New Roots Program Assistant, Senior Wellness Program

Job Overview:

IRC Seattle's New Roots program's purpose is to create nourishing spaces for refugee, immigrant, and BIPOC communities living in Coast Salish lands to rebuild roots and community through land and cultural food access. The Senior Wellness Specialist plays an integral part to the New Roots team by providing intensive support to and engaging with participants in the Refugee Senior program through various monthly activities and modes of contact, such as virtual workshops and in-person field trips. In addition, the Specialist will conduct community outreach to help build out a culturally and age-appropriate referral network for program participants to further reduce feelings of isolation and increase social support. The Senior Wellness Specialist works closely with other New Roots projects and may also provide general support in adjacent areas including but not limited to food security screening calls and food access projects. This is an excellent position for someone who believes in participant-informed programming, and is creative, caring, collaborative and passionate about community building,food justice, and the importance of food and culture.

Major Responsibilities:

Coordinate the Refugee Senior Program

• Understand the interests, needs and aspirations of the participants to ensure program design and activities are participant informed.
• Facilitate virtual workshops by creating curriculum or finding guest speakers to engage program participants with varying English proficiency levels.
• Coordinate field trips including arranging transportation for program participants, booking tours or community centers for activities, ordering lunch, and coordinating interpreter schedules.
• Collaborate with New Roots volunteers to delegate tasks and support program implementation.
• Call program participants as needed for planning activities, and to provide and follow up with referrals to services. Additional calls may be necessary for seasonal needs including enrollment, surveys or program updates.
• Work with professional interpreters to convey information in client's language (training provided).
• Assist in grocery purchase and delivery to seniors in coordination with the food distribution team

Community Outreach and Network Development

• Identify and cultivate community partnerships with local and regional organizations that support refugee health and wellness and/or offer free or low-barrier access to resources.
• Document established partnerships with pertinent information including contact information, referral process, populations they serve, services offered, and eligibility criteria.
• Develop a succession plan for participants to ensure they graduate out of the program with a strong social support system in place.

Project implementation and Reporting

• Implementation of the ORIA seniors project and other seniors related projects and activities as per the per the project documents
• Capture client, activity and other data in the in the available reporting platforms
• Contribute to regular and periodic reports

Other Program Support

• Contribute to program development through identifying areas for improvement, expansion or gaps in services.
• Support other food access projects for IRC clients and community members as they arise.
• Attend in departmental and organizational meetings

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: New Roots Program Manager

Indirect Reporting: Health and Wellness Program Director

Position directly supervises:New Roots volunteers as needed

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internal:New Roots Team, other IRC Seattle program teams, IRC Seattle Finance and Operations teams, IRC Seattle Development, External Communications, and Volunteer support teams

External:Interpreters, community partners

Job Requirements:

• Relevant degree or equivalent experience
• Lived experience as a refugee or immigrant is preferred
• In lieu of lived experience, experience working with refugees and/or immigrants; cross-cultural or overseas experience accepted
• Experience working with pre-literate and non-native English speakers and adult learners
• Lead group conversation anddemonstrated ability to adjust communication styles for different audiences.
• Highly detailed oriented, able to produce high quality messaging
• Able to work collaboratively with various team members, program participants, and external partners
• Comfortable working under minimal supervision, taking the initiative to ask questions as needed.
• English proficiency, both spoken and written. Bilingual ability in one of the predominant languages (Arabic, Dari, Farsi, French, Kinyarwanda, Pashto, Swahili) of the local refugee communities is desired
• Commitment to anti-racism and continual learning and growth
• Access to reliable transportation to travel throughout the South King County area

Other Desired Qualifications:

• Community building skills
• Plain language and speaking skills
• Experience working with interpreters
• Internet/tech savvy

Working Environment:

• Flexible remote/in-office work options
• In-person outings one day per month; may require weekend and/or evening work

Compensation: Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days depending on role and tenure, medical insurance starting at $143 per month, dental starting at $6.50 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching, disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.