Basic Needs Support Specialist – Intern

Description

About the Role:
The Basic Needs Support Specialist plays a pivotal role in providing basic-needs support and holistic health promotion for members of the College community. Reporting to the Director of Health and Wellness, this position is integral to supporting student’s holistic health needs to strengthen opportunities for student success. The ideal candidate will be a key player in assessing and improving basic-needs support for students, employees, and the campus community overall.

The Basic Needs Support Specialist should be able to work approximately 5-10 hours per week (dependent on internship requirements) between the hours of 8am and 5pm. More hours may be available to the employee depending on available funding.

Per Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), state privacy laws and institutional policy, an individual serving in this role must maintain confidentiality regarding the Health & Wellness Center and its associated offices.

Key Responsibilities:
● Assists with the campus food pantry and free store, known as Dash’s Cache.

● Assist with maintaining availability and distribution to the mobile food caches.

● Assist in establishing and evaluating specific outcomes, targets, or metrics for basic-needs support on campus.

● Under the supervision of the Director of Health & Wellness, assist with processes for strengthening food support and basic-needs support on campus.

● Collect community resources and materials for the purpose of providing information to students and the overall college community.

● Other duties as assigned.

● Meet for weekly or biweekly supervision with Field Instructor (determined by program).

Qualifications

Candidate Requirements:
● Enrollment in a degree-seeking program.

● Strong skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, program assessment, and communication.

● Knowledge of Microsoft products (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Google products (e.g., Forms, Spreadsheets, Drive), and other web-based tools (e.g., Canva, Qualtrics).

● Ability to work independently and collaboratively.

● Understanding of the unique needs of diverse populations (e.g., ethnic good preferences, pregnant and parenting students’ needs).

● Commitment to serving and supporting all who seek assistance, as well as ensuring the equitable support of underserved populations, through a mindset of inclusive excellence.

● Knowledge of assessment methods, organizational skills, and customer service skills are is beneficial, but not required.

● Experience in project development is beneficial, but not required.

● Understanding the management of community service organizations (e.g., food pantries, soup kitchens) is beneficial, but not required.

Understanding of events management, program management, marketing and communications are beneficial, but not required.

How to Apply

To submit a letter of interest and resume, or for questions, contact Patty Hartshorn, Director of Health & Wellness (health@goshen.edu; 574-535-7484)