serves almost 3,000 people each day.

Our integrated service model is designed to help people secure and maintain appropriate, safe and affordable housing. DESC is recognized nationally and regionally as an innovator in developing solutions to homelessness.

We are looking for a Client Engagement Specialist (CES) who will work within the larger Client Engagement Team spanning three locations:
Hobson Clinic, the DESC Pioneer Square clinics, and the STAR Center. The CES team will be the point people to monitor and provide 24/7 safety and security at the STAR Center by managing the milieu outside and inside of the Shelter. The CES team will also be tasked with providing trauma‑informed support to clients at the STAR Center and Pioneer Square by employing various de‑escalation skills while in coordination and consultation with the wider STAR Center staff, clinical, and medical teams.

• Be present in all main operating areas of Hobson Place, 216 James, and STAR Center for client engagement and de‑escalation purposes. Be a welcoming presence and direct clients to the services they are seeking, escorting to designated areas and walking regular rounds in both low and high‑risk areas of the clinic, Hobson Place, 216 James, STAR Center and the 600 block of 3rd Ave, including the area immediately outside of the clinic.
• Monitor the general milieu outside the Hobson Clinic, 216 James Clinic, STAR center and the 500 and 600 blocks of 3rd Ave.
• Work to maintain a comfortable atmosphere for people along 3rd Ave, even in the presence of potentially unusual or posturing client behaviors.
• Proactively engage clients and community members in the public spaces on and around 3rd Ave in front of Hobson Clinic, 216 James St, and the STAR Center.
• Coordinate real‑time intervention for crises both in and around DESC spaces.
• Enforce the DESC Good Neighbor policy and Project/Program rules with DESC clients.
• Initiate and maintain appropriate social interactions with clients and prospective clients.
• Integrate experience with behavioral health and substance use conditions into work with clients and prospective clients.
• Commit to the Harm Reduction and Trauma‑Informed Care models and working to incorporate those principles through an equity and social justice lens.
• Become a DESC trainer for de‑escalation and dis‑engagement for new employees and yearly refresher; this responsibility will be shared with another trainer within the agency.
• Assist in training clinic staff on de‑escalation skills and leading crisis response drills.
• Receive training in hands‑on techniques (escorts and holds) and work in collaboration with partnering agency security to ensure the safety of clients is a priority.
• Commit to diversity, equity, and inclusion, applying to all areas of work responsibility.
• Intervene when necessary to support clients, maintain order, and communicate/effl​ort clinic rules and policies.
• Intervene in client crises and emergencies (medical, behavioral health, interpersonal), participate in verbal de‑escalation and hands‑on escorts and holds in emergent situations, and initiate action as required, including contact with emergency…