City of St. Louis Office of Violence Prevention
City of St. Louis
Office of Violence Prevention
Community Engagement / Program Coordinator
About the Office
The Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) is a division of the City of St. Louis created in July 2022 whose purpose is to act as a coordinating body for the City’s efforts to create safe and healthy neighborhoods free of violence. The office works with community-based organizations, government bodies, and healthcare systems on a public health approach to addressing violence. OVP coordinates partners and provides strategic direction and oversight for various citywide Community Violence Intervention (CVI) initiatives, including but not limited to the following:
1. Supportive Re-entry services that deliver support to individuals returning to the community from the criminal legal system in a trauma-informed, anti-racist, evidence-based, client-centered, participatory, community-driven, and collaborative fashion, which emphasizes the clients’ right to self-determination through flexible, non-punitive, and low-barrier service provision.
2. Crisis Response work that builds on, but does not rely on, existing emergency services such as 9-1-1, with an aim to prioritize the use of non-law enforcement responses and interventions when most appropriate to address the social, health, and mental health needs of individuals and communities.
3. Youth Diversion work that will expand resources available to justice-involved youth and their families to positively impact St. Louis communities and enhance public safety.
About the Role
The City of St. Louis Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) seeks a Community Engagement Coordinator (with Program Coordinator as the civil service title) to connect with community stakeholders and share information about OVP’s vision and work. This position requires strong alignment with OVP’s values and vision as well as sound judgment and demonstrated success engaging typically hard-to-reach community members.
Key Responsibilities
● Engage and educate communities in forums on OVP’s approach to neighborhood health and safety
● Manage OVP-sponsored events in communities with disproportionately high rates of violence
● Create and manage OVP’s social media accounts
● Ensure new information including articles, links, and events are posted regularly to the OVP website and social media channels
● Record and/or take photos for use in publications, slide shows, special events, and social media
● Ensure engagement of hard-to-reach or typically disconnected populations, including youth
● Lead and support community-led forums and efforts that promote neighborhood health and safety
● Connect communities to resources, especially as it pertains to the social determinants of health
● Aid in the development and implementation of OVP’s communications strategy, particularly as it relates to social media
● Work collaboratively with OVP staff to keep the website calendar and resources current
● Other duties as assigned
Qualifications
● A Bachelor’s degree in social work, public health, public relations, or a related discipline and/or at least two years of community engagement experience
● Familiarity with St. Louis, and a strong commitment to creating safe and healthy communities in St. Louis
● Experience working directly with people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, including experience incorporating communities of color and people with lived experience in planning and decision-making processes
● Familiarity with social media platforms and social media marketing
● Effective verbal and written communicator with strong interpersonal skills and proven ability to develop productive, positive working relationships
● Ability to communicate in a trauma-informed, culturally competent and responsive way
● Attention to detail and ability to correlate topics and information
● Consistent ability to exercise sound judgment and discretion
● Must be a proactive, self-starter who is able to take the lead on tasks with minimal direction
● Ability to effectively manage multiple projects simultaneously
● Ability to identify pressing needs and prioritize those as needed, without losing track of other tasks and responsibilities; Ability to effectively manage time and resources
● Expertise with Microsoft Office and Google Workspace suites (including Gmail, Drive, and Sheets)
● Expertise with Salesforce is a plus
Salary Range: $44,278 – $69,212
To Apply: Please submit an application on the City jobs website: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/jobs/job-detail.cfm?job=7365&detail=1
