Community Health Navigator & Advocate

Blue Shield of California; California; On-site; USD 67,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan seeks a Community Connector Health Advocate to engage community organizations, assess social determinants of health, and assist members with navigating care and services. The role emphasizes building relationships, coordinating resources, and representing the health plan at events.

The ideal candidate brings experience supporting people with complex health and social needs, bilingual skills, and strong interpersonal abilities, with a willingness to

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or HS Diploma/GED with 4 years of additional relevant experience in lieu of a degree
• At least 3 years of relevant experience supporting people with complex health and social needs
• Working knowledge of Medi-Cal programs and services
• Knowledge of community resources, community agencies, community programs, eligibility pathways, and benefit navigation
• Bilingual in Spanish or Arabic is highly desired

Responsibilities

• Assess psychosocial and social determinants of health needs for moderate-risk members and document results
• Refer members to licensed staff as required based on social/health risk and medical complexity
• Partner with community resources, health plans and providers by engaging in community activities
• Assist members with problem-solving barriers to access needed services
• Build trusting relationships with members and their family support systems
• Coordinate sponsorship and community investment opportunities
• Coordinate community event participation
• Manage workload to meet productivity standards
• Document and report on community outreach efforts

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Bilingual Spanish/Arabic

Education

Bachelor's degree

High School Diploma/GED

Job description

Your Role

The Community Programs team provides high-touch engagement with members and community-based organizations to remove barriers to healthcare access, enhance population health initiatives and advance health equity. The Community Connector Health Advocate will report to the Community Programs Manager, Operations. In this role you will serve as the Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan’s community expert. You will be responsible for creating meaningful relationships with community-based organizations, participating in community events, and acting as the health plan liaison. In addition, you will assist members with complex health and/or social needs by assessing their immediate needs and addressing barriers to care to include, but not limited to, care coordination, linkages to health plan services and community resources.

Job Description

Your Role

The Community Programs team provides high-touch engagement with members and community-based organizations to remove barriers to healthcare access, enhance population health initiatives and advance health equity. The Community Connector Health Advocate will report to the Community Programs Manager, Operations. In this role you will serve as the Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan’s community expert. You will be responsible for creating meaningful relationships with community-based organizations, participating in community events, and acting as the health plan liaison. In addition, you will assist members with complex health and/or social needs by assessing their immediate needs and addressing barriers to care to include, but not limited to, care coordination, linkages to health plan services and community resources.

This position requires frequent travel locally in San Diego County. The position also requires coverage of evening and weekend events as needed.

Our leadership model is about developing great leaders at all levels and creating opportunities for our people to grow – personally, professionally, and financially. We are looking for leaders that are energized by creative and critical thinking, building and sustaining high-performing teams, getting results the right way, and fostering continuous learning.

Responsibilities

Your Work

In this role, you will:

• Assess psychosocial and social determinants of health needs for moderate-risk members and document assessment results or augment available information in appropriate systems
• Consult with or refer members to licensed staff (social worker, nurse case manager etc.) as required based on member social, health risk and medical complexity
• Establish relationships and partner with community resources, health plans and providers by participating in community engagement activities with local agencies e.g. faith-based organizations, community centers, government agencies, parks, recreation centers and schools
• Assist members with problem-solving barriers to moderate health conditions by identifying, locating, connecting to and navigating needed community and medical system services, including visiting members at their homes, accompanying members to medical appointments and assisting members with completing forms to access needed services
• Actively engage, build rapport and establish trusting relationships and facilitate collaborative communication with members and members' family support systems
• Identify and coordinate sponsorship and community investment opportunities
• Identify and coordinate community event participation
• Effectively manage workload to achieve productivity standards
• Document and report on community outreach efforts
  
  

Qualifications

Your Knowledge and Experience

• Requires a bachelor's degree or High School Diploma/GED and 4 years of additional relevant experience in lieu of a degree
• Requires at least 3 years of prior relevant experience supporting people with complex health and social needs
• Requires applied working knowledge of community resources, community agencies, community programs, eligibility pathways, and benefit navigation
• Requires knowledge of Medi-Cal programs and services
• Requires strong interpersonal skills
• Bilingual in Spanish or Arabic - speaking, reading, and writing highly desired
  
  

About Us

About Blue Shield of California

As of January 2025, Blue Shield of California became a subsidiary of Ascendiun. Ascendiun is a nonprofit corporate entity that is the parent to a family of organizations including Blue Shield of California and its subsidiary, Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan; Altais, a clinical services company; and Stellarus, a company designed to scale healthcare solutions. Together, these organizations are referred to as the Ascendiun Family of Companies.

At Blue Shield of California, our mission is to create a healthcare system worthy of our family and friends and sustainably affordable. We are transforming health care in a way that genuinely serves our nonprofit mission by lowering costs, improving quality, and enhancing the member and physician experience.

To achieve our mission, we foster an environment where all employees can thrive and contribute fully to address the needs of the various communities we serve. We are committed to creating and maintaining a supportive workplace that upholds our values and advances our goals.

Blue Shield is a U.S. News Best Company to work for, a Deloitte U.S. Best Managed Company and a Top 100 Inspiring Workplace. We were recognized by Fair360 as a Top Regional Company, and one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States by Points of Light. Here at Blue Shield, we strive to make a positive change across our industry and communities – join us!

Our Values:

• Honest. We hold ourselves to the highest ethical and integrity standards. We build trust by doing what we say we're going to do and by acknowledging and correcting where we fall short.
• Human. We strive to listen and communicate effectively, showing empathy by understanding others' perspectives.
• Courageous. We stand up for what we believe in and are committed to the hard work necessary to achieve our ambitious goals.
  
  

Our Workplace Model

We believe in fostering a workplace environment that balances purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility - providing clear expectations while respecting the diverse needs of our workforce. Our workplace model is designed around intentional in-person interaction, collaboration, connection, creativity and flexibility:

• For most teams, this means coming into the office two days per week.
• Employees living more than 50 miles from an office location, out of state employees, and employees in certain member-facing roles should work with their manager to determine in-office time based on business need.
• For employees with medical conditions that may impact their ability to work in-office, we are committed to engaging in an interactive process and providing reasonable accommodations to ensure their work environment is conducive to their success and well-being.
  
  

The Company reserves the right to require more presence in the office based on business needs, and requirements are subject to change with periodic reviews.

Physical Requirements:

Office Environment - roles involving part to full time schedule in Office Environment. Based in our physical offices and work from home office/deskwork - Activity level: Sedentary, frequency most of work day.

Please click here for further physical requirement detail.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

External hires must pass a background check/drug screen. Qualified applicants with arrest records and/or conviction records will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with Federal, State and local laws, including but not limited to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status or disability status and any other classification protected by Federal, State and local laws.

JOB INFO

Job Identification : 20261866

Job Category : Healthcare Services and Operations

Posting Date : 2026-09-25T00:11:11+00:00

Job Schedule : Full time

Locations :

San Diego, CA, United States

Pay Range for California : $32.03 to $48.04

Pay Range for Bay Area : $36.10 to $54.16

Note : Please note that this range represents the pay range for this and many other positions at Blue Shield that fall into this pay grade. Blue Shield salaries are based on a variety of factors, including the candidate experience, location (California, Bay Area, or outside California), and current employee salaries for similar roles.

Role can be filled by a candidate requiring sponsorship : No