Title: Community Navigator
Job Category: Community Outreach
Requisition Number: COMMU002244
Job Type: Full-Time
Mankato, MN, 56001, United States

Description

Who We Are

Our mission at Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC) is focused on ‘Unity Built on Justice.’ Our goal is to build strong communities that are made up of meaningful relationships and guided by our deepest values. The Minnesota Council of Churches is your partner in living out your faith in your community. We consist of 24 members representing the regional governing and administrative bodies of Historic Black, Mainline Protestant, and Peace Church judicatories.

Why You’ll Love Working Here

At MCC, we offer:

Refugee Services – to create freedom, hope, and opportunity in Minnesota

Respectful Conversations – structured, facilitated conversations designed not to change minds, but soften hearts

Social Justice – we seek to change societal norms through truth telling, racial justice, and personal transformation

Interfaith – we provide many opportunities for interfaith programming in your community

Justice Advocacy – we strive to keep our constituents informed and active in education and advocacy

Wages

$25.00 per hour

Benefits

• 13 paid holidays
• Wellness week – during the last week of the year, MCC offices will be closed. Staff will be paid and are encouraged to spend the week focused on reflecting, planning, and other wellness activities
• Paid vacation time
• Paid sick leave
• Medical and dental insurance available at no cost for employees; with family coverage available
• Vision insurance
• Health Savings Account (HSA), and options for Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)

• Long-term disability insurance – available at no cost for employees
• Employer-paid basic life insurance with the option for additional coverage paid by the employee
• Voluntary benefits: Accident, hospital indemnity, critical illness, short-term disability insurance

• MCC sponsors a retirement plan with 6% employer match.

Because Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC) is a member with Metropolitan Alliance of Connected Communities (MACC) who partners with St. Mary’s University, MCC employees and their spouses are also eligible for the following benefits at St. Mary’s University:

• Discounted tuition for Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate programs
• Professional development opportunities
• Access to advancement (internships, job placement, field practice)

Job Summary

Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC) is hiring a Community Navigator to provide services to Immigrants and Refugees that promote family stabilization, self-sufficiency, and goal attainment in compliance with MCC programs and contracts. This position connects program participants with resources and services both within MCC and in the community, provides language interpretation and cultural support, offers academic mentoring support to families, and delivers cultural and community orientation to new arrivals.

Responsibilities

• Conduct intake assessments to determine client eligibility for programs.
• Develop individualized plans with program participants to empower them to reach agreed-upon goals and meet program guidelines.
• Provide program orientation to potential participants.
• Conduct intakes, eligibility screening, and employment assessments.
• Assist clients in overcoming barriers related to job search, applications, and workplace success.
• Match participants with appropriate employment opportunities.
• Provide ongoing case management and referrals to supportive resources.
• Collaborate internally to ensure participants access the full range of MCC services.
• Connect clients to community resources and help them overcome barriers to self-sufficiency.
• Educate families about community and health issues.
• Document all contacts and services in case files as appropriate.
• Maintain outcomes reporting in agency and state databases.
• Submit regular reports to track client outcomes, fulfill reporting requirements, and capture client success stories.

What You Bring

• Fluency in Spanish or Somali.
• Previous experience working with refugees, asylees, or recent immigrants is strongly preferred.
• Previous experience in social services, community navigation, case management, or related field is preferred.
• A valid driver’s license, access to reliable transportation, and the ability to meet Minnesota Council of Churches’s driving record requirements. Please note that if the license was not issued in the state of Minnesota, you have 60 days after becoming a Minnesota resident in which to apply for your Minnesota driver's license or permit.

Diversity and open expression are fundamental to the work of Minnesota Council of Churches. We are passionate about building and sustaining an inclusive and equitable working environment where everyone can belong. Every member of our team enriches our work by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design, and deliver solutions. We welcome everyone to apply, especially those individuals who are underrepresented in our sector: individuals who identify as BIPOC, Indigenous or people of culture, LGBTQI+ and gender fluid or gender nonconforming, individuals with disabilities (both seen and unseen), veterans, people of any age or family status. We encourage you to apply even if you feel like you don't fit 100% of the technical requirements. Equal Opportunity Employer: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, ancestry, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, familial status, disability, age, marital status, membership or activity in a local human rights commission, status with regard to public assistance, criminal history (justice-impacted status), housing or homelessness status, height, or weight.

Our organization has a partnership with Metropolitan Alliance of Connected Communities (MACC) to provide administrative services including management of the hiring process. If you apply for this position, you may see references to MACC in some online materials.

Minnesota Council of Churches participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you’re authorized to work in the U.S. See E-Verify’s official poster at https://e-verify.uscis.gov/web/media/resourcesContents/E-Verify_Participation_Poster_ES.pdf. See E-Verify’s Right to Work poster at https://www.e-verify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/IER_RightToWorkPoster%20Eng_Es.pdf.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.