How to hire a community outreach worker

How to hire a community outreach worker, step by step

Here's a step-by-step community outreach worker hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a community outreach worker job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new community outreach worker
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

Post a community outreach worker job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the community outreach worker you need to hire. Certain community outreach worker roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A community outreach worker's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, community outreach workers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of community outreach worker salaries for various roles:

   Type of Community Outreach Worker	Description	Hourly rate
   Community Outreach Worker	Health educators teach people about behaviors that promote wellness. They develop and implement strategies to improve the health of individuals and communities... Show more	$16-30
   Lay Health Advocate	A lay health advocate helps the patients prepare for medical appointments, update and organize physicians' information. After the medical appointments, a lay health advocate offers follow-up care services by monitoring patient conditions and ensuring they follow all treatment recommendations... Show more	$12-21
   Case Worker	Caseworkers are social workers who watch over the welfare of underprivileged individuals and at-risk families by counseling and providing them with assistance. Usually employed under the government or a local non-profit organization, a caseworker must conduct a thorough interview and house visits to determine the needs of the family... Show more	$14-26

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Community Outreach
   • Community Resources
   • Mental Health
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Public Health
   • Community Services
   • Substance Abuse
   • Community Events
   • Social Services
   • Community Organizations
   • Outreach Events
   • Medical Appointments
   • Health Fairs
   • Community Health

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead process and counseling groups gear toward healing from both PTSD and substance dependence issues.
   • Deliver direct services to children with autism by executing individualize plans, completing necessary documentation and communication effectively with team.
   • Facilitate monthly community meetings to ascertain interests of community members; provide PowerPoint presentations, showing progress of various initiatives.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your community outreach worker job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A community outreach worker can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, community outreach workers' average salary in kentucky is 37% less than in connecticut.
   • Seniority. Entry-level community outreach workers 46% less than senior-level community outreach workers.
   • Certifications. A community outreach worker with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a community outreach worker's salary.

   Average community outreach worker salary

   $46,809yearly

   $22.50 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level community outreach worker salary

   $34,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

4. Writing a community outreach worker job description

   A good community outreach worker job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a community outreach worker job description:

   Community outreach worker job description example

   SUMMARY: Performs community outreach and health education activities for targeted health care program.
   
   DUTIES & ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS: NOTE : The following are the duties performed by employees in this classification. However, employees may perform other related duties at an equivalent level. Not all duties listed are necessarily performed by each individual in the classification.
   
   1. Acts as liaison between client, relatives, guardians, employers, physicians, and service providers on behalf of clients.
   2. Administers risk assessment questionnaires.
   
   3. Assists in determining vocational goals and abilities.
   
   4. Assists in development of case management plans; oversees implementation of plans subject to review by professional staff.
   
   5. Assists with coordination and delivery of preventive health care programs.
   
   6. Attends staff conferences; represents staff in community-agency meetings.
   
   7. Collects and delivers (if applicable) participant's informed consent forms and/or questionnaires to designated staff.
   
   8. Conducts intake interviews with clients and relatives to obtain information concerning medical/social history and current mental condition, following established protocols.
   
   9. Informs clients of community services available and may contact those agencies/community-based organizations on clients' behalf.
   
   10. Performs community outreach and health education activities to targeted groups and/or individuals.
   
   11. Pre-screens clients to determine health care/social service needs and communicates those needs to professional or paraprofessional personnel as necessary.
   
   12. Provides community groups with educational information concerning health/social service programs in Alameda County.
   
   13. Recruit volunteers to attend drug treatment programs at participating drug treatment centers.
   
   14. Translates educational and other resource materials for specific targeted population.
   
   MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
   
   Required Education : A.A. degree from a recognized college in health services, social science or a related field such as psychology or counseling; or completion of two years of college or university with 60 semester units or 90 quarter units from a four-year college or university with major coursework in health services, social science or a related field.
   
   Preferred Education : N/A
   
   Required Experience : One year full-time experience working in a community outreach program performing duties such as intake, peer counseling, assessments, program screening, placement and referral is preferred, or one year full-time experience in the class of Specialist Clerk or higher with AHS services performing similar duties, or the equivalent of two years of full-time experience working in a community outreach program performing similar duties.
   
   Preferred Experience : N/A
   
   Required Licenses/Certifications : N/A

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find community outreach workers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your community outreach worker job on Zippia to find and recruit community outreach worker candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit community outreach workers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new community outreach worker

   Once you have selected a candidate for the community outreach worker position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a community outreach worker?