United Way FPC is looking for a new Community Resource Specialist to help connect residents of Chattooga, Floyd and Polk counties with vital community services.

The organization recently posted the opening for a 211 Community Resource Specialist, a part-time position serving as a frontline representative for the United Way’s 211 program.

The specialist will work directly with people seeking assistance through telephone calls, internet inquiries, texts and online chat. Those contacts can range from someone simply looking for information about a community program to more complicated situations involving several needs, advocacy or crisis intervention.

Among the specialist’s responsibilities will be determining what assistance a caller needs, identifying appropriate local resources, explaining eligibility requirements and following up to determine whether referrals were successful. The employee will also advocate for people who encounter barriers while attempting to obtain services and provide crisis intervention according to established protocols.

Another major part of the job involves maintaining the 211 community resource directory. The specialist will communicate with social-service organizations to verify information about available programs and add new resources to the database. During disasters or emergencies, the employee will also be responsible for helping ensure that information placed in the database is accurate and removing temporary resources when they are no longer available.

The position is part-time at 20 hours per week, with a regular schedule of Monday through Friday from 9 AM until 1 PM. Pay is listed at $17.50 per hour. The job may be performed on-site in Rome, remotely or through a hybrid arrangement, depending on the organization’s business needs.

Applicants must have at least a high school diploma or GED, while a bachelor’s degree in human services or a related field is preferred. Previous human-services or information-and-referral experience is also preferred. United Way says preference will be given to applicants who are bilingual in Spanish and English. The person hired will be required to obtain Inform USA Community Resource Specialist certification within one year.

Those interested should submit a resume and letter of interest to icey@unitedfpc.org, using “211 CRS” as the email subject line.