Job description

The Refugee Resettlement Department at Catholic Charities Community Services, Archdiocese of New York provides assistance to newly arrived families from diverse backgrounds who are resettling in New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley through case management, employment-based, and educational services. The Housing Specialist works across resettlement programs to ensure that clients are provided with safe, sanitary, and affordable temporary and/or permanent housing. The Housing Specialist works with community organizations, government agencies and property owners to secure living arrangements, negotiate rents, deposits, and move-in terms on behalf of RR clients. The position involves various tasks that increase housing options and knowledge of resources for people who are trying to transition to temporary and/or permanent housing.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities including the following.

Duties and Responsibilities:

· Forms and cultivates positive partnerships with local property owners to identify housing units for Catholic Charities Community Services clients as well as assess affordability for long-term self-sufficiency.

· Ensures the furnishing of safe, sanitary, and affordable housing is secured for newly arriving and existing clients.

· Conducts frequent and regular outreach to develop and maintain positive relationships with landlord partners, municipal and other stakeholders related to client housing.

· Negotiates with landlord partners to enhance accessibility of affordable housing to refugees (i.e. minimize brokerage fees, credit check requirements and/or security deposits).

· Maintains an up-to-date database of landlord partners, including pertinent information regarding housing details and availability.

· Collaborates closely with case management staff, U.S. ties (clients’ family and friends) and community sponsorship volunteers to understand, meet specific housing needs of newly arriving and existing clients, and coordinate apartment set-ups.

· Provides support to and/or direct housing search services to clients, U.S. ties and community sponsorship volunteers in their searches for permanent housing.

· Coordinates with Volunteer Services staff and community partners to ensure secured housing is furnished and stocked with all required household materials prior to arrival.

· Conducts pre-arrival home visits (virtual or in-person) to ensure housing unit, furniture and household goods meet program requirements and are prepared for clients’ arrival.

· Supports case management staff and/or U.S. ties with airport pick-ups and initial home orientations, if needed.

· Acts as the main agency point of contact for landlord partners during the 90-day initial resettlement program period (and beyond, as needed) to facilitate communication between landlords and clients to coordinate signing of lease, ensure timely rental payments and troubleshoot any issues that arise.

· Coordinates with case management staff to provide individual and group housing-related Cultural Orientation instruction to clients.

· Values and tracks donated goods used for apartment set-ups, and ensure proper filing is completed.

· Responsible for identifying and securing temporary housing (through Airbnb, hotels or other) for clients whose permanent housing is not prepared upon arrival.

· Trains and oversees a cohort of Housing Volunteers who conduct research and outreach to identify new housing units and landlord partners.

· Participates in program meetings, staff development activities, case conferences and other duties as assigned.

· Writes and submits reports as required; compiles and report statistics as needed.

· Occasionally attend local, state, and national meetings or conferences.

· Performs other duties as necessary.

Qualifications

Education and/or experience required:

· A Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Human Services, or related field of study; or a combination of relevant experience and education is required.

· Minimum of two years of relevant work experience in human services/housing/real estate, preferably with immigrants or refugees.

Skills, Licenses and/or competencies required:

· Existing connections with NYC landlords, realtors, and management companies.

· Demonstrated experience conducting outreach to community partners.

· Strong relationship building, diplomacy, and networking skills; ability to effectively build internal and external relationships.

· Highly motivated self-starter with strong problem-solving skills combined with the proven ability to multi-task several urgent projects, prioritize duties, and manage time effectively.

· Ability to manage deadlines and high-volume communication in a fast-paced environment.

· Excellent organizational, planning, logistical, communication (oral & written), and interpersonal skills.

· Ability to work collaboratively, thrive as a member, communicate effectively and sensitively in a multicultural environment.

· Ability to train, lead the activities of support staff, and supervise interns and volunteers as needed.

· Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, SharePoint, etc.), ability to use the internet and other digital tools for data entry, research, and problem-solving purposes.

· Fluent in English and a language spoken by refugee communities (Ukrainian/Russian, Spanish, French, Haitian Creole, etc.)

· Lived experience as an immigrant, refugee, asylee and/or asylum-seeker highly valued.

· Familiarity with U.S. Refugee Admission Program and refugee and/or immigrant social services preferred.

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work:

This is a full-time position that will require working with underserved communities in the New York metro area. Days and hours of work are generally 9:00am-5:00pm Monday - Friday. Position requires a willingness to travel as needed to sites in the Lower Hudson Valley, and to NYC, as needed. Some weekend and evening hours, if needed.

Working conditions and physical demands required:

The demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

· Ability to travel regularly throughout the service delivery area using reliable transportation, traversing streets, ascending/descending stairs, and exposed to outside weather conditions.

· Remain in a stationary position at a workstation and use a computer approximately 60% of the time, with 40% of time spent in the field and at home visits.

· Ability to regularly lift ~ 30 lbs.

· COVID-19 Vaccination.

· ***COVID-19 Adjustment: Position will be onboarded remotely with a transition to in-person work depending on CDC and agency requirements at the time of onboarding. Updates to protocol are implemented on a regular basis.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $50,000.00 - $55,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Health insurance
• Paid time off

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Experience:

• housing, preferably with immigrants,: 2 years (Required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in New York, NY 10038

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