Social Worker

New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition; New Brunswick (NJ); On-site; USD 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition in New Brunswick, NJ, is seeking a full-time Social Worker to strengthen care coordination across our Harm Reduction Centers. The role emphasizes trauma-informed, client-centered support, crisis response, and referrals to health, housing, and social services.

You will build partnerships with local clinics, shelters, and community organizations, delivering compassionate, non-judgmental care to people who use drugs.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct care coordination & crisis response (45%)
• Conduct comprehensive intake and ongoing assessments of Middlesex HRC members' health, housing, behavioral health, infectious disease, and social service needs, as needed
• Provide lighter-touch care coordination and referral support for Statewide HRC members, connecting remote and mail-based participants to services and resources across New Jersey, as needed
• Respond to crises and provide linkage support for members across both programs, including de-escalation, safety planning, and connection to emergency and ongoing services
• Work closely with Harm Reduction Specialists to make warm handoffs and navigate participants to HIV/HCV testing and treatment, wound care, MOUD providers, mental health counseling, primary care, shelters, legal aid, social services, and benefits
• Provide follow-up and retention support, including appointment reminders, accompaniment to appointments when requested, and ongoing engagement for high-barrier participants
• Deliver on-site harm reduction counseling that reinforces safer-use education, overdose prevention strategies, and participant-defined goals
• Participate in care planning with NJHRC staff and external partners to ensure coordinated, participant-centered care plans
• Build & maintain community partnerships (20%)
• Develop and sustain a robust referral network across healthcare, housing, behavioral health, legal aid, social services, and community organizations-locally and statewide
• Establish and maintain formal and informal partnerships with FQHCs, MOUD prescribers, hospital systems, shelters, warming centers, mental health providers, legal aid organizations, and reentry programs
• Cultivate relationships with nontraditional partner

Job description

Position : Social Worker

Status : Full-Time, Overtime Exempt

Location : New Brunswick, NJ (on-site)

Salary : $65,000-$75,000 annually, plus benefits

Reports to : Program Director

Who We Are

New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition (NJHRC) is on a mission to create a New Jersey that values the safety and dignity of all people who use drugs-and we're making it happen. Since incorporating in 2020, we've built two Harm Reduction Centers, launched a community drug checking program, and changed laws to expand syringe services and naloxone access.

NJHRC accomplishes this through direct harm reduction services across two programs-the Middlesex Harm Reduction Center (a full-service program in New Brunswick) and the Statewide Harm Reduction Center (mail-based and digital outreach serving members across New Jersey)-as well as training and technical assistance and policy advocacy. As the Social Worker, you'll serve enrolled members of both programs, helping people coordinate care, navigate systems, response to crises.

The Opportunity:

Social Worker NJHRC is adding a dedicated, full-time Social Worker to strengthen our continuum of services for people who use drugs. This role serves enrolled members across both of NJHRC's Harm Reduction Centers-providing structured, trauma-informed care coordination, referral support, and crisis response.

Your work will look different depending on who you're serving:

Middlesex HRC members will receive full care coordination and referral support-comprehensive assessments, warm handoffs, appointment accompaniment, and ongoing follow-up, as needed-delivered in person at our New Brunswick drop-in center.

Statewide HRC members will receive lighter-touch care coordination and referral support, connecting mail-based and remote participants to services and resources across New Jersey.

All NJHRC members have access to crisis response and linkage support, regardless of which program they're enrolled in.

Partnership-building is central to this role-you can't do referrals without relationships. You'll actively develop and maintain a robust network of community partners across healthcare, housing, behavioral health, legal aid, and social services, so that when a participant needs something, you know exactly who to call.

This is a role for someone who understands that harm reduction is not just a set of services-it's a philosophy. You believe that people who use drugs deserve care that is compassionate, non-judgmental, and grounded in their own goals. You know how to build trust with people who have been burned by systems before, and you know how to navigate those systems on their behalf-whether someone is sitting across from you at our drop-in center or reaching out from across the state. All work will be grounded in cultural humility, trauma-informed care, and the harm reduction principle that every person is the expert of their own health.

What You'll Do

The below represents today's job. Competitive candidates will bring enthusiasm for evolving programmatic design and a genuine commitment to meeting people who use drugs where they are.

• Provide direct care coordination & crisis response (45%)
• Conduct comprehensive intake and ongoing assessments of Middlesex HRC members' health, housing, behavioral health, infectious disease, and social service needs, as needed.
• Provide lighter-touch care coordination and referral support for Statewide HRC members, connecting remote and mail-based participants to services and resources across New Jersey, as needed.
• Respond to crises and provide linkage support for members across both programs, including de-escalation, safety planning, and connection to emergency and ongoing services
• Work closely with Harm Reduction Specialists to make warm handoffs and navigate participants to HIV/HCV testing and treatment, wound care, MOUD providers, mental health counseling, primary care, shelters, legal aid, social services, and benefits
• Provide follow-up and retention support, including appointment reminders, accompaniment to appointments when requested, and ongoing engagement for high-barrier participants
• Deliver on-site harm reduction counseling that reinforces safer-use education, overdose prevention strategies, and participant-defined goals
• Participate in care planning with NJHRC staff and external partners to ensure coordinated, participant-centered care plans
• Build & maintain community partnerships (20%)
• Develop and sustain a robust referral network across healthcare, housing, behavioral health, legal aid, social services, and community organizations-locally and statewide
• Establish and maintain formal and informal partnerships with FQHCs, MOUD prescribers, hospital systems, shelters, warming centers, mental health providers, legal aid organizations, and reentry programs
• Cultivate relationships with nontraditional partner