Front Desk Specialist (Eastland Prosperity Center)

Mid-Ohio Food Collective • Columbus, OH

6d • Onsite

About The Position

The Front Desk Specialist is the Eastland Prosperity Center’s first point of contact, ensuring customers, visitors, and community partners receive a welcoming, respectful, and customer-centered experience. The role supports access to services through intake, navigation, referrals, and accurate recordkeeping.

The position balances walk-ins, scheduled appointments, and phone inquiries; helps customers understand next steps; updates database records; and coordinates with on-site partners so customers are connected quickly and respectfully. The Specialist also helps organize the waiting area, communicate service availability, and identify needs or barriers for the team.

The Eastland Prosperity Center is a 67,000-square-foot human services hub in southeast Columbus scheduled to open in 2026. Created by the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, the Center brings together a free choice food market, on-site health care through The Ohio State University, city services including WIC and CelebrateOne, workforce training, and other community supports. It is designed to serve at least 100,000 people annually.

Requirements

• High school diploma or GED.
• At least 1 year of customer service experience; experience by phone, online, and in person is preferred.
• Basic computer skills, including Microsoft applications.
• Ability to work with challenging personalities using empathy, boundaries, and professionalism.

Responsibilities

• Greet and direct customers, visitors, and community partners.
• Complete basic intake and identify customer needs.
• Provide warm handoffs to internal teams and partner organizations.
• Support check-in, registration, appointments, and forms.
• Answer and route phone inquiries.
• Coordinate customer flow and communicate wait-time updates.
• Escalate specialized needs appropriately.
• Maintain current knowledge of programs and referral processes.
• Enter service and outcome data and maintain accurate records.
• Follow privacy, safety, and data security procedures.
• Prepare the front desk area and review partner schedules.
• Keep the waiting area organized and communicate service availability.
• Flag emerging needs or barriers to the team.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED