Resident Service Coordinator

The Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) serves the housing and community development needs of the twenty-six towns of Franklin County, Massachusetts. We work with residents to successfully access a wide variety of housing resources. We also work with the municipalities of Franklin County to apply for and administer grant funding for various infrastructure and community development projects.

Position Overview: The Resident Service Coordinator (RSC) provides housing assistance to persons living in any of HRA’s family housing properties who are experiencing housing instability. The RSC helps residents maintain successful tenancies and improve their quality of life by identifying resident needs, providing information, initiating referrals, and counseling them on available resources to promote housing retention and stability, as well as healthy and safe living conditions.

Job Class: Full-Time Temporary (37.5 hours per week), Non-Exempt

Supervision Received: The Resident Service Coordinator works under the supervision of the Director of the Housing Consumer Education Center. Additional guidance will be provided by the Director of Property and Asset Management, and the Property Managers.

Supervision Given: None 

Essential Job Functions:

•  Provide information, referrals, and brief counseling to residents on housing-related issues, specifically including but not limited to good tenancy, homelessness prevention, and financial literacy.
• Inform residents about local service availability and how they can access services.
• When appropriate, assist residents with understanding or completing forms that they cannot understand/complete themselves, and provide guidance on how to navigate challenges affecting their tenancy.
• Gather and enter data on applicants and program participants into established databases for the purposes of tracking and reporting on numbers of clients served and the types of assistance they receive.
• Serve as a liaison with property management and community-based agencies to resolve issues together while keeping information confidential.
• Cultivate partnerships with service providers to facilitate resident service delivery.
• Coordinate and, if appropriate, deliver workshops and other programming for residents that addresses housing retention and stability.
• Maintain an awareness of current rules, regulations, and policies relating to housing programs administered by the HCEC.
• Other duties as assigned.

General Responsibilities:  

• HRA is a public agency operating for the benefit of all citizens. Personnel shall conduct themselves in a manner respectful of all clients and shall adhere to HRA's mission and goals. Personnel shall act in such a way as to create a positive image of the Agency.
• Personnel will act in a professional manner while relating to HRA staff, clients, and business contacts seeking to resolve differences or complaints through appropriate agency procedures.
• All personnel are responsible for adherence to HRA personnel policies, including the prevention of conflict of interest, misuse of funds, or abuse of trust and are responsible for reporting known misconduct to an Executive officer.
• All personnel shall respect the legal and moral rights and privacy of confidential information due to all clients and are responsible for upholding HRA's affirmative action policies. 

Minimum Qualifications: 

• Spanish language proficiency required.
• High school diploma or equivalent required; some college preferred.
• Minimum of 2 years working in housing, human services, or a related field, preferably within Franklin County, MA.
• Valid driver’s license and access to reliable transportation; this position requires travel across Franklin County for meetings, workshops and in-person case management.
• Skills in de-escalation, conflict resolution and/or mediation required.

Additional Qualifications: 

• Demonstrated experience successfully completing complex tasks with a minimum of supervision.
• Demonstrated ability to respond appropriately and work effectively with people in crisis.
• Respect for and sensitivity to the challenges faced by people with low income, persons with disabilities and elders required.
• Demonstrated experience working with people from different cultures and backgrounds.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively both in writing and verbally. Experience in public speaking or teaching preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to solve problems independently.
• Demonstrated ability to organize and plan work in a timely manner and to handle a high volume of demanding work.
• Demonstrated ability to collect and analyze data and maintain client files. 

Salary: $20 - $22 per hour