Community Development Specialist

Kern Regional Center is one of 21 private, non-profit regional centers contracted by the State of California through the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to coordinate community-based services and support for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Kern Regional Center services over 10,000 individuals in Kern, Inyo and Mono Counties. Our counties cover approximately 22,000 square miles with a population of over 945,000 people.

Kern Regional Center is looking for dedicated individual to identify barriers and develop strategies to reduce disparity in the purchase of services with various ethnic populations in Kern, Inyo, and Mono counties, and to increase the number of referrals to Kern Regional Center to simultaneously identify needed resources and facilitate development of identified resources.

The ideal candidate is someone who has:

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, political science, psychology, sociology, business administration, public administration or related human services field from an accredited school. Or any combination of education and experience may be considered.
• 2 years of experience in report writing or working with community-based organizations or outreach is highly preferred or any equivalent combination of relevant work and educational experience
• Knowledge of basic needs and approaches in working with individual who have developmental disabilities.
• Bilingual in Spanish highly desired. 
• Convey complex information and ideas (including policies, procedures, regulations and expectations) to diverse groups clearly, concisely, verbally and in writing
• Communicate in front of vendors and community partners with a broad spectrum of business and professional expertise
• Interpret guidelines and standards applying them in a consistent manner
• Evaluate and develop programs
• Identify and analyze problems
• Demonstrate excellent customer service
• Demonstrate empathy, respect and support cultural awareness
• Maintain strict adherence to all confidential laws related to client information
• Adapt to new initiatives and project tasks as assigned 
• Must have reliable transportation and be able to work outside of normal business hours.
• Valid driver's license and DMV record

Top Perks and Benefits:

As part of the Kern Regional Center team, you will be able to enjoy:

• Generous health, dental and vision plan for employee and their dependents
• Paid time off increasing with length of service
• Paid holidays
• Life, AD&D, Long Term Disability Plans
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Various voluntary insurance and retirement plans

Salary range for this position $25.37 to $35.70 per hour

Starting salary range $25.37 to $27.97 per hour

For full job description, please email [email protected]

Kern Regional Center is an equal opportunity employer and strives to attract qualified applicants from all walks of life without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military and veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state and/or local law. We aim to create an environment that celebrates and embraces the diversity of our workforce. We welcome you to join our team.