COMPLIANCE SPECIALIST

Organization

• Metro Housing Boston (formerly Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership) is a leading nonprofit dedicated to connecting the residents of Greater Boston with safe, decent homes they can afford. Metro Housing empowers families and individuals to move along the continuum from homelessness to housing stability. Serving more than 25,000 households annually, we work seamlessly to bridge the gaps among government, nonprofits, and corporations to continually increase our impact. With more than 30 years’ experience piloting and implementing housing programs, we have solidified our position as an industry-leading expert on navigating the affordable housing field.

Metro Housing|Boston’s mission:  “We mobilize wide-ranging resources to provide innovative and personalized services that lead families and individuals to housing stability, economic security and an improved quality of life.”

Overview

The duties of the position include a wide range of activities related to determining and documenting participant eligibility, income, rent and completing other required transactions in support of the administration of Metro Housing’s Leased Housing programs. Specialists may perform admissions, recertifications, interim adjustments, rent increases, continued occupancy transactions, rent determinations, owner certifications and terminations, as well as deal with applicant, participant and landlord issues. Specialists may perform transactions related to MTW, Non-MTW, Special and State Programs.  Most work is performed according to existing procedures or written guidelines, such as Metro Housing policies and procedures, DHCD’s MTW Agreement and Plan, HUD regulations, handbooks, desk references, or existing records.  Specialists will be required to use independent judgment in making recommendations and decisions.

Reports to

Lead Specialist or Manager within Leased Housing

Responsibilities May Include:

General Duties

The statements below are intended to describe the general nature and scope of work being performed by this position. This is not a complete listing of all responsibilities, duties and/or skills required. Other duties may be assigned.

• Understands and applies HUD regulations, MTW policies and Metro Boston policies and procedures;
• Answers telephone calls and communicates with applicants, participants, landlords/owners and co-workers in a manner that is courteous and professional;
• Prepares and transmits applicable correspondence to clients;

• Responds timely to requests and inquiries from clients and staff, by phone, in person and by written communications;
• Determines client needs and provides the information or assistance required to satisfy these needs;
• Enters correct information and completes accurate and timely 50058s for submission to HUD;
• Completes data entry for all transactions into housing software;

• Prepares and submits required reports;
• Maintains letters, documents and transaction materials in client files per the file organization protocol;
• Notifies program applicants, participants and owners in a timely manner of the results of program transactions;

• Keeps supervisor informed of issues as needed;
• Communicates with other leased housing staff on the progress and status of program transactions; and,
• Attends meetings and trainings.
• Performs other duties as needed.

Specific Duties

Quality Control

• Conducts quality control monitoring on a sample of transactions for all Leased Housing Programs, including but not limited to the following programs:
  • MTW Housing Choice Vouchers, both mobile and project based
  • Special Housing Choice Vouchers, i.e. VASH and Mainstream
  • Massachusetts Rental Assistance Voucher Program, both mobile and project based
  • Continuum of Care
• Performs QC reviews of transactions including but not limited to waiting list, tenant selection and eligibility determinations, Regular and interim recertifications, reasonable rent determinations and rent increases, client moves and portability;
• Tracks all files reviewed utilizing a tracking system;
• Monitors and tracks corrective actions from QC findings and ensures actions are closed out;
• Assists QC Lead Specialist in completing comprehensive audits on newly hired Program Specialists and Program Specialists identified to be underperforming as needed;
• Assesses overall performance and processes based on QC review results
• Identifies systemic areas of concern based on QC results and escalates programmatic issues to the Managing Director;
• Develops recommendations for improving agency performance

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree;
• Two (2) years of experience working in Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher, or other Federal housing programs preferred;
• Knowledge of HUD policies, and other Federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations related to low income housing and policies;
• Knowledge of general office practices and procedures and basic mathematics;
• Ability to understand and implement HUD regulations and DHCD and Metro Boston policies and procedures;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Ability to communicate with and relate to persons of diverse backgrounds and abilities and to establish and maintain effective working relationships with participants, landlords and other employees;
• Ability to complete complex and detailed tasks in a timely manner;
• Ability to plan and prioritize duties;
• Strong written and verbal communication skills;
• Accuracy in making mathematical calculations;
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills;
• Positive approach to work with strong interpersonal and negotiation skills;
• Ability to work independently within a busy and diverse team setting;
• Strong computer literacy skills; working knowledge of Microsoft Office, specifically Word and Excel; and
• Experience using computer software to organize, store, and analyze data.
• Ability to exercise good judgment
• Strong time management skills with the ability to handle large caseloads and high volume of work in a busy, fast paced environment.
• Ability to multi-task handling several tasks at once, anticipating and identifying problems and putting forward solutions
• Ability to handle frequent interruptions without a loss of efficiency/productivity or accuracy.
• Attention to detail in all aspect of work

Preference Given To:

• Candidates with multilingual skills (verbal and written). We are seeking candidates that speak and write English and at least one of the following languages (for interpreting and translation): Vietnamese, Cape Verdean Creole, Portuguese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Toisanese, and Spanish.
• Candidates who live within two miles of Metro Housing|Boston’s headquarters at Roxbury Crossing.

Salary & Benefits

Salary: $48,500 with excellent benefits.   (This is an non-exempt position)  Please see website:  http://metrohousingboston.org/