OAK CITY CARES POSITION DESCRIPTION
POSITION INFORMATION
Position Title: Full-Time Housing Outreach Specialist
Department: Programs and Services
Reports To: Director of Programs and Services
Work Schedule: Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.; occasional early-morning, evening, weekend, or severe-weather outreach may be required
Employment Status: Regular Full-Time
Travel Required: Approximately 25%–50% within Wake County
POSITION SUMMARY
The Housing Outreach Specialist provides housing-focused street outreach, engagement, assessment, and care coordination to individuals and families experiencing unsheltered homelessness throughout Wake County. This position will primarily engage people living in identified encampments, vehicles, wooded areas, abandoned structures, transit areas, and other locations not intended for human habitation.
Using trauma-informed, person-centered, Housing First, harm-reduction, and culturally responsive approaches, the Housing Outreach Specialist will build trusting relationships with individuals who may be disconnected from or hesitant to engage with traditional service systems. The specialist will conduct recurring visits to assigned encampments and outreach locations, respond to referrals and reported hotspots, assess immediate needs and vulnerabilities, and connect participants to housing, shelter, health care, behavioral health care, benefits, identification services, transportation, and other community resources.
The Housing Outreach Specialist will provide consistent follow-up and housing navigation for participants who are not already connected to a care coordinator or other service provider. The position will coordinate closely with Oak City Cares staff, Coordinated Entry access points, street outreach teams, emergency shelters, housing providers, health care organizations, law enforcement outreach units when appropriate, and other community partners to reduce duplication and support a coordinated response to unsheltered homelessness.
This position requires significant fieldwork, sound professional judgment, strong engagement and de-escalation skills, timely documentation, and the ability to work independently in outdoor and nontraditional settings.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Street Outreach and Encampment Engagement — 50%
- Conduct scheduled, recurring, and responsive outreach to identified encampments, known hotspots, vehicles, wooded areas, transit locations, and other places where people experiencing unsheltered homelessness reside.
- Locate, identify, and respectfully engage individuals and families experiencing unsheltered homelessness for the purpose of providing immediate support, intervention, housing-focused services, and connections to community resources.
- Build rapport through consistent, patient, and noncoercive engagement, recognizing that participants may require multiple contacts before accepting services.
- Develop and maintain an organized outreach schedule for assigned camps, geographic areas, and priority locations.
- Respond to referrals from Coordinated Entry, Oak City Cares staff, community partners, property owners, local government agencies, first responders, and other outreach providers.
- Proactively identify people experiencing unsheltered homelessness who access Oak City Cares’ Basic Needs Services, Weekend Meal Program, and on-site partner services.
- Assess immediate health and safety concerns and connect participants with emergency medical care, crisis services, emergency shelter, severe-weather resources, food, water, clothing, hygiene supplies, transportation, and other essential services.
- Maintain appropriate outreach supplies and distribute basic-needs and harm-reduction materials consistent with Oak City Cares policies and available resources.
- Monitor changes within assigned encampments, including new residents, changing risks, health concerns, environmental hazards, closures, displacement activity, and urgent service needs.
- Support participants before, during, and after encampment closures or relocations by providing timely information, assessing individual needs, protecting continuity of services, and coordinating available housing and shelter options.
- Clearly explain that outreach participation is voluntary and separate from enforcement activity, while complying with applicable safety requirements and organizational protocols.
- Follow established field-safety procedures, including team outreach practices, communication and check-in expectations, weather precautions, situational awareness, and incident-reporting requirements.
Housing-Focused Care Coordination and Navigation — 25%
- Complete housing-focused conversations with participants to identify strengths, barriers, preferences, natural supports, and realistic pathways out of homelessness.
- Provide diversion and problem-solving assistance to help participants identify safe alternatives to continued homelessness and draw upon family, friends, community connections, income, and other natural resources when appropriate.
- Work collaboratively with each participant to develop an individualized, participant-directed housing and service plan.
- Assist participants with obtaining identification, birth certificates, Social Security cards, income verification, disability documentation, benefits, and other documents needed for housing applications.
- Support participants with housing searches, applications, landlord communication, transportation to appointments, document collection, unit viewings, lease-up activities, and connections to move-in resources.
- Connect eligible participants to Coordinated Entry, emergency shelter, Rapid Re-Housing, Permanent Supportive Housing, veteran services, domestic violence services, behavioral health care, substance-use services, health care, employment programs, and mainstream benefits.
- Provide warm handoffs to service providers and, when appropriate, accompany participants to appointments or assist with transportation coordination.
- Maintain regular contact with participants and community providers to reduce service gaps, address barriers, and support continuity of care.
- Coordinate services for participants with complex medical, behavioral health, mobility, disability, or safety needs.
- Continue follow-up during housing placement and transition, as program capacity and funding requirements permit, to support housing stability and reduce returns to homelessness.
Assessment, Documentation, and Data Management — 15%
- Conduct approved screenings, Coordinated Entry assessments, vulnerability assessments, and program eligibility reviews for individuals and families experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
- Obtain informed consent and explain participant rights, confidentiality practices, data-sharing requirements, and available grievance procedures.
- Complete enrollments, service transactions, assessments, case notes, referrals, housing plans, and exits in the Homeless Management Information System within established timeframes.
- Maintain accurate, objective, timely, and professional documentation of outreach contacts, attempted contacts, participant needs, services provided, referrals, outcomes, and follow-up activities.
- Track assigned camps, outreach locations, participant engagement, housing progress, service connections, and program outcomes.
- Protect confidential and personally identifying information while working in the field, transporting documents, communicating electronically, and coordinating with partner agencies.
- Participate in case conferencing, outreach coordination meetings, by-name list discussions, and other collaborative processes as authorized and appropriate.
- Assist with grant reporting, data-quality reviews, program evaluation, and the preparation of outreach and housing outcome reports.
Collaboration and Organizational Responsibilities — 10%
- Coordinate with other street outreach providers to minimize duplication, address geographic gaps, and promote an equitable and coordinated community response.
- Collaborate with Oak City Cares’ Basic Needs, Care Coordination, Coordinated Entry, Guest Services, Weekend Meals, and partner-agency teams.
- Maintain effective working relationships with shelters, housing providers, health care systems, behavioral health providers, social services agencies, veterans’ programs, reentry providers, and other community partners.
- Advocate for participants while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries and respecting participant choice, confidentiality, and self-determination.
- Participate in Oak City Cares staff meetings, supervision, case consultations, training, and community partner meetings.
- Follow all Oak City Cares policies, grant requirements, safety procedures, ethical standards, and applicable local, state, and federal regulations.
- Represent Oak City Cares professionally and support its mission, values, and commitment to human dignity.
- Perform other related duties as assigned by the supervisor.
SERVICE APPROACH
The Housing Outreach Specialist will customize services to the needs, goals, strengths, and circumstances of each participant. Services must be delivered in a manner that respects differences in race, ethnicity, national origin, language, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, family status, veteran status, housing history, behavioral health needs, and cultural practices.
The specialist must demonstrate a commitment to:
- Housing First
- Trauma-informed care
- Harm reduction
- Motivational interviewing
- Person-centered and strengths-based engagement
- Racial equity and cultural humility
- Participant choice and self-determination
- Low-barrier and noncoercive service delivery
- Confidentiality and professional boundaries
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Education
Bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology, sociology, counseling, human services, public health, or another related field.
Relevant professional experience serving people experiencing homelessness may be considered in place of some educational requirements, when permitted by Oak City Cares’ hiring policies.
Experience
- At least two years of experience in homeless services, street outreach, housing navigation, case management, crisis response, behavioral health, or a related human-services setting.
- Experience engaging individuals with complex needs in community-based, outdoor, or nontraditional settings.
- Experience documenting services in HMIS or another client-management database is strongly preferred.
REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES
- Ability to engage a wide range of individuals with warmth, respect, patience, consistency, and a nonjudgmental approach.
- Demonstrated ability to build trust with individuals who may be reluctant to engage with service systems.
- Knowledge of homelessness, housing instability, and the barriers affecting people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
- Knowledge of Housing First, Coordinated Entry, harm reduction, trauma-informed care, mental health recovery, motivational interviewing, and critical-time intervention.
- Understanding of HUD homelessness definitions and community programs such as emergency shelter, diversion, Rapid Re-Housing, Permanent Supportive Housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, veteran housing programs, and other subsidized housing resources.
- Strong crisis-intervention, de-escalation, mediation, problem-solving, and conflict-resolution skills.
- Ability to recognize urgent medical, behavioral health, environmental, and personal-safety concerns and respond according to established protocols.
- Ability to work independently in the field while maintaining communication and coordination with supervisors and team members.
- Ability to organize and prioritize a mobile caseload, manage multiple referrals, maintain recurring outreach schedules, and meet documentation deadlines.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills.
- Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced and rapidly changing environment while maintaining a calm and professional presence.
- Ability to use a computer, smartphone, email, Microsoft Office applications, virtual meeting platforms, HMIS, and other required technology.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality, professional boundaries, and accurate records.
- Commitment to Oak City Cares’ mission and its values of human dignity and compassionate, guest-centered care.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
- Authorized to work in the United States.
- Valid North Carolina driver’s license, acceptable driving record, and reliable vehicle available for business use.
- Ability to travel throughout Wake County and transport outreach supplies.
- Ability to work occasional early mornings, evenings, weekends, or during severe-weather responses when outreach needs require schedule adjustments.
- Successful completion of required background checks, driving-record reviews, and organizational training.
- Willingness to work in outdoor environments and locations that may include uneven terrain, wooded areas, traffic, insects, animals, smoke, debris, and exposure to changing weather conditions.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT
The physical requirements described below represent those generally required to perform the essential functions of this position:
- Lifting or carrying materials weighing more than 20 pounds: Less than one-third of the time
- Sitting for extended periods: Less than one-third of the time
- Standing or walking for extended periods: One-third to two-thirds of the time
- Walking on uneven, unpaved, wooded, muddy, or otherwise challenging terrain: One-third to two-thirds of the time
- Bending, reaching, climbing, or navigating outdoor areas while carrying supplies: One-third to two-thirds of the time
- Primarily office-based work: Less than one-third of the time
- Outdoor and community-based work: One-third to two-thirds of the time
- Indoor program or partner-site work: One-third to two-thirds of the time
- Exposure to heat, cold, rain, and other changing weather conditions: One-third to two-thirds of the time
- Exposure to loud noise, traffic, smoke, strong odors, insects, animals, debris, and other environmental conditions: Less than one-third to one-third of the time
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION
Oak City Cares will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities to enable them to perform the essential functions of the position, as required by applicable law.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
Oak City Cares is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to maintaining an inclusive workplace. Employment decisions are made without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.
PLEASE EMAIL RESUME TO :[email protected]
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $46,000.00 - $51,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
Experience:
- Case management: 1 year (Preferred)
Work Location: In person
