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Position Title: Ombudsman/Client Experience Specialist

Department: Executive Administration

Reports To: Chief Executive Officer

FLSA Status: Exempt

Supervisory Responsibilities: None

Work Location: Montgomery County, Maryland, with regular travel to Interfaith Works program locations

POSITION SUMMARY

The Ombudsman serves as a neutral, accessible, and trusted resource for individuals receiving services through Interfaith Works programs. The position is responsible for receiving, reviewing, and responding to grievances and concerns; conducting fair and timely investigations; reviewing incident reports; identifying systemic issues; and preparing clear, objective findings and recommendations.

The Ombudsman helps ensure that program participants are treated with dignity, respect, fairness, and compassion. All work will be conducted using trauma-informed, person-centered, culturally responsive, and equity-focused practices. The Ombudsman will promote a positive program participant experience while supporting accountability, organizational learning, regulatory compliance, and continuous quality improvement.

The Ombudsman will work closely with Human Resources, program leadership, executive leadership, Quality Assurance, Risk Management, and other appropriate internal and external partners. The position may prepare reports for Interfaith Works, Services to End and Prevent Homelessness, funding agencies, regulatory bodies, legal representatives, and other authorized external entities.

The Ombudsman must maintain independence, objectivity, discretion, and professional boundaries while ensuring that all parties are treated fairly throughout the grievance and investigative process.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Grievance Management and Program Participant Advocacy

• Serve as a visible, accessible, and impartial point of contact for program participants who have concerns about services, staff interactions, program practices, living conditions, safety, access, communication, or treatment.
• Receive and review verbal and written grievances submitted by program participants, former program participants, family members, authorized representatives, community partners, or other stakeholders.
• Explain the grievance process in clear, understandable, and accessible language.
• Assist individuals who need reasonable support to communicate or document a grievance, including individuals with disabilities, limited English proficiency, literacy challenges, or other communication needs.
• Ensure that individuals understand their rights, available options, anticipated timelines, confidentiality limitations, and protections against retaliation.
• Promote informal resolution when appropriate, while recognizing when a matter requires a formal investigation or immediate escalation.
• Follow up with complainants regarding the status and outcome of their concerns, within the limits of confidentiality and applicable law.
• Monitor grievance trends and identify recurring concerns that may indicate systemic, operational, cultural, or service-delivery issues.

Investigations

• Conduct prompt, thorough, neutral, and well-documented investigations into allegations involving program services, participant rights, staff conduct, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, neglect, abuse, exploitation, safety, policy violations, or other serious concerns.
• Develop investigation plans that identify the allegations, relevant policies, witnesses, records, evidence, and required timelines.
• Conduct interviews using trauma-informed and person-centered practices that minimize unnecessary repetition, reduce the risk of retraumatization, and allow individuals to share information in a safe and respectful manner.
• Provide all involved parties with a meaningful opportunity to share relevant information and respond to allegations.
• Gather and evaluate documentation, electronic records, video footage, correspondence, incident reports, case notes, personnel records, policies, and other relevant evidence.
• Maintain neutrality and avoid predetermined conclusions, assumptions, or advocacy for any individual party.
• Distinguish substantiated facts from allegations, perceptions, opinions, and information that cannot be verified.
• Coordinate with Human Resources when an investigation involves employee conduct, workplace policy, disciplinary considerations, or employment-related concerns.
• Coordinate with legal counsel, law enforcement, Adult Protective Services, Child Protective Services, licensing authorities, funders, or other external entities when required or authorized.
• Immediately escalate allegations involving imminent danger, abuse, neglect, exploitation, serious misconduct, criminal activity, or other urgent risks.

Incident Report Review

• Review incident reports for completeness, accuracy, timeliness, objectivity, appropriate follow-up, and compliance with IW policies and external reporting requirements.
• Identify missing information, inconsistencies, patterns, or concerns requiring additional investigation or corrective action.
• Determine whether incidents were appropriately reported to leadership, funders, regulatory agencies, law enforcement, protective services, or other required entities.
• Work with program leadership to strengthen incident documentation and ensure that reports use objective, respectful, non-stigmatizing, and person-centered language.
• Track significant incidents, repeat incidents, and trends across IW programs.
• Recommend measures to reduce risk, improve safety, strengthen services, and prevent recurrence.

Findings, Reports, and Recommendations

• Prepare clear, accurate, objective, and well-supported investigative findings reports.
• Document the scope of the investigation, allegations reviewed, evidence considered, applicable policies, factual findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
• Prepare reports and formal responses for IW leadership, Services to End and Prevent Homelessness, funding agencies, regulatory entities, legal counsel, and other authorized external organizations.
• Ensure that reports protect confidential information and comply with applicable privacy, personnel, contractual, and legal requirements.
• Develop practical recommendations related to corrective action, policy revisions, staff training, supervision, program operations, risk reduction, and participant experience.
• Monitor implementation of approved corrective actions and report unresolved or overdue items to executive leadership.
• Provide aggregate reporting on grievances, incidents, investigation outcomes, response times, trends, and corrective actions.
• Identify organizational practices that may unintentionally create barriers, inequities, or negative experiences for program participants.

Human Resources and Organizational Collaboration

• Work closely with Human Resources while maintaining the neutrality and independence required of the Ombudsman role.
• Consult with Human Resources regarding allegations involving employee conduct, workplace expectations, retaliation, discrimination, harassment, or policy violations.
• Share factual findings with Human Resources and executive leadership to support appropriate employment, corrective, or disciplinary decisions.
• Avoid making final employment decisions unless specifically authorized by organizational policy.
• Participate in the development and review of grievance, incident reporting, investigation, participant rights, confidentiality, anti-retaliation, and complaint-resolution policies.
• Provide coaching and training to employees and supervisors on trauma-informed communication, professional boundaries, conflict resolution, documentation, participant rights, and grievance procedures.
• Collaborate with program leaders to improve service quality and address recurring concerns without compromising investigative independence.
• Serve as a resource to leadership regarding ethical concerns, participant experience, procedural fairness, and organizational accountability.

Trauma-Informed and Person-Centered Practice

The Ombudsman will:

• Recognize that individuals may have experienced trauma, homelessness, loss, violence, discrimination, institutional harm, or other significant adversity.
• Prioritize physical and emotional safety during interviews, meetings, and grievance proceedings.
• Communicate in ways that promote trust, transparency, choice, collaboration, empowerment, and respect.
• Avoid language or practices that blame, shame, stigmatize, intimidate, or dismiss program participants.
• Respect each person's lived experience, identity, culture, values, communication style, and individual goals.
• Offer reasonable choices regarding meeting location, communication method, support persons, interpretation services, and interview pacing when feasible.
• Recognize and address power imbalances between program participants, employees, leadership, and external systems.
• Ensure that a participant's housing, services, benefits, or access to assistance are not adversely affected because the participant raised a concern or participated in an investigation.
• Maintain a consistent focus on procedural fairness for complainants, witnesses, employees, and other involved parties.
• Use grievances and incidents as opportunities for accountability, service improvement, and organizational learning.

Independence, Neutrality, and Confidentiality

• Perform duties without improper influence from program operations, Human Resources, management, or other interested parties.
• Disclose actual or potential conflicts of interest and request reassignment when impartiality could reasonably be questioned.
• Maintain confidentiality to the greatest extent permitted by law, policy, contractual obligations, and safety requirements.
• Clearly explain that confidentiality cannot be guaranteed when information involves abuse, neglect, imminent harm, criminal conduct, mandatory reporting obligations, or other serious safety concerns.
• Maintain secure and separate grievance and investigation records.
• Share information only with individuals who have a legitimate business, legal, regulatory, or safety-related need to know.
• Maintain direct access to the Chief Executive Officer and, when appropriate, the Board of Directors or designated Board committee regarding serious, systemic, or unresolved concerns.

Program Participant Rights and Non-Retaliation

• The Ombudsman will help ensure that all program participants have the right to:
• Raise questions, concerns, or grievances without fear of retaliation.
• Be treated with dignity and respect.
• Receive information about program rules, expectations, services, and grievance procedures in an understandable format.
• Request reasonable accommodations or communication assistance.
• Have concerns reviewed fairly and within reasonable timelines.
• Be informed of the outcome of a grievance to the extent permitted by confidentiality and employment laws.
• Request further review or appeal when permitted by IW policy or funding requirements.
• Continue receiving appropriate services while a grievance is under review, unless a legitimate health or safety concern requires an alternative arrangement.
• Any allegation of retaliation related to a complaint, grievance, interview, or investigation must be reported immediately and reviewed promptly.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS (KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES)

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in social work, psychology, counseling, human services, public administration, criminal justice, law, organizational leadership, or a related field.
• Minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in investigations, compliance, quality assurance, human services, employee relations, advocacy, risk management, or grievance resolution.
• Demonstrated experience conducting sensitive, complex, and impartial investigations.
• Experience preparing formal findings reports, corrective-action recommendations, and reports for internal or external stakeholders.
• Knowledge of trauma-informed care, person-centered services, cultural responsiveness, procedural fairness, and anti-retaliation principles.
• Strong interviewing, fact-finding, analytical, documentation, and report-writing skills.
• Ability to manage highly sensitive and confidential information.
• Ability to remain calm, neutral, respectful, and objective when addressing emotionally charged or adversarial matters.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build trust with individuals from diverse backgrounds and lived experiences.
• Ability to travel among IW program sites throughout Montgomery County.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, case-tracking systems, electronic records, and data-reporting tools.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in social work, counseling, psychology, public administration, law, human resources, organizational development, or a related field.
• Professional licensure or certification in social work, counseling, human resources, compliance, investigations, mediation, conflict resolution, or a related discipline.
• Experience working in homeless services, behavioral health, supportive housing, shelter operations, social services, healthcare, disability services, or another regulated human-services environment.
• Experience working with government agencies, funding entities, legal counsel, licensing bodies, or external investigators.
• Knowledge of Montgomery County's homeless-response system and Services to End and Prevent Homelessness.
• Experience with data analysis, quality-improvement planning, and organizational risk assessment.
• Bilingual or multilingual communication skills.

PHYSICAL ...