Housing Placement Specialist

Job Type
Full-time
Description
Responsibility:
General Responsibilities
Hyacinth AIDS Foundation's mission is to help people live with HIV, stop the spread of the epidemic, and serve as a critical voice in the public debate surrounding AIDS in New Jersey.
The following foundational behaviors are expected as an employee of Hyacinth:
Service/Customer Services
Consistently demonstrates respect, responsiveness, and professionalism towards others while providing superior service for our clients
• Treats each customer as a priority
• Respects each customer's right to quality service, confidentiality, and dignity.
• Works with co-workers to ensure integration of services
• Displays a welcoming, helpful attitude to customers
• Establishes and maintains personal boundaries in clinical supervision with customers or co-workers
Community/Teamwork
Actively cooperates within the region and/or program and participates in the constructive resolution of conflict.
• Focuses on improving communication and collaboration
• Tries to understand the other person's point of view when there is a challenge
• Works with all regional staff to provide a full continuum of services to customers.
• Understands local community resources and can make appropriate referrals.
• Is clear and tactful when collaborating and working with others.
Leadership
Assuming responsibility for one's own self in the workplace and exhibiting commitment to the customer and agency.
• Takes pride in his/her/their work
• Advances Hyacinth's reputation for excellence.
• Incorporates boundaries and ethical guidelines into decision making.
Employees of the Agency may learn certain facts about individuals being served by the Agency that are of a highly personal and confidential nature. Examples of such information are medical conditions, sexual orientation, relations with family members and other individuals. All such information must be treated as completely confidential. All staff are required to conform to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) guidelines which require the protection of personal health information.
Position Summary
Provide brief and concise statement explaining the main purpose for the existence of this position. Provide a brief summary of the role.
• Under the supervision of the Regional Services Manager, performs duties relating to the counseling of customers regarding housing services and providing information and referral services as needed.
§ Housing Specialist with work with customers in need of short-term housing and/or utility service needs to maintain stable and affordable housing, including identifying long-term permanent housing plans.
§ Housing Specialist will connect customers with services, provide peer solving support and linkage to care that helps PLWH and people receiving PrEP treatment achieve the goal of living independently.
Major Duties & Responsibilities
In order of importance, briefly describe, in sentence form, the essential functions/major responsibilities of this position (principal duties and responsibilities of the position)
Typically, job descriptions should contain no more than seven or eight major responsibilities ranked in order of highest percentage of time to least.
Approximate Percentage of Time
Tasks/Duties/Responsibilities
70%
Customer Services
• Provide Housing Navigation statewide, with a focus on Paterson in Passaic County, Plainfield in Union County, and Trenton in Mercer County
• Provide housing case management and counseling
• Identify permanent housing for customers.
• Determine eligibility for applications for short-term and/or long term safe and affordable housing assistance.
• Assist customers with placement in transitional housing.
• Identify and develop relationships with landlords to identify long term rental options for customers
• Negotiate with landlords and provide complete assistance with lease and other documents.
• Complete required paperwork for emergency financial assistance (rental and utility)
• Provide Daily Living Skills training and counseling to customers of the program.
• Provide Housing Retention Counseling to customers of the program.
• Refer customers to ensure connection to medical care.
• Collaborate with primary care providers and MCM staff to identify newly diagnosed patients in need of housing support.
• Documentation of baseline viral load, CD4 count, AIDS diagnosis and antiretroviral prescriptions for 100% of clients.
§ Conduct counseling sessions with clients pertaining to housing needs, options, and social service referrals.
§ Provide housing case management to clients, aligning clients with appropriate service providers throughout the service area.
§ Develop and implement outreach activities including networking with other community- based organizations, support groups, religious organizations, etc. Participate in outreach activities for high-risk groups.
Reporting /Monitoring
§ Establish, maintain and update case records using approved agency forms and procedures. Ensure confidentiality of all records.
§ Prepare monthly reports in accordance with agency policies and procedures.
§ Refer and advocate for placement in permanent and transitional housing programs
§ Maintain and update customer information in eCOMPAS and CAREWare
10%
Hyacinth representation/advocacy
§ Attend and participate in staff meetings and supervisory conferences
§ Maintain working relationships with other community providers
§ Observe established administrative procedures.
§ Provide written reports and maintain statistics as required
§ Represent the agency at community events, meeting and conferences
§ Attend and participate in staff training opportunities.
§ Adhere to Hyacinth policies and procedures including client confidentiality provisions
5%
Training and certifications
• Participate local COC
100%
Total
Other Duties Describe important tasks or duties, not mentioned above
• Maintain working relationships with other community providers
• Observe established administrative procedures
• Assist in preparation of written and electronic reports, maintaining records and statistics of program data as required.
• Assist with group activities, outreach events and other program informal and formal social events.
• An ideal candidate must have flexibility to work nights and some weekends as needed.
Demonstrates understanding of objectives, duties and responsibilities in accordance with the job description.
§ Understands job responsibilities and keeps current on skills and information needed to meet new challenges
§ Works with team leader/manager on areas of job responsibilities that are unclear.
Delivers quality results and balances priorities to meet all project and team commitments in a timely manner.
§ Serves as a steward of the public's trust and money.
§ Takes responsibility for timely decisions and actions.
§ Routinely checks for accuracy in his/her own work.
§ Evaluates how well an event or program was completed (i.e. attendance and target audience specifications, asks clients to rate effectiveness, asks people what was good and what can be better next time).
Disseminates relevant information about decisions, plans and activities to team leaders and supervisors
§ Informs team leaders and/or managers about decisions that affect work.
§ Recognizes problems and complaints and escalates to team leaders and/or managers when necessary.
Requirements
Required Qualifications Consider and identify qualifications potential applicants must possess in order to be considered for the position. Basic Qualifications must be clearly stated, objective and relevant to this position.
Required Minimum Education : Associate's Degree Other: None
Required Years of Related Experience: 1-3 years
• Social services/community services
Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities :
(Include any required computer skills, certifications, licenses, languages, etc.)
• Active listening skills
• Lease Agreements
• Ability to provide budgeting and ADL education to clients
People Management Experience :
Indicate whether supervisor/people management experience is required.
Supervisory experience is not required.
Required Years of People Management Experience :
N/A
Preferred Qualifications
Consider and identify qualifications that are not required to perform the job but would be extremely helpful to performing the job.
Preferred Minimum Education :
§ Bachelor's degree and one-year previous office experience.
§ A candidate who has no degree but seems exceptionally suitable will be considered if he/she/they can demonstrate additional years of relevant office systems experience.
§ Fluency in verbal and written Spanish
Other:
§ Candidate must have excellent oral presentation and writing skills.
• Expressed commitment to Hyacinth philosophy
Preferred Area of expertise:
Experience working in communities in Passaic and Union Counties as well as the city of Trenton. Knowledge of housing resources.
Preferred Related Industry Experience: Housing Market
Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities :
(Include any preferred computer skills, certifications, licenses, languages, etc.)
• Must be knowledgeable about working with PLWH and/or at-risk communities.
• Must be culturally competent and sensitive to the varying socio-cultural factors that contribute to the HIV infections in New Jersey.
• Must be able to work non-traditional hours and days including late nights and weekends in order to reach high risk populations.
Key Working Relationships
Identify the most important working relationships with people inside and outside the company including customers, vendors, associations, etc. Briefly describe the nature of the contacts.
Internal
Hyacinth's leadership team, training and cross departmental collaboration & communication
External
Clients, funders, medical providers and other social support providers