Community Navigator

City of Santa Monica•Santa Monica, CA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Community Navigator is a new position within the Human Services Division of the City of Santa Monica. The primary goal of this position is to help vulnerable or underserved populations find, understand, and successfully access needed resources, including local, state, and federal benefits. Unlike traditional case managers who may focus on long-term clinical goals, this navigator will focus on reducing barriers to an individual or family’s immediate, practical needs. This position will primarily be based at the Park Center at Virginia Avenue Park but may co-locate at other city locations in Santa Monica as needed. Serves as a community-facing liaison connecting residents to City and regional programs, services, and resources through outreach, navigation, referrals, and engagement. Works collaboratively with community members, City departments, and external partners to identify barriers and service gaps, elevate community needs and feedback, and support equitable and culturally responsive programs, policies, and service delivery. Uses trauma-informed, strengths-based, and language-accessible approaches to improve access to services and address systemic inequities.

Requirements

Knowledge of diverse and underserved community needs, programs and services.
Knowledge of intersectional approaches to systems navigation, including how to identify and address the layered and overlapping forms of inequity.
Knowledge of effective customer service and case management techniques.
Knowledge of principles of program planning, monitoring, implementation and evaluation with the ability to apply an equity lens to assess whether programs are reaching those most in need and producing outcomes that address systemic barriers.
Knowledge of principles and practices of public administration.
Knowledge of community engagement techniques including participatory planning, co-design processes, and shared governance models.
Knowledge of quantitative analysis techniques.
Knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
Ability to teach, train, and work with individuals and organizations to promote equitable access to social services.
Ability to analyze and solve administrative problems.
Ability to maintain accurate records.
Ability to prepare and present effective presentations.
Ability to establish and maintain effective and cooperative working relationships with City employees and a wide variety of individuals, agencies, boards, commissions, community organizations and the general public.
Ability to work with persons from diverse social, cultural, and economic backgrounds as well as a variety of work styles, personalities, and approaches.
Ability to provide effective customer service.
Ability to build trusted rapport with diverse communities by understanding the historical and structural conditions that have shaped community relationships.
Ability to recognize and respond appropriately to the impacts of trauma, stress, and systemic inequities.
Ability to hold space with diverse communities, including those carrying trauma, fear, grief, and mistrust of institutional systems.
Ability to engage the most vulnerable residents with patience, cultural humility, and genuine care.
Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, across languages, cultures, and institutional contexts, with clarity for community members, City leadership, nonprofit partners, and elected officials.

Nice To Haves

Fluency in Spanish may be required based on assignment.

Responsibilities

Develops and implements strategies to connect underserved community members to relevant programs and resources.
Conducts proactive outreach in neighborhoods, community spaces, and trusted gathering places to increase awareness of City programs and services among diverse and underserved populations.
Plans, implements and conducts community engagement and resource navigation activities at schools, community centers, libraries, parks, faith-based organizations, and other community locations to connect residents with available resources and services.
Assists individuals and families in identifying, accessing and navigating appropriate City and community resources related to housing, healthcare, crisis intervention, legal, and social service systems and coordinates referrals to appropriate resources, providers and follow-up support.
Identifies cultural, linguistic, and systemic barriers impacting access to services and collaborates with City staff and community partners to support more inclusive and equitable practices.
Serves as a cultural broker between communities and institutional systems, conveying context, history, and lived experience in ways that enable residents and service providers to engage more honestly and effectively.
Gathers and communicates community feedback, concerns, and priorities to City departments and stakeholders to support program development, outreach efforts, and continuous service improvement.
Collects and analyzes data on service utilization, barriers, and unmet needs to identify gaps in program access and recommend improvements.
Provides program analysis and policy-related recommendations for department or division operations.
Facilitates participatory planning processes and shared governance models that center community voice in program design, policy development, and decision-making.
Organizes and supports community input sessions, co-design processes, and feedback mechanisms that give residents meaningful influence over the services intended to serve them.
Reviews existing programs, policies, and service delivery methods to assess effectiveness, cultural responsiveness, and accessibility.
Collaborates with external agencies, nonprofits, and service providers to streamline referrals, share resources, and support joint initiatives.
Serves as primary contact for inquiries to the City of Santa Monica related to social services.
Handles sensitive community/participant complaints.
Works with internal departments to coordinate service delivery, share insights, and align efforts to improve community access.
Trains colleagues on community engagement and available resources, as assigned.
Performs other duties, as assigned.