Harm Reduction Specialist

Job Title: Harm Reduction Specialist

Job Summary:

Kalamazoo Harm Reduction is a small syringe access program operated by COPE Network in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Kalamazoo Harm Reduction (KHR) provides public health services such as free syringes, safer drug use supplies, safer sex supplies, support services, drug checking services, and linkage to care to program participants, including but not limited to individuals who use drugs, individuals who are unhoused or precariously housed, individuals who are at risk of or living with HIV / Hepatitis C, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and individuals seeking substance use treatment, recovery services, or peer support.

The Harm Reduction Specialist position assumes the basic day-to-day operations of Kalamazoo Harm Reduction’s syringe access program. This work includes compassionately and effectively engaging high-risk individuals in office or community-based settings to provide a variety of services and referrals to care. This work also includes outreach activities; making, stocking, and managing supply kits; managing and recording supply inventory; tracking engagements and other related data; and assisting with program development. The Harm Reduction Specialist works flexibly, either independently or as part of a team, in accomplishing a variety of tasks.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Professionally represent the program and parent organization while knowledgeably responding to inquiries about the program, partner programs, and parent organization, with accurate, appropriate information while promoting harm reduction in Southwest Michigan.
• Effectively identify individuals who can benefit from the program through outreach activities, register new participants, and conduct intake interviews regarding sensitive and confidential health and behavior information, while building ongoing relationships with program participants, and providing services, resources, and referrals throughout the relationship, as needed.
• Effectively communicate with program participants, program partners, and community members in a professional and timely manner, both in person and utilizing phone calls or texts to achieve objectives such as scheduling appointments, arranging meetings, conducting assessments, providing services, and providing referrals.
• Competently and effectively provide services to the community and program participants, including but not limited to education about and distribution of needles and/or syringes, safer substance use and safer sex use supplies, drug testing supplies, overdose prevention supplies, wound care supplies, syringe disposal supplies, and hygiene supplies; testing and/or referrals to testing for HIV, HCV, and STI’s; sample collection for drug checking and referrals to drug checking services; referrals to treatment or other relevant resources; and syringe cleanup and proper disposal; while following all relevant policies and procedures.
• Coordinate and fulfill pick-ups and/or deliveries of supplies in a safe and organized manner while working independently, either utilizing a work or personal vehicle in public street-based settings, while working with other staff or agencies in various environments as required, or while working with the greater KHR team in mobile unit settings.
• Responsibly, accurately, and effectively manage and stock supplies. This includes restocking and assembling a variety of supply kits of large volumes, recording supply data, and recording supply inventory around other assignments on a regular basis.
• Competently maintain precise and timely documentation of encounters with participants, supplies distributed, services provided, referrals to care, assignment progress, daily tasks, hours worked, mileage driven, and more.
• Maintain clear, timely, and consistent communication with team members and/or supervisors about schedules, daily tasks, assignment progress, and more, while attending check-ins and meetings as needed.
• Assist the program staff and/or COPE Network with planning, evaluation, and development of KHR and COPE endeavors, development and evolution of protocols and practices, educational materials, fundraisers, projects, special events, and more, as needed.
• Maintain an emotionally and physically safe environment for program staff, participants, volunteers, community partners, general community members, and other agencies when encountered.
• Responsibly follow all codes of conduct, policies, procedures, and other expectations established by the organization and program management.
• Assist in procedures and inspections related to cleanliness, organization, and safety of workplace environments such as office spaces, storage spaces, building grounds, and/or vehicles.
• Other responsibilities and duties as assigned by supervisors, or other duties assigned as the program evolves.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Knowledge of:

• Strong knowledge of or ability to understand harm reduction concepts and strategies, particularly in regards to safer drug use, overdose prevention, addiction and recovery services, drug checking, wound care, transmission of infectious pathogens, safer sex, and mental health.
• Lived experience with or personal knowledge of substance use (including alcohol), injection or inhaled drug use, substance use treatment or recovery services, and/or syringe access programs preferred.
• Ability to easily, safely, and confidently drive a cargo van/mobile unit and navigate the Southwest Michigan area required. Ability to use a personal vehicle for work duties when needed preferred.
• Experience in or certifications for peer support or coaching related to mental health, safer sex, safer drug use strategies, addiction, or recovery preferred.
• Lived experience with or knowledge of HIV/AIDS, PreP/PEP, HCV, COVID, and existing community resources related to safer sex, blood borne pathogens, and/or infectious diseases preferred.

Skill in:

• Compassionately engaging with a wide variety of individuals who use drugs, who experience co-occurring substance use and mental health issues, who engage in high-risk activities, who experience houselessness, or who are marginalized in other ways while behaving in a safe, respectful, non-judgmental, non-coercive, and confidential manner, in compliance with all established rules and codes of conduct.
• Working independently and as part of a team. This includes being skilled in self motivation, self management, and effective organization of one’s time, commitments, and tasks, while maintaining reporting requirements as well as accountability to and regular communication with a team. Strong ability to accomplish assigned tasks independently, if required, with honest communication about how time is spent is a must.
• Maintaining detailed and legible encounter records and precise data collection. Skill in compiling information into forms or written reports using various forms, basic computer programs, or other methods of record keeping.
• Interpersonal and communication skills for establishing and maintaining effective, trusting, collaborative, and productive relationships with participants, staff, and partners, and for competently providing services, resources, and education to participants and to the community.
• Crisis response and de-escalation tactics. Skill in working with participants facing complex or co-occurring mental or behavioral health conditions. Skill in navigating high pressure or high stress situations and conflicts and environments with good judgment, utilizing professional, compassionate, and non-violent communication.

Ability to:

• Effectively communicate in English, both orally and in writing. Additional languages (particularly Spanish) preferred but not required.
• Understand and meet goals, objectives, and outcomes outlined in grant funded projects with respect to and understanding of funder specific expectations.
• Understand and follow critical policies and procedures regarding daily tasks, collecting and handling of biohazard waste (used sharps), COVID/infectious disease precautions, and other workplace protocols.
• Navigate a work environment where highly complex or emotional subjects and situations related to substance use, overdose, houselessness, sex work, high-risk behavior, physical and mental health challenges, communicable diseases, trauma, the criminal/legal system, incarceration, poverty, abuse, and other potentially difficult topics are relevant and regularly encountered.
• Effectively communicate about substance use, high-risk behaviors, and treatment options in an informative, non-coercive, non-stigmatizing, and compassionate manner.
• Effectively communicate essential health and safety information to participants once taught, including but not limited to safer drug use strategies, overdose prevention information, how to use naloxone, and how to use drug testing kits.
• Successfully work in both remote or office environments, in group dynamics and independently, with self reporting required. Remote work can include but is not limited to, working from home, a vehicle/mobile unit, partner sites, or various outdoor locations as needed.
• Responsibly work alongside community partners or other agencies, performing daily tasks or assigned projects as needed with the appropriate level of collaboration expected from that partnership.
• Supervise and manage volunteers in basic tasks such as sorting supplies, making supply kits, light cleaning, or other duties.
• Receive general guidance and direction to perform a variety of new and/or non-routine tasks and responsibilities as needed.
• Maintain confidentiality of agency, staff, volunteer, participant, and program partner information.
• Adapt quickly to program growth, changes, new assignments, and new protocols that may be implemented suddenly and that may require changes to previously established responsibilities or routines.
• Be flexible, understanding of, and resilient to the regular challenges of this work, and of evolutions of assignments necessary to achieve the program’s greater goals and objectives.

This Job is Ideal for Someone Who:

• Has lived experience with substance use, houselessness, and/or sex work, is living with HIV/AIDS, and/or has previous experience working for a syringe service program or similar field, while holding a strong understanding of and belief in harm reduction practices and principles.
• Is people-oriented, enjoys meeting and interacting with people, and enjoys helping others.
• Is highly self-motivated and organized with the confidence and comfort to work competently and independently in a variety of settings.
• Is interested and/or skilled in program development, and who is comfortable working in newly established and still developing programming and initiatives.
• Has strong communication skills, is detail oriented, and is flexible with work assignments and scheduling.
• Is responsive and able to deal with difficult topics or interactions with care, compassion, and assertiveness.
• Has a demonstrated commitment to supporting drug user autonomy, gender self determination, and racial, economic, reproductive, and disability justice.

Qualifications:

• Valid Driver’s License [Required]
• Reliable personal vehicle available on occasion to accomplish work objectives [Preferred but not required]
• Recovery coach experience or certification [Preferred but not required]
• At least one year of experience working or volunteering in community/social services, substance use services, mental health services, housing services, health sciences, public health, legal advocacy or policy, or related fields [Preferred but not required]
• Must submit to relevant background checks [Each applicant will be given fair consideration and a fair chance upon review of background checks]

Compensation: $58,000 annually

Schedule: Kalamazoo Harm Reduction’s hours of operation are Monday through Friday between 9am - 8pm. Individual schedules may look different from day to day and from team member to team member. The Harm Reduction Specialist’s individual schedule can be flexible for the right candidate. Individuals who prefer more fixed schedules, who need certain days or times off, or who would like to further discuss the parameters of our schedule flexibility are still encouraged to apply. Please note your schedule preferences or restrictions in your message or cover letter to us .

Full time schedule expectations: 36 hours a week.

Travel Requirements: Regular local travel in Kalamazoo County, utilizing a work vehicle and/or a personal vehicle. The ability to competently, legally, and safely drive, utilizing a phone as GPS, is required for this position. Driving in all weather conditions, including early morning or nighttime darkness may be required. Longer distance driving around Southwest Michigan required, to varying degrees, depending on assignments.

Working Environment: The Harm Reduction Specialist will work out of a climate controlled office, remotely out of a vehicle, and at various locations (indoors and outdoors). Some outdoor environments include high or low traffic commercial areas, high or low traffic residential streets, parks, forests, and other remote locations in all seasons and weather conditions. In some settings where the Harm Reduction Specialist may be expected to be for a period of time, facilities such as bathrooms and safe food or medication storage areas may be limited or nonexistent. Employees must be flexible and accommodating of varying work environments.

Physical Requirements: While performing the duties of this job, the Harm Reduction Specialist is required to stand, sit, and walk for extended periods of time. Walking for extended periods outdoors while transporting supplies in all environments and weather conditions may be required. The employee must stoop, bend, lift, or move items of various weights and sizes up to 50lbs. Ability to use hands to finger, handle, feel, and separate small supplies to assemble kits required. Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus for the purpose of safely driving and navigating varying working environments, weather conditions, and encounters in the field.

COVID-19 and Other Virus/Infection Precaution(s) 2026 update: Conscientiousness, caution, and care about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and both airborne and fomite precautions required. Daily, masking with an approved mask is required, often for extended periods of time, to protect both program participants and other employees [personal protective equipment such as masks can be provided]. Remote work and/or physical distancing from participants and/or other employees, as well as other workplace accommodations to avoid transmission of illnesses such as COVID and other infections may be required when necessary. Willingness to submit to COVID or other transmissible infection testing and to provide ongoing disclosures of personal illness status, high-risk activities, travel, and contact with individuals positive for COVID-19 strongly preferred. These important policies are in place to uphold public health standards as a public health program, and to prevent transmission of illness to staff, program participants, program partners, and community members.

Benefits:

• Limited health insurance benefits are available from the employer through an ICHRA (Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement) plan. Employees can pick a plan that suits their budget and needs and apply a stipend from us to lower costs.
• Flexible time off policies, plus minimum 30 days PTO annually.
• Federal holidays are allowed off and/or flexed to a different day.
• Certain workplace accommodations and continued education may be covered.
• Mileage reimbursement available at the standard federal mileage reimbursement rate when personal vehicle use is required.
• No retirement or additional benefits are available at this time. Details and updated benefits to follow an interview and/or employment offer.

TO APPLY: Please send a message or brief cover letter AND a resume along with contact information to [email protected]. Please include why you are interested in this position, as well as any schedule availability, preferences, or limitations in your message or cover letter.

• Black, Brown, and Indigenous people and members of the LGBTQIA+ community are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Previous applicants, volunteers, or participants of Kalamazoo Harm Reduction or other COPE Network programs encouraged to apply.

Pay: $58,000.00 per year

People with a criminal record are encouraged to apply

Ability to Relocate:

• Kalamazoo, MI 49001: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person